Paris Day 2

Today I forced myself to go see some other sights, even though it was freezing outside and after yesterday's general sentiments, have no motivation to be reminded what I can't have in Paris. Maybe that's why the first stop I found myself at was the catacombs. I paid my 4 Euros and descended into the depths of Paris. For those of you that don't know, the catacombs are essentially a massive cemetery that extends for kilometres in every direction--right underneath the streets of Paris. You head down into a dimly lit tunnel with musty stone walls and walk about 500 m until you reach the first part. Doing that alone is a little more than unnerving, let me tell you. All the side passages are barred off and dark; it's deathly still (pun intended) for the most part, but every sound you do hear makes you jump a little. It felt like a really well put-on haunted house!
Then I got to the bones. Oh yeah, these aren't nicely laid out tombstones; they are stacks of human bones lining the passageways. To deal with overcrowding in cemeteries during the 18th century, people started getting buried in these passages, since you could shove more bodies together, thus saving space. Pretty morbid, but the organization is impressive--all similarly shaped bones are stacked together, separated by rows of skulls (for support? Who knows, I definitely did not come up with this idea).

After the catacombs, I meandered over to Notre Dame to take a look at some gargoyles. (The last time I was here, I had cut my foot really badly in India just prior, and couldn't walk. All I remember is my mom piggybacking me around Paris, and in particular, up the tower of Notre Dame so I could see the little creatures protruding from the stone facade. Thanks mom!)
It was nice, and in some ways reminded me of Gaudi's work, but traditional--his is warped, versus the classic medieval lines seen here. I could just imagine what it must've been like when this church was the centre of religious life in Paris--it's pretty impressive, the details that went into its construction.
Next stop was the Champs d'Elyses, the world's biggest...roundabout? I'm not sure of the significance, since I refused to pay to go to the top of a tall structure and look out over another city. But I got my photos! And saw some breakdancing in the meantime, so it wasn't a total waste of time.
Lastly, I made my way over to the Piece de Resistance, the Eiffel Tower. Also known as the giant asparagus by non-impressed Parisians, the tower was originally supposed to be covered, but someone quashed that idea and now we have what it looks like today. It's impressive and blah blah blah but I'm gonna go ahead and bet that lying on the grass solo is not as much fun as with your sweetheart. I was getting bored and frozen so I waited just until the tower sparkled at sunset (they do something cool with the lights) and got the heck outta there. One can only stare at a giant asparagus for so long!
Another thing that was disappointing was my quest to cook at Le Cordon Bleu was quashed...I emailed them last week enquiring about a tour or one of the many day classes they offer...but everything was full, for every single day I could possibly be in Paris. I guess it's not meant to be, but still! Frustrating.

So it turns out Paris is not like Carrie's version in Sex and the City. This city is dangling a carrot in front of my nose--I can see what my visit COULD entail, if I was on my honeymoon, or in 15 years when I have a ton of money, spending extravagantly on nice restaurants, shopping, and fancy hotels, but nearing the end of my four month travels, that is not in the cards for BackpackKat. I did not get a suite at the Four Seasons, nor did I gallivant around town wearing a $20,000 dress. No trans-atlantic professions of love. I wore jeans and sneakers. I ate at McDonald's. I saw the sights. And I can't wait to leave.

Tomorrow I am going to MUNICH for Oktoberfest! I'm so excited to see all my german friends, I think there's 25 of us from all over Germany meeting up this weekend? It's gonna be epic. Au revoir, soul-sucking Paris! Time to become German!

Je N'aime Pas Paris

Whoever said Paris is for lovers was correct. What they failed to mention is that it is downright depressing to visit as a party of one. There are couples everywhere. Dinner specials for two. Honeymoon hotel packages. Blech. What's wrong with taking myself to Paris, hmm? I slept for 14 hours in an effort to rid myself of the cold that half of Europe seems to have, but woke up in time for breakfast. After getting yelled at by the French cafeteria lady for taking the wrong tray (apparently there is a big difference between lunch and breakfast, so you'd better get it right!), I got ready to head out for the day--the hostel locks you out of your room from 12-3 pm so they can clean. A little severe to actually have a lockout, but no matter. To the Louvre!
Channeling my inner Robert Langdon outside the Louvre.
I spent 6 hours exploring the vast array of exhibits, and I gotta tell ya...at least for the Egyptian exhibits, it was cooler seeing the same stuff in Cairo. Felt more authentic, if that makes sense. Ew, I sound so snobby. But it's true! And nothing was behind glass there.
Really, France, that's the best you can do?
At the Louvre, though, the Greco-Roman sculptures were outstanding, one of the finest collections I've ever seen.. aside from a security scare that required the evacuation of the entire wing, it was a great way to lose a few hours. The crowds were out in full force but the lines moved quickly. I almost walked right by Venus de Milo until I realized what it was, and then I got in line just like everyone else to ogle the masterpiece.
The Mona Lisa, however, was just a zoo. Totally ruins any attempt to marvel when you're being herded. It's on its own wall, behind thick panes of plexiglass, and it's tiny. I elbowed my way to the front, snapped a few pics, and got the hell out. I'll take lesser-known works any day if it means I can be in a room by myself to ponder. There will be no impending nuptuals to a Grimaldi, a la Gossip Girl. Unlike Blair Waldorf, the closest proposition I got at the Louvre was from the aging security guard who inquired about taking me for coffee (I politely declined). After I exhausted my ability to absorb new artwork for the day, I took a leisurely stroll by the Seine, saw the Eiffel Tower in the distance, then headed to McDonald's for some free wifi to catch up on the blog. Tomorrow I'm debating doing a bike tour of Paris--sounds kind of fun! I've decided against going UP the tower--much better photos with it in the background anyways, and then it's free!

