SU a cappella took over paris this weekend and it was absolutely marvelous. deanna, krista, mara and i are in the mandarins izzie is in groovestand, both a cappella groups at syracuse.
mara, izzie and i left thursday afternoon from london on the eurostar train. when we got to the hostel, we met up with krista who graduated this spring and is now teaching english in spain. so, naturally, we found ourselves a spanish bar after dinner to dance a little and sip on some raspberry caipiroska mmm. our hostel was run by really rude people, the rooms were soooo hot, and it didnt seem very clean, but it was right next to a metro stop and was super cheap. even trade off i'd say.
friday we got going early with our 'free breakfast' at the hostel which consisted of 3 coins for a vending machine, choice were coffee, croissant, or chocolate pastry. we stopped by a supermarket 'monop' for fruit, lunch for later, and the typical baguette. first stop: versailles. the palace was stunning, inside and out. the hall of mirrors was unreal, the walls/ceilings/furniture were so elaborate, and the gardens were never-ending. we ate our bagged lunches on the steps overlooking the gardens, it was so great. while in the gift shop, krista's camera was stolen so that put a damper on our moods and confirmed our hatred for rude french people. also in the gift shop i ran into some friends who were in paris with the school trip, who'da thunk it. we got yummy crepes and a few souvenirs/gifts before heading back to the main city for a walking tour of the montmartre area. this included the moulin rouge, cafe des 2 moulins (from amelie), van gogh's house and favorite bar la maison rose, the statue of dalida, paris' last windmill and last vineyard, au lapin agile where picasso traded sketches for food before he became famous, the artist's corner, a studio/hostel le bateau lavoir where a few famous artist's have stayed, and sacre-coeur with a fantastic view of the city. the girls headed back to the hostel while i met deanna who came from strasbourg at the train station. we all met up, went out for delicious desserts on champs-elysees, and saw the arc de triomphe.
saturday we woke up early again for a long, fun-filled day throughout paris all together! the eiffel tower was an obvious first. it was rainy and foggy, but only got worse as the day continued so im glad we went in the morning. we walked up about 600 steps to the second story and then took the elevator to the very top. i have never seen a city that just goes on forever like paris does. it was incredible. on the way down, we were again confirmed of the rudeness of french people when a woman bumped into me, causing me to lose my footing on the wet stairs and, yes, slip down the eiffel tower. my hands automatically grabbed my camera before the railing lol i would. we then went to the musee d'orsay and the louvre, both of which we got into for free because i convinced the ticket salesmen we were studying in madrid (free for EU students). both were great, and i can definitely see how people spend whole days at the louvre, its overwhelmingly huge. i hit the key pieces shown on the map (mona lisa, sphynx, psyche & cupid, nike, aphrodite, etc) and then rested a little because at this point my feet hurt so bad even in slipper-like booties.
sunday we said our goodbyes and headed back home on the eurostar train to london.
