6 posts from June 2007

Our last stop before our "vacation within a vacation” in Greece was Vienna. We were lucky to be able to stay with a friend from college, Nick, who has an apartment in the city and has been living there for about four months. The oppressive heat was probably the first thing we noticed upon arrival - the temperature for the three days we were there were hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first day we unloaded our things and then walked around the center of the city for a while. It is a beautiful Baroque masterpiece of glittering white, filled with lovely squares and echoes of the classical music the city is famous for. Mozart himself was born and lived here; it’s understandable that the city has a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it didn’t disappoint. We even saw a woman playing the piano on the street. Not a keyboard, a full-on piano on the cobblestones. She was amazing, but how did she even get it out there? Insane.

That night we went out to a party “outside of town.” Little did we know that meant the farmland 40 minutes outside of the city. We literally pulled up to a barn/storage hangar in the middle of a cornfield filled with people and paid five Euros for neon green bracelets, having no idea of what to expect once we got inside.

Alarmingly, we realized quite quickly that the average age at the party was hovering somewhere around 15, but a few out of place fifty year olds were keeping us from being true weirdoes. To be fair, it was a ton of fun, and the night was filled with insanely cheap drink specials and cheesy music (which I’ve come to expect). The DJ booth was actually two guys perched on top of a tractor with a well placed smoke machine nearby. It was classic.

The next day we decided to add another country to our itinerary – Slovakia! Little did we know that Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is just forty-five minutes from the center of Vienna by car. We traveled through beautiful fields of

wheat and corn until we reached endless rows of enormous windmills, attempting to harness the energy to fuel the growing cities around them. Bratislava was beautiful, and it was definitely fun to be able to say that we went outside of the EU just to have lunch. I’ve been to Eastern Europe, everyone! Gotta love it.

On Monday, Wes and I did the touristy thing and visited the palace Schloss Schonbrunn, which served as the center of the Austrio-Hungarian Empire when it was at its peak. The Austrians LOVE their emperors, and it’s strange to see the reverence they continue to hold them in. I didn’t quite understand why until I realized that there was never a revolution in Austria; their Emperors were just taken away from them after WWI, with the Treaty of Versailles. Very strange, and very interesting.

I especially liked hearing about Empress Elizabeth, known lovingly as Sisi, who is hands down one of the most beautiful Royals I’ve ever seen. Usually they look a little questionable what with all the inbreeding and lack of exercise, but she was a stunner. She also apparently didn’t really love her husband and spent most of her time gallivanting around Europe on her own and tending to her gorgeous floor-length curly hair (which, take it from me, is INSANE…I don’t know why anyone would want to have to tend to a mane like that).

Of course, our favorite part of the palace was the gardens, and we especially enjoyed the maze and the labyrinth. First, I wanted to race Wes to the center, but instead he convinced me to just do it with him while trying to beat the couple in front of us. To my intense consternation, they beat us by a full thirty seconds because of a wrong turn. Somehow I got over it, and we then climbed up to some pretty building which didn’t really serve a function other than to look nice on the top of the hill opposite the palace.

Vienna was definitely fun overall!

My pictures are still being strange, and I don’t have time to figure it out now, but I promise I will soon. Until then, here’s the link: http://www.flickr.com/gp/75994627@N00/950D81

Also, I will be MIA until at least July 3, since between now and then we’ll be on a boat touring the Greek Islands with Viv! I won’t have access to email, but rest assured I’ll take WAY too many photos.

Bye until then!

Munich, the capital of Bavaria. The place where some genius had the idea to combine two fabulous things, beer and gardens to create one of the most enjoyable outdoor activities. The site of the largest city park in continental Europe (only Dublin’s is larger), a beautiful green forest interspersed with lawns and rivers, a park larger even than Central Park.  The city most visited by tourists in Germany. I should state my bias right away – I didn’t like it as much as I liked Berlin. But that said, there were things about Munich that I really enjoyed, most notably everything having to do with gardens (both with beer and without, of course).

