Videos from this weekend!

Underneath the Eiffel Tower when the light show was going on!

While we were riding La Grande Roue!

Walking down the Champs Elysées!

Hope you enjoy the videos and that they give you a more real sense of what the city is like! Miss you all! 

Best Weekend Ever.

Dear Readers! 

I am sorry it has been soooo long since I have updated you on what I am up to! After a stressful week at school I definitely needed a fun weekend and that was definitely in store because Tym came down to visit for the weekend! During the last 6 weeks I only saw Tym on January 3rd for my birthday and on the 4th when we took him to the airport, so to say the least it was definitely time to spend some time with Tym! Tym took a bus from Birmingham, UK to London and another bus from London to Paris. Total I think he was in a bus for around 12 or 13 hours...either way, a really long time. He got into Paris at 4:30 on Friday and I headed to the Gallieni international bus station to pick him up! I got to the bus station and it was not very big so I thought I would see him right away so I wandered around for a bit looking for him until someone came up behind me and picked me up! He definitely scared me to say the least but it was so good to see him again! From there we were off and we knew it was going to be a great weekend! 

I took Tym on the metro to get to my apartment and we unpacked his stuff and headed to the grocery store to get food for the weekend! On our way back we stopped by a Boulangerie "a French bakery" really close to my apartment and got a few apple pastries and a huge loaf of bread! Like the kind that looks like a huge sword, it was awesome to say the least! We headed home and made homemade Mac N' Cheese for supper. Definitely was not Kraft Mac N' Cheese but it was better than nothing! After supper I took Tym out to show him the streets around me and for a hot chocolate! We headed up Rue St. Jacques and found a little café where we ordered some very chocolatey hot chocolate but it was still good! 

We wandered down Rue St. Michel to the Saint Michel Fountain where we took some pictures and turned around to see the Notre Dame! 

We took a walked near the Seine River past all kinds of shops and cafés and so Tym could see more of the amazing French architecture. By the river it is so beautiful, especially at night! We found a bridge and could see the Eiffel Tower to our front and the Notre Dame to our backs and sat there until the Eiffel Tower's light show turned on. When it finally came on, it was so pretty! It looks like a 10,000 camera flashes going off at once from every angle of it! There is a video below so you can sort of see what it looks like but seeing it in person is breath taking! After the light show we headed back and tried to book plane tickets for me to head to Birmingham this coming weekend to visit Tym, but instead we fell asleep!

Saturday morning we got up late, made some breakfast and headed out for the day! We went back to Rue St. Michel to all of the clothing stores! Every store is having huge discounts so we went shopping for the afternoon to find "europeanizing" clothes! I got a new coat and Tym got a nice black sweater and some dark jeans! We had a lot of fun and there are so many neat little boutiques and shops here! We headed to the Arc de Triomphe and took for Pi Phi and Delt flags along to take pictures with! We get the strangest looks from other people when we take our flags out for pictures but it didn't bother us! Usually people gather around to watch us get out picture taken or take pictures of us! At the Arc de Triomphe you can take pictures from the streets on the outside of the roundabout and in order to get to the Arc you have to take an underground tunnel! We took the tunnel and got some great pictures underneath the Arc!

This picture kind of shows how big the Arc actually is!

When we were done there we took a walk down the Champs Élysées and walked into all kinds of fancy car shops and Tym was literally drooling the whole time!

Random café?

A look down the Champs Elysées. 

Soccer store!!

 We saw all kinds of neat stores and restaurants and found a pizza restaurant for supper! It was delicious! We kept on walking until we finally got to La Grande Roue de Paris "The Great Wheel of Paris" and paid 10 Euros each to ride it. Although slightly pricey, the view from the top was worth every penny! 