Nice is Nice

Could I really title this any other way? We all know how much I love bad jokes.
This morning I slept in after that lengthy journey along the Mediterranean, and tried to say hello to my bunkmates only to discover Barcelona has stolen my voice.
Port of Nice
I took advantage of the free breakfast (seriously I need to stop writing about this, it's just a given at this point), got going early afternoon and headed down to the port. I saw more yachts than minivans in a Walmart parking lot. Got offered no less than 3 jobs aboard. The offers were definitely too good to be true--I suspect the uniform is a bikini and sunglasses. At most. Thanks, Octopussy, but I'm going to have to pass. (Really, that's the name of his boat. Parked right next to "Just For You, Love Douglas." Classy.) Really tempted to ask them what they do in order to have a yacht; I figure there's three possibilities: something risky, something illegal, or both. Either way is fascinating, but I don't fancy involuntarily becoming a part of a drug cartel's harem. Saw a wedding--everyone in attendance was good looking. Confirmed my suspicions about the French Riviera being a magical place that I need to live in. I found Narnia! Just kidding. But seriously.

Nice is a cool town because it has both the sophistication and culture I love about a lot of cities, yet it has that laid-back vibe that you need once in a while. Looking into cooking schools here immediately--if they have a good one, I'm sold. Met up with the Aussies from Darwin at my hostel for happy hour (dolla beers!) Then went downtown to Wayne's, the most popular bar in Nice. Full of foreigners (and Snoop Dogg, who apparently has partied at Wayne's too) including a Contiki tour group. I'm so glad I decided not to do one of those--apparently you spend all your time traveling and only stop at sights for like 5 minutes before you're herded back on the bus. Can you imagine being stuck on a bus with a group of people you hate, going all over Europe? They did look like they were having a good time, though; there was a lot of dancing on tables. After establishing that Sarah Palin is not the only one with geographical troubles (Apparently there are some Aussies who think Alaska is part of Canada), we split from Wayne's and walked along the coast to Ma Nolan's to check out the Irish offerings in France. It was very chill--they played some great Kings of Leon tracks. I had to leave at 1:30 to make the last tram home. So glad to be back on a normal night schedule, you have no idea--maybe my voice will come back now.

The Art of Macarons

French cooking class in the morning--learned how to make macarons! Not to be confused with macarOOns, these pastries are light, fluffy, and delicious--they'd better be, considering they consist of butter, sugar, and egg whites. Yum. I definitely don't like the precision required to bake things though--I'll be sticking to savoury cooking back at home. But when in France...
The chef walked us step-by-step through the process, although it was more of a demonstration than a hands on experience, since there were so many people in the class. I did get to pipe a few macarons onto the baking tray, however! And we got to keep some of the finished product at the end, which, let's be real, is obviously the most important thing anyway.

Went into town in the afternoon to try and deal with my Paris plans--apparently it's super expensive there so I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for that. Every hostel seems to be booked, even though it's the middle of the week--I don't get it! And the highest rated one that is showing up in my searches is 66%. Yuck. Looks like I may have to spring for a hotel...in one of the priciest cities in the world. Lucky me. Note to future travelers: do not put western Europe at the END of your trip when you are running out of money! Do it first! (and save in India--it's what I should have done. Boo.)

I also tried salad Nicoise at the hostel--I am in Nice, after all! It was SO delicious I forgot to take a photo. I will definitely be incorporating it into my rotation at home! That's about it--I'm exhausted from trying to figure out what I want to do about Paris. Definitely not designed for backpackers I think. Not ones who have seen Sex and the City, anyway.

Mediterranean, You're Kind Of Big

Sept 16:I'm going to refrain from the joke here; it's too obvious....thatswhatshesaid. Okay! Moving on. Today was a travel day to Nice. I left at 8 am after not going to bed the night before, so sick, and had to change trains every couple of hrs so couldn't sleep at all. Got to Montpellier and had to buy new reservation for train from there to Nice, since they wouldn't do it for me in Spain. Of course, the train I need is full, so I have to wait two hours til the next (non-reserved) train departs. I met two Aussies from Darwin who were doing the same thing, so we navigated the rest of the trip together.

The last train from Marseilles was really sketchy--no light, so were just sitting in the pitch black with strangers going through tunnels. Brought back memories of my favorite travel movie, Eurotrip. Mi scusi! We finally arrive in Nice at about 10:30 pm, only for me to realize my pouch containing my sunglasses and phone is missing. Shit. Back to the train I go! I couldn't remember exactly where we were sitting since it was no reservation, so I searched. Every. Single. Compartment. Hoping the train wouldn't start moving while I was still on board. At last, I found it! Fallen between two seats. Mon Dieu!

I called the hostel which told me to take the tram to a certain stop, where their shuttle would pick me up. I finally arrived and collapsed into bed--folks, the med is a lot bigger than you may realize if traveling by train! 15 hrs is not fun, especially on zero hours of sleep.