The first day we had in the city we spent following a suggested walking tour we found on one of our maps. We ended up seeing many of the “sights” the city has to offer right off the bat. We lunched with all the businessmen and women in the center of the city, we walked down the main shopping thoroughfares, we saw the royal gardens, and we had huge mugs of beer and warm crispy pretzels at the famous Hofbrauhaus. We even got out of the rain by watching Ocean’s 13 at the only movie theater that didn’t dub movies in German.

Not surprisingly, though walking around the city was fun, we ended up having a better time when we decided to spend the entire next day at the Englisher Garten (English Garden), the park I mentioned above. We knew it was large, but we were completely unprepared for its size and beauty. Ready for a day of lounging in the sun, we headed out with our picnic blanket and food. We found the perfect spot between a guy practicing yoga and an old shirtless couple right near the water. We even rented a rowboat and paddled lazily around the lake for an hour. It was wonderful.

The next day we weren’t sure what we wanted to do so we went out without a real plan. We ended up finding ourselves back at the English Garden (it’s that awesome!), where we stumbled upon something amazing. First we started to

notice people in bodysuits, carrying surfboards. I thought it was strange, but forgot all about it a few minutes later. Then, when we least expected it, we turned a corner and there between the trees was a group of surfers in full gear, riding the rather large wave created as the river rushed under a particular bridge. It was amazing. Random, surely…but amazing.

Next we followed the river past a lawn covered with teenagers in swimsuits, giggling and flirting with each other in small groups, taking in the sun. We kept walking past a waterfall, and then took a shortcut through the woods until we emerged at another large lawn. But this one was a little different. Some of you may know where I’m going with this already, but basically nude sunbathing is allowed in parts of the garden. Wes and I had no idea just how seriously people took this. There were naked people everywhere! Everywhere! I tried my best to conceal my blush as we power-walked through the crowd to the other side.  Those crazy Germans with their crazy nudity in city parks!

An ice cream and a few beer gardens later, we spent the rest of the day in the area around the university before the sky opened up and started dumping buckets full of water down on us. After a delicious dinner we ran to the U-Bahn and headed for home.

Next on to Vienna!

Photos still aren't working very well. Try this link instead:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/75994627@N00/6HE53C

I apologize for the late post - every time I've gotten internet I've spent most of my time trying to figure out why my photo slideshows are messed up. I'm not sure why the formatting changed, but I apologize if they're hard to see. I'll keep posting the flickr link so that those of you that are interested can still see the photos and read the captions.

So, Prague.

I had high hopes for Prague, as so many of my friends had said that it was their favorite European city. Though I did like it, I don’t think it would make my top ten for this trip. But, to be fair, it wasn’t the city itself that I didn’t like. It was the tourists.

Picture it - crowds and hoards of fanny-pack wielding, telephoto lens using, insanely slow walking tourists. Yelling to each other across Charles Bridge. Slamming into you with their camcorders aloft, recording who knows what while they ignore the human beings in their wake. I can’t even tell you how many times I wanted to yell “NO ONE is going to want to watch a ten minute jerky video segment of your feet as you walk across a bridge whipping your camera around – not even you.”

Arrgghhh!

Ok now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, I can concentrate on what we saw. First of all, one of the first things we noticed when we arrived was how many English-speaking tourists were around. It was at least 10x the amount I saw in every other city combined. Either that, or they were just louder about it. Also, while there, Wes and I ran into at least five Stag Parties. For those who don’t know, a Stag Party is basically what the Brits call Bachelor parties, the main difference being that it’s usually a Stag Weekend which involves a big group of friends traveling together to a place where the beer is cheap and there are good times to be had. We even noticed a few bars with signs saying that Stag Parties weren’t allowed in – so I guess the weekend we were there wasn’t a fluke. These guys were everywhere; singing in the squares, stumbling down side streets, chugging liters of Pilsner Urquell, and generally being merry and entertaining. A few of the grooms were even forced to wear tutus and tiaras as they traipsed around town.

