spring break 2

okay soo before i finished the last post, the power went out (a scheuled outage) and i had to leave. rachel, alison and maegan wanted to go on a walking tour that julie and i weren't interested in. we ended up taking the metro then walking from our hostel to the moulin rouge/red light district, which is moderately close. i never realized how large of a city paris was! we then walked a long way to the arc de triomphe, which is enormous! again, i had no idea. it looked so cool at night. and the best part was the eiffel tower in the background. we met the other three and started the hike to the tower (it was just a long way because we had no idea where we were going)! okay so then we paid the money to go all the way to the top! it was absolutely amazing. the eiffel tower is HUGE and stunning. and every hour on the hour the whole thing sparkles for 10 minutes. it was almost magical. i took photos and videos that will be shared later.

okay...again, i did not publish the post right away, so it is now tuesday...say 2 in paris. we were exhausted from last nights activities, but we woke up early anyway to get free breakfast at the hostel. we then took the metro to a train station and then took a train to versailles. unfortunately, the weather today is cold and rainy. yesterday was thankfully gorgeous (so at least we got one good day).

so there was scaffolding all over the front of the palace, which was a huge dissapointment because i didn't even recognize it. however, we went inside and it was everything i had seen in pictures, read about and expected. everything in the palace was very ornate and large...from the chandeliers to the beds. i think my favorite part was the coronation room where there were enormous paintings on the walls. the hall of mirrors was very cool also. i bet the gardens are gorgeous when the weather is nice. the two fountains behind the palace were not full and everything was just so wet! i can imagine though how amazing it is when everything is green.

i am very tired now...we just got back to our hostel. tomorrow is another big day full of notre dame, montmarte and the louve (which is free wednesday nights).
i wish the weather was a bit nicer, but i fortunately packed accordingly. sooo overall i like paris so far. not to mention the fact that parisians are 100 times friendlier than romans. i came here expecting to be hated and disrespected and everything just because all the stuff i have heard about the french hating americans. i really haven't witnessed any of that...all store owners and ticket sellers are nice. that is definitely a relief! that's all for now.