As fantastic as it is, I woke up with a sore throat - such a start to Paris. We had a boat tour first thing this morning at 10. We walked to the train station near our hostel. FU-BEST gave each of us a ticket to ride the train for the 5 days we'd be in Paris. Unfortunately they don't use the honor system like Berlin. Instead, you have to validate your ticket each time in order to get through the turnstile.
Since it was Saturday, the train station was very crowded. It was complete and udder madness trying to keep nearly 75 students (we split into 2 groups) together. The best part was that they expected to pack all of us onto an already full train.
When the train came it reminded me of black Friday. There was a mad rush to get on the train. The buzzer was going off for the doors to close. There were still several people trying to squeeze in. Lisa & I ran to another door just in time to see it close in our face. We watched as another guy pryed the doors open to get on the train. No way was I going to do that. Last week I just heard of a woman who was killed by trying to get on the S Bahn in Berlin while the doors were closing. We watched as everyone left on the train waving goodbye. Thankfully we knew what stop they were transferring trains at. We got on the next train and found our group still waiting at our stop. Disaster avoided.
When we were walking to the boat tour, we saw the place where Princess Diana was killed in the car wreck. The boat tour was a nice introduction to Paris, especially since it was a sunny, warm day!! We saw all the major sites from the river.
After the boat tour, Anna, Malia, Lisa, Chris, Keith, Trevor, & I decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower. Before we even got to the Eiffel Tower, there were peddlers trying to sell you mini Eiffel Towers. It turns out they are all over the city trying to sell their loot. When we got to the Eiffel Tower, we decided to take the stairs since the line was shorter and it cost less. The ticket to the top was only 8 euros if you took the stairs. After a few flights of stairs I understood why. It was a direct realization just how out of shape I am. They only had stairs to Platforms 1&2, but that was enough. We climbed the equivalent of 43 flights of stairs. Needless to say I was huffing and puffing and a sweaty mess when we got to the 2nd platform. Then we had to wait in line to take a tiny elevator to the top. They crammed so many people in there, and it moved so slow! They even had signs warming you to be careful of pickpocketing.
When we finally got to the top, it was definitely worth the wait. It was amazing beyond words to see the Paris skyline from above. It went on for as long as you could see. It was quite breathtaking! It was amazing to see a 360 degree view of Paris! Sadly, my camera couldn't quite capture what I was seeing, but you'll get an idea.
For supper we ate a little cafe. Our waiter was so funny! He kept cracking jokes in English. It was a relief to have one who spoke English. (He would be 1 of 2 nice people I met in Paris. Only 2!!) I got a croque monsieur, which turned out to be a "grilled ham & cheese" sandwich with a ton of cheese broiled on top. It was ok, better than other people's food. Malia order beef carpaccio. It turns out that is thinly sliced raw beef. It looked rather disgusting, but Malia was a trooper and ate most of it. I can't imagine eating raw meat like that!
After eating, we walked to the Arc de Triomphe. For quite some time we stood there trying to figure out how to get to the base. It is located in a giant 5-6 lane roundabout circle. Traffic flow was a nightmare around the circle already, much less trying to cross to the center. We finally figured out that there was a tunnel to get to the center. Everyday they light an eternal flame as part of their monument. It was pretty cool to see it. By this point, I was exhausted and not feeling well, so I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else.
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