The first day we walked around and explored the main square and the old town, reveling in the beauty of the buildings

and other sights. Apparently, the city’s splendor was spared from Hitler’s bombs in WWII because he thought it was too pretty to destroy.  Anyway, the particular gothic style found in many of the city’s most famous buildings give the city a kind of chilly grace – one can truly understand how a writer like Franz Kafka could live here and create his dark works of fiction.  Dark spires emerge from behind colorful facades, spiraling upwards like craggy reminders of days gone by. The history here is almost oppressive – everywhere you turn it stares you in the face. Granted, that was true in the old town but in the newer sections, chain stores and McDonalds signs snap you out of that reverie quite quickly, let me tell you.

Walking over the Charles Bridge (the Karluv Most) was a harrowing experience, what with the gothic statues staring down at you with disapproving glares, the clueless tourists clapping merrily at street performers while pickpockets rob them blind, and the hot sun beating down mercilessly on the back of your neck. I felt like a warrior making my way up to siege the castle. Wes and I finally fought our way through the throng and came out on the other side, only to decide it was too hot and we were too tired to climb the mountain to the castle just yet. Instead we hung out on a bench overlooking the river and watched tour boats maneuver the muddy waters as their multi-lingual voiceovers echoed through the valley.

True to our natures, we decided instead to hang out at a café while we watched Nadal and Federer duke it out for the French Open title. While watching, we both decided we can’t stand Nadal (I think it’s his annoying grunt that got me), and I was very sad when Federer lost (thinking of you, Amanda!)…so we drowned our sorrows until dinnertime.

We then wasted ten minutes of our lives we’ll never get back by waiting for the Astronomical Clock in the main square to do it’s thing on the hour. We weren’t sure what was going to happen, but we were hoping for something spectacular. Perhaps fireworks will go off? Or maybe the little statues will come to life and start hurling eggs at people? There were at least 300 other people waiting alongside us, so this had to be good. Of course we (along with the entire crowd) were sorely disappointed when all that happened was the tiny statues rotated in a circle for about five seconds while a little

skeleton rang a bell. Whoopadeedoo.

The next day we sucked it up and climbed up to the Castle, which is the oldest continuous seat of government in the world…Supposedly. It was fun listening to our British audioguide host drone on and on about the intrigues and politics of the Czech court in 1450-whenever, but after a while even the hardiest anthropologists need lunch. We headed out for some grub and took a detour through the old Jewish quarter. Here we ended up spending most of the afternoon wandering through the graveyard, which featured twelve layers of burials since there was little space for everyone. Many of the people who lived here were rounded up during WWII and the neighborhood is almost a living memorial to them.

Unfortunately, I didn’t learn much Czech in four days, but I am able to say “Do you speak English?” “Please” and “Thank you” somewhat convincingly, which is better than nothing.  All in all, I think the city was beautiful but I would have enjoyed it a bit more under different circumstances. I’m very glad we went, obviously, and I would urge any of you to go and see it for yourself. But first, I’d like to dispel a myth: the Czech Republic is not cheap. Beer may be cheaper than water, but that’s only because everything is expensive! Seriously, we didn’t save any money because of the horrid exchange rate for the American Dollar, so if you want to go while it’s still “cheap” I suggest you head out there last year, because it’s too late now.

Pictures!

Here's the link: http://www.flickr.com/gp/75994627@N00/B5La50

And even though the format is all messed up, here is the slideshow again:

This is it. This is why we travel. This is why we leave the comfort of our homes, our neighborhoods, and our countries. This is why we physically haul ourselves halfway across the world to have a meal in another city.  It’s why books, movies and classes can never really measure up to the real thing.

Actually being there, actually seeing where “history” has taken place makes all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit

together in a way they couldn’t otherwise. And for the opportunity to begin to understand what happened in Berlin (or at least, as much as one can understand without living through it or studying it for life), I am infinitely thankful. For the opportunity to visit Berlin, and to spend three often difficult days focusing on the varied phases the city has lived through, I am thankful.

