Paris

Just got back from Paris this week--what a great city. I think I like it even more than London. The tube system is just as good, but they have these 'bike stalls' all over the city where you can pay a euro and grab a bike and drop it off at any of the stands in the city. So we took a bike from the Eiffel Tower stand and cycled up to Arc de Triomphe! Brilliant! Except, note to self: don't leave anything in the basket and walk away...like a camera. It won't be there when you get back. Yep, that was the only crappy thing about our trip--losing the camera! Luckily we were staying with C4C friends, so they let us borrow their camera for the remainder of the trip.

We went to the Louvre, saw the Mona Lisa (small and somewhat disappointing) and the famous French Revolution painting on the front of the latest cold play album (really cool). Went to Notre Dame (but not in it) and ate several times at the Latin Quarter which was, in our opinion, one of the coolest spots in Paris! We ate huge sweet and savoury crepes, Raclette and beef fondue...so delicious. We also went to Versailles, and even though it was closed because it was a Monday, we spent lots of time in the Garden and by the lake, and we ate over-priced delicious gelato!

One highlight was definitely going to the Eiffel Tower at night to watch it sparkle (it sparkles for 5 minutes every hour, and the rest of the time it's just lit up). Guys walk around selling stuff like souvenirs and crap like that, but also wine and champagne. Apparently the park gets really busy at night and everyone buys wine off these guys and just enjoys the view. So Tom and I bought a cheap bottle of champagne (5 Euro!) and drank it while watching the Tower sparkle. There was entertainment all around as groups of individuals gathered to watch the Tower light up. There was even a drunk Swede who bought 250 little Eiffel Towers for 30 Euro so that he could give them to everyone sitting in the park (he did it so that the sales guys would leave everyone alone) and a Spanish/French couple behind us dancing and every so often yelling, "More wine for everyone!". It was pretty funny. But it was a great way to end a long day. By the way, speaking of the Eiffel Tower, we did go up it in the morning, walked all the stairs to the second floor (it's equivalent to walking up 43 floors in a building) and ate lunch up there (amazingly it was not overpriced) and we took a lift up to the very top (yeah that made my knees a little weak)!

Those were the highlights! Now back to work (and off to Ireland next weekend).