After La Grande Roue de Paris we headed to the Eiffel Tower! Another long but beautiful walk next to the Seine and we arrived at the base of the Tower. After taking lots of pictures we stood in line for over an hour in order to get tickets to the top! It was so chilly but we had fun taking more pictures and making traveling plans for upcoming weekends that it went by decently fast. We finally got in the elevator and headed up to the second floor. We were both so numb from the cold that we bought a hot chocolate and waited inside for a while to warm up before heading up to the top! The elevator to the top was packed full but it was a short ride to the very tippy top and we were glad to get out. We pulled out our flags again and grabbed a couple photos. My flag didn't exactly want to cooperate as it was backwards, then upside down, then caught in my purse and then it was too windy to get a decent photo. We stood up at the top until we were told the last elevator was going down and we all had to be on it. It was a very beautiful and probably one of the most fun nights I will ever have! 

We headed back to my apartment to buy plane tickets for me to come to Birmingham this coming weekend and to head to Venice, Italy the following weekend to stay in a Hostel with a two of my close Pi Phi friends and a G-Phi from ISU! Although I said I would help, I absolutely fell asleep and Tym was nice enough to stay up and order our tickets! He said it was quite the process but got it figured out and we have our next few weekend trips booked!

Sunday we slept in again and then head out in the early afternoon to see the Luxembourg Gardens, the Notre Dame and the Louvre Pyramid. It was much colder so we didn't want to be outside as much and tried to spend more time inside. We got some great pictures at the Notre Dame and several as the "Hunchbacks" of Notre Dame! Quite funny! The Louvre Pyramid is huge and so beautiful! We were able to go inside and snap a couple pictures before we headed to find some food. We both smelled McDonalds and made a beeline over to get a big ol' fatty cheeseburger. It was delicious! We then headed back to my apartment to get Tym packed up to head home and make a quick stop by the bakery close by for road snacks too! After a rather tearful goodbye, we headed to the metro station so Tym could get to the Gallieni bus station. I received a message from him and he got to the station and bus just fine!

 The "Hunchbacks" of Notre Dame!

This week I have some homework to catch up on and I hope to start sending some postcards back home too! I move into my permanent apartment on wednesday and I am really hoping they are decent. From what I hear, they are not the best places but I hope that they are ok enough for 3 and a half months! This week I will post more about my school and classes so look forward to that! Miss you all so much! 

l'Arc de Triomphe and le Champ de Elysees

          Today I did not have class so I luckily was able to sleep in for awhile! I think I am starting to adjust to this time zone because I am not waking up as much during the night and it is wonderful!! 

          After breakfast I decided to go for a run in the Luxembourg Gardens. So I got dress and put on my black yoga pants, black t-shirt and white jacket, but once I got to the park I realized the French not only don't wear white normally they don't wear white while working out either. Needless to say, I very much stood out amongst a large group of runners wearing all black. The Luxembourg Gardens are beautiful though! There are statues and benches all around the park and many people are feeding the birds, smooching their significant other or just wandering around the gardens. There is a palace in the gardens and it is so big! There were guards standing in front of it and I am pretty sure I heard one say to the other something about a "veste blanche" white jacket to the other guard....dumb American. I did finish my run and headed back to the apartment to get ready for the day!

          Today, my roommate, Jasmine from Boston and I decided to see the l'Arc de Triomphe and le Champ de Elysees. We took the metro to where we thought we were supposed to go but we ended up three stops short. We decided to walk around for a bit anyway and we saw so many beautiful buildings! I am trying to look them up on a map but I am not finding the names of what we saw! One I am sure was a museum and there was an Elie Saab sign out front, he is a very famous designer, and we thought maybe there was going to be a show there later that night? 

One of the neat buildings we saw!

Le Grande Roue (The great wheel) at the end of le Champ de Elysees.

The Eiffel Tower can be seen from everywhere! 

A bridge across the Seine. 

l'Arc de Triomphe

Ya Pi Phi!! I got lots of strange stares during this picture!

l'Arc de Triomphe is HUGE!

A view down le Champ de Elysees and if you look right above the white van you can see la Grande Roue!

          Today was another day of touring and learning more about the metro and the city! The more I explore the more I love it! Every street is so different from the last! Wine shops and bakeries on every corner are always fun to look at and there are clothing stores everywhere too! My French has improved immensely in only the five days I have been here but I love it! Tomorrow is a full day of school from 9:00 to 5:00 and I hope it is a good one! I miss you all very much!