I was aware going in that I knew pathetically little about the capital city of Berlin. Immediately upon arrival, Wes and I were entranced with the city and its history.  We started asking each other questions about what had happened here and when we realized we were both pretty fuzzy on the details, we decided that this might be a good city for a tour.  When we arrived at our hostel (which was great by the way) we found out about a great tour that takes you walking all

around the city. The only downside? It’s eight hours long. That’s a LONG day.

We decided to sleep on it, and went out in the neighborhood for dinner and drinks. Our hostel was located in trendy Prenzlauer Berg, in what was once East Berlin. Yes friends, we were staying on the other side of the wall. Well, kind of. Anyway, Prenzlauer Berg was awesome! It was the Brooklyn of Berlin. The main drag through the area was littered with funky graffiti art, chill lounges and outdoor bars, and quirky shops. We were lucky, and chose a seat at a bar right next to what happened to be the best pizza in Berlin! No joke, this was some GOOD stuff. It was thin crust, and they had a real wood fired oven! Really, I saw them make it! I was in heaven. We went back and ate there the next night too (classic).

The next morning we were ready for our eight-hour journey through town. We had decided the tour was the best way for us to put everything in context, not to mention it was highly unlikely that we’d see all the sights on our own without someone showing us where to go.  Immediately we met and made friends with two fellow Americans, two guys originally from San Diego and now going to school in NYC (Columbia and NYU). The four of us ended up spending most of our time together after that point. They were fabulous.

Aaaanyway, the tour was such a great idea. Our tour guide was originally from Montreal, a girl who has been living in Berlin for years. She has a Masters in Jewish History which proved immensely useful for our purposes. She was also quite the character. Our group ended up getting to know each other a fair amount given the amount of time we would spend together. In that eight hours, we saw:

• The old Synagogue
• The Jewish girls school and Jewish hospital
• A building that was vacated like so many others after being destroyed in the war (literally, the back was missing), which had been COVERED in graffiti and filled with squatters. Eventually, the artists living there asked the EU for a grant in order to make it into a true cultural center, and now it has a few bars and a huge outdoor area, and there is art everywhere.
• The building used as the gateway between East and West, the passport control center were so many people were forced to say goodbye to family and friends throughout the years. The city was still trying to figure out what to do with it (it has historical importance, but so many people hate it and all it represents).
• The American Embassy and the Soviet Embassy (which took up an entire city block)
• Brandenburg Gate
• The Parliament (which, when it burned down mysteriously, was the reason Hitler was given total control of the government)
• Memorial to the Soviet Soldiers who died defending the Parliament during WWII
• Markings of where the wall once stood
• Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Amazing. Sobering. Powerful.)
• Hitler’s Bunker (There was no official marking of the site. He gets no love)
• Checkpoint Charlie (where, for the only time during the Cold War, US and Soviet troops pointed tanks and guns directly at each other)
  
• The old Airforce Building, which had an East German communist propaganda painting on the side of it
• A standing piece of the wall
• Museum Island
• The Prussian Square (with the Opera house, and the theater)
• Humboldt University square, where thousands of books were burned before WWII, which was the first time books had been burned like that in Europe since the middle ages. Albert Einstein once taught there.
  
• The old East German government building which is 95% torn down, but we could still see the one-way copper tinted glass which people hated so much

So as you can see, we definitely took in a lot. I wish I could explain to you all the history of the city, especially in the context of Germany’s history as a whole, but it would take more time than I have to explain. I will urge you all to take

a minute or two to read up about it because there is a lot that I had no idea about. Wes bought a book about the East German secret police, the Stasi, and I bought Elie Wiesel’s Night, which I thought was an appropriate book to read given our plans for the next day.

