Bonjour

Made it to Paris.  I'm not going to lie, it was a struggle.  (That's all I can say because my only real follower is mommy dear, and yes mother you would kill me if I told you how I got to the city. No, it wasn't that dangerous. Chill out.)  Let's just say I will never try to navigate a foreign country that I've never been to alone again.  And let's just say that my first impression of this country was not a good one.

Climbing the stairs in the Hotel de Paris.

So far the wifi here has bee much more difficult to find than in Kenya, shocking considering this is a first world country (which doesn't have air conditioning by the way.)  The hotel we're staying in is pretty cute though, very small but safe and with lots of character.

After my first impression I'd say that any movie you've ever seen about Paris is totally accurate, I constantly feel like the Aristocats are going to come climbing through our open window or that the cartoon-like police sirens are chasing Cruella DeVille.  However, I have yet to see 101 Dalmatians.  Every single building has to be way over 500 years old and the architecture is incredible.  There have been a few times where both Claire and I have just had to stand in awe and pictures just don't do it justice.

Just hanging out with Mona.

Our first day here (yesterday), I arrived a few hours after my plane arrived at CDG and then we spent the morning at the Louvre, followed by a long walk to the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel towel.  I think during the 3-4 hours we spent walking around the Louvre we probably saw less than a quarter of it, you could literally get lost in there for days.  The entire chateau is totally made out of so many different kinds of stones, the ceilings are covered in gorgeous paintings, and everything is gilded in gold.  It must have been nice to have been French Royalty back in the day.  The Arc de Triopmhe is HUGE, again pictures just don't do it justice.  I expected it to be a minor landmark but it really is more like a large stone building randomly in the largest round-about you've ever seen (talk about circle of death, please don't install one in Waco because people will die.)  The French go big or go home.  It wasn't until later when we were sitting on the grass by the Eiffel Tower that we found out you could actually climb up into the Arc, so missed out of that.  We missed out on climbing the Eiffel Tower too mainly because we were wearing awful walking shoes and my feet were literally bleeding by the time we got there, que triste.  But, we did hang out by the tower for a few hours and plan to go back tomorrow night for the light show.

Louvre.

Louvre.

If anyone has every told you that the French are rude, it's mostly true.  There have been a few exceptions, but mostly they ignore you or give you the worst restaurant service ever just because you speak English.  Also, the food is extremely expensive and delicious.

Today we attempted to go to Versailles, but got lost in a small town in the countryside and gave up.  We'll give it another go tomorrow.  We did end up seeing the National Opera house, which was simply beyond words and cheap at a student price!  Apparently many people forget about it when in Paris, but it's a must see! We also briefly saw Notre Dame but plan to go back later when it's open or for mass (in English).  Somehow we snuck into Moulin Rouge, unintentionally of course (the shows originally cost 200 Euros, oops) We tried to see Montmartre, but couldn't find it and gave up so we didn't get lost in the dark.  The sun doesn't set here until past ten, weird.