A brief history of my last hours in Paris...
I decked to keep with ym walking tour and did a forced march down to Saint Chappelle. It took almost two hours, which is slightly embarrassing. I think I am unable to keep up a fast pact without following momma bear around NYC. The people at Saint Chappelle would not let me in for free though I claimed to be under eighteen. I do not think anyone should be charged for going into a church. However they are doing a huge reconstruction project on the stain glassed windows so I didn't feel as bad. Plus the angry French lady gave me student discount. Inside, the church is really small but the windows are beautiful. The ones they have cleaned and put back in their places ajd literally gleaming while the ones on the other side seem as if they have not been touched since they were built 1000 years ago. Not nearly as cool as Notre Dame, but I still recommend it. You can read the stained glasses windows to essentially read the story of the bible. I tried this, it's not easy, and then moved on.
I grabbed a panini, a piece of cake and a lemonade at this little cafe and then headed to the Louvre. Of course, the louvre, a ridiculously old building is marked by the glass pyramid, which is rather modern. I didn't realize you get to walk into the pyramid to get to the exhibits. Like you go underground. I was quite fascinated by this. After buying my ticket for a whopping 9.50 (I also believe all museums should be free. Apparently I am only willing to pay for food, desserts and plane tickets), I headed for Italian paintings. Now you may interpret this as me wanting to see the Mona Lisa. No dear readers. I think the Mona Lisa is quite ugly. Actually the feelings I harbor towards the Mona Lisa are the same as the ones my dear friend Genna, studying abroad in London, feels towards Stonehenge. We don't get what the big deal is. I recognized several paintings in this grand hallway, which made me feel pretty good about myself. I forgot that the Virgin and babies by Cimabiu which I studied in Art History was located here, so I was pleased to see that. Also this painting that symbolizes Neo-Classicism which was a prompt for a DBQ in high school was there. (I will not bore you with details for what a DBQ is, but thinking about them gives me hives.)
Outside the Louvre
Then I enter this room where people are crowded around this wall. I'm like "ohh... What's this?" to my dismay, it was the tiny Mona Lisa. Of course, I still felt compelled to photograph it and then move swiftly along. I browsed the Spanish paintings and the French sculpture gardens for awhile and then went to Ancient Greece and Egypt. After this experience I am starting to doubt there is anything left in Egypt. There are about twenty sarcophaguses in this one room. There is also a mummy, which has to be on the top ten coolest things I have seen. Currently, I think the Alps still have the number one spot, or maybe the Eiffel Tower. Let me just tell you, there were not a bunch of tourists hoarded around three thousand year old dead guy and they were truly missing out.
After this, I spent some time reading in the sculpture garden outside. I sipped my caramel macchiato (yes, I paid way too much for it) and read Twilight... What else? I knew the sun was setting in an hour so I went to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. To pass the time before the light show, I talked to this kid who had a Boston Red Sox hat on. We bonded over a mutual love for Boston. Now, light show is a strong term for what they do at the Eiffel Tower. It basically just sparkles on the hour for about five minutes. I thought music would accompany it, so I was slightly miffed. Regardless, it was getting cold so I began the march back to the hostel, only stopping to pee and buy groceries for din din. I didn't get back until ten and packed up the pack to be ready to leave for London. I was rising at five!
Ooooh shiny
Anyways, those were my three entries devoted to Paris, my love.
XO
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