During the tour, our guide had mentioned that there was going to be an outdoor showing that night of The Lives of Others, the film that won the Best Foreign Film Oscar just this past year. The movie is actually about the Stasi in East Germany, specifically about a writer in East Berlin. The four of us hopped in a cab and somehow miraculously found our way to this random little park on the other side of the city. There was a huge screen set up with hundreds of reclining chairs on the grass. Glittering lights encircled the area, and big bottles of German beer were served alongside hot salty popcorn. It was the best movie theater I’ve ever been in, and the movie was fantastic. I urge all of you to

see it! But the combined experience of being able to see that movie after the informative day we had just had was absolutely perfect. I’ll never forget it!

The next morning we joined yet another tour group in order to visit the Nazi concentration camp called Sachsenhausen, 30 km north of Berlin. Though this was not a death camp, over 30,000 people lost their lives here, mostly political opponents of the Nazi party, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Scinti and Roma. I won’t even try to convey how difficult it was to be there. All I can say is that I am very glad I went. I didn’t take many photos. To do so I felt would have been inappropriate to all those who were murdered inside those walls.

We had dinner with Hunter and Ryan down the street that night and turned in early. After two full days of both physical and emotional fatigue, we were ready for some rest.

We left late the next day for Prague! Check out the photos below.

This slideshow isn't working too well. Instead, try using this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianadolgetta/sets/72157600333821071/

Known more for what you’re allowed to do there than for what the city is actually all about, Amsterdam has a reputation that precedes it.  Wes and I knew going in that there were things about the city that would shock us since we’re coming from the relatively uptight USA. What we didn’t realize was that there is so much more to Amsterdam than coffeeshops and the red light district. In fact, though those things were interesting to see, we found ourselves spending the majority of our time walking the tree lined canals, exploring the trendy and beautiful neighborhoods

spattered around the city, watching people ride by on bicycles, visiting fabulous museums, and winding through the canals in our very own (rented) motorboat.

A maze of canals (well, not really a maze per se, but it was easy to get confused) encircling the city center provided a beautiful backdrop for us as we checked into our apartment. We had rented one for the three nights since there was little else available at the time. It ended up being a fabulous plan. As we learned in Barcelona, renting an apartment is a great way to feel like you are truly living in a city even if you are only there for a short while. We shopped at the local market, scaled the mountainous stairs (seriously, they were completely vertical) and enjoyed heaving the windows open as passerby serenaded us throughout the night with off-key melodies and giggles.

We decided to cook for ourselves the first night, but went out for drinks afterwards. It being a Saturday night, the canals were FILLED with groups of people – young and old – on boats, drinking, laughing and even grilling hamburgers

as they cruised the waters.  We sat and watched as hordes of boats passed our little canal-side bar. There were boats containing groups of young men, beers in hand, eyes glued to the sidewalks as they splashed by. There were families with a ton of kids, everyone packed onto the craft to enjoy yummy snacks placed on little tables in the center of the boats. And there were parties of just women, chatting and eating, backs to the streets and facing each other as they floated by drinking wine and gossiping. Our favorite was definitely the Opera Boat: At one point, we heard Pavarotti echoing off the bridge and townhouses as we sat at the café, and expected a boat full of people to appear (perhaps an Italian family?) in a few moments. Instead, two middle aged men, both standing with arms outstretched clutching Heineken beers emerged from the tunnel belting out the song along with their radio. It was priceless.

The next morning we headed out to the Van Gogh museum, where we spent several enjoyable hours learning more about the famous Dutchman and enjoying his breathtaking work. We passed the Rijksmuseum (Holland’s Louvre) but decided not to go inside since there was renovation work going on and we didn’t have that much time. Instead we grabbed lunch at a fabulous sidewalk café, stopped at a coffee shop, and then visited the Anne Frank House to round off the day. I can’t even express how moved I was by the house. I read Anne Frank’s Diary many years ago, but being there and going through the museum made me want to read it again. I bought a copy of Tales From the Secret Annex, which includes many of the short stories and pieces of fiction she wrote while she was living in the house with her family. Even though I just bought it yesterday, I’m almost done already. She was a fabulous writer, and an

amazing young woman.

