In order to fly to Paris, we took the train from St. Andrews to Glasgow, where Ryanair flies out of. It was a very easy train ride and relatively cheap. Luckily the man selling us tickets at the station knew we were not used to the train system and printed us out a sheet of all the stops and transfers we had to do. We got in to Paris around 8 and found our hostel near the Bastille.
It was a pretty decent hostel (technically it was a 2-star hotel, I think) and had an ensuite bathroom. For some reason the room was always boiling hot, but it was a decent place to stay in a nice area so I was happy. The Bastille had a lot of restaurants, and since we had not eaten since breakfast we quickly found a place to eat. France has very good food. And decent beer. It was strange to be able to go into a restaurant and order a drink. Kind of a nice feeling.
We quickly learned how to use the metro to get around the city on Sunday morning. Our first stop was Notre Dame. Coincidentally, we didn't realize that Sunday meant there would be church services, so we were lucky enough to get to be inside the church as the choir sang and the organ was played. Pretty neat. We also got to climb up to the bell tower and heard the bells ring from up there. The steps were spiral, very small and in a very enclosed space. It started to get very tight and I definitely thought I was going to fall/wipe out/roll down the stairs. Luckily, that did not happen. The view was stunning (which is why I am hoping to put pictures up soon...). I had been to Paris previously with my high school band, but experiencing the city without a group of 80 high school students was very different. We were able to explore what we wanted when we wanted.
We made our way over to the Latin Quarter for lunch and an attempt at shopping. The stores were closed - as it was Sunday - but the food was good. The Latin quarter is where the Sorbonne is, so the prices were much cheaper and it was a different atmosphere. If I could remember what we did that night I would tell you, but the days have blended together.
We did manage to make it to the Eiffel tower one morning. It started snowing, so we resigned ourselves to the cold and took pictures of the tower. But the sun miraculously came out within the hour and we were able to once again take pictures of the tower - this time with a blue-sky background and sunlight! Quite a strange experience, but a very welcome burst of sunlight. There was a peace memorial between the Eiffel tower and the military academy that was not there the last time I was in Paris. There were transparent glass panels with peace written over them in all different languages. You could pass between the panels via footbridge. To each side there were columns with peace written on them as well. There wasn't anything to describe who made the memorial or when, but it was interesting placement being between the tower and the military school.
We also got into the Louvre, which I had been to before but not had nearly enough time to explore. We focused on ancient Egyptian artwork, the Napoleonic apartments, the Mona Lisa and a few other statues. (PEAC 314, if you are out there, I took a picture of the Mona Lisa to dedicate to you.) I actually enjoyed the museum a lot. We spent about three hours exploring and it was a lot of fun.
At night, we made the brilliant decision to go to Monmartre to see the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge. The church offers another stunning view of the city, and the sunset was very beautiful. Unfortunately, the area isn't exactly the most safe place to be. After getting lost on our way from the top of the hill down to Moulin Rouge, we decided to climb back up to the top to have dinner. Ironically enough, we ended up in a small little restaurant being served by an Irish man. The man put our table right up next to a table of similarly aged people from Australia. So the evening was spent being entertained by the Irish man and speaking with the Australians about how crazy he was. His favorite thing to do was insult us or make jokes at our expense, but it was very amusing. And the food was good, which made him easier to handle.
We did see Moulin Rouge, at night, in a very sketchy place. Took about three pictures of it before heading back to the Bastille.
We also got to see the Opera that was the inspiration for Phantom of the Opera. We weren't allowed to see everything, but I got a nice view of the pit section and of the stage. The opera building itself was a wonder. They have so much gold on the buildings in France, everything seems to sparkle.
For our meal we went back to the Latin quarter to be near all the stores that had been previously closed. My French is very limited. I could say Merci and Ou e la toilette before going to Paris. Over there I leared: pane au chocolat and eau. So at the restaurant, I asked the man for water ("eau"). Apparently he thought that was funny because he said "Eau, Eau, Eau Merry Christmas." (Now you see where the title of the post came from.) Strange experience, but I got my water so I was content.
The flight back to Glasgow was a little crazy. The airport in Paris has these televisions which display flight numbers and departure times. There were only four gates, so all the flights leaving that night were displayed. We were supposed to take off at 22:50, and board at 21:50. But as 21:50 rolled around, our flight vanished from the display board. There was a rather large moment of panic as those of us waiting for the flight tried to figure out what had happened. Our plane did come, albeit late, and we arrived in Glasgow. Since the flight was late we had to take a cab from the airport to the hostel we were staying at. Note to any future travelers from Glasgow Prestwick to the center of Glasgow: Don't take a cab. It will eat the money right out of your wallet. We didn't have a choice and were frankly quite relieved to get to the hostel at all, but it was very expensive.
We got back to St. Andrews earlier today in time to do orientation activities and use the dining hall for the first time (more coming soon...)
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