As Monday was a nice day, we decided to walk around the city a bit more. We walked through the Red Light district, but since it wasn’t nighttime I think we missed most of the real debauchery. Instead we settled down for a lunch al fresco overlooking the Amstel river. We stopped for a few moments rest at Rembrandtplein Park, and then walked by the grandiose houses on the central canal ring before heading home for dinner.

We saved the best for last, and walked to the docks to rent a motorboat with which to really explore the city. We made friends with Ron, the man who owned the motorboat rental place. He decided that Wes got his height from his Norwegian and Scottish background, and also chided us for only spending 3 days in Amsterdam (“Silly Americans, always rushing from place to place”). He’s absolutely right, of course, but there’s just so much I want to see! Anyway, we hopped in our little aluminum boat and started cracking up just minutes later when Wes turned the little electric engine to full blast and realized that we couldn’t create a wake if we tried. We were going slower than people walking on the side of the road. It was hilarious. At one point, a boat with a 5-horsepower engine BLEW by us. We couldn’t stop laughing. We did pass one boat though, a 50 year old clunker with a shoddy gas engine. We took a photo for proof.

After several close calls involving narrowly sideswiping tour boats with very loud horns, we started getting the hang of

it. I didn’t really want to take the rudder since with all the traffic and our inability to really go anywhere faster than a snail, I thought it would be smarter to leave it to Wes. El Capitan, as he was tenderly known by his crew, was fabulous and we had the most enjoyable two hours I could have imagined. What a great day.

Amsterdam has been Wes’s favorite city so far, and I would be lying if I didn’t say it was up there on my list too. There was a kind of quiet serenity over the whole place, and if I had to describe it, I’d probably liken it to a cross between the Back Bay in Boston and the West Village in NYC (but really West, close to the Hudson, where all the townhouses are), with Canals in the middle of all the roads, and boats thrown in. Also, everyone has to ride bicycles. Oh, and also everyone would be really tall. So really, not like those places at all. Wow, it’s a lot harder to explain that than I thought it would be. Forgive that lapse of language ability…on to the photos.

Enjoy!

Paris, the city of light. City of crepes with Nutella, accordion playing on the street, fancy shops, high art, cigarettes, and romance. What can you say about Paris that hasn’t already been said?

I will state my obvious bias from the outset and admit that my favorite movie is Amelie, a French film about a young woman who lives in the neighborhood of Montmartre. Therefore, I was destined to love Paris before I even set foot in

France.  

In my head, I thought that Paris was going to be exactly like it is in Amelie, and I couldn’t wait to jump in to my favorite movie set. In some ways, I was right. The city was just as luminous, exciting and beautiful in real life as it is in my favorite film. But of course, it is also a real-life, breathing, living city, where ordinary people live, work and play. It’s not just a static backdrop – it’s a beautiful, yet sometimes gritty place where people carry out their business among centuries of history.

We began on a fabulous note, meeting Wes’s parents at our hotel, which was right off the Place de la Concorde. It goes without saying that our hotel was absolutely amazing, and I doubt I’ll ever be able to stay at such a place again. Can’t say enough good things about it. Also, the windowsills were perfect for me to sit and read in.  ‘Nuff said.

The first day we walked out into the huge Place de la Concorde and admired the general grandness of that enormous square. We walked towards the Eiffel Tower, as clearly that was the first place we had to go. We stopped along the way for a fantastic lunch (best Mille Fuille ever), but when we arrived at the tower, we decided to bypass it because of the gargantuan lines. We instead walked up to the Arc de Triumph and the Champs Elysees where I had to duck into a few places to attempt to replenish my nonexistent wardrobe.

That night we decided to check out our own neighborhood for dinner and stumbled upon the PERFECT place. It was a small, nondescript restaurant with a French-only menu (which Wes and I have learned is the only way to go, even if you have no idea what you’re ordering), and a completely French clientele. C’est parfait! We sat down and ended up having what was to be the best meal of our time in Paris. I don’t want to bore you with the details, but I had FROG’S LEGS. And they were succulent.

The next day, we headed out early to check out the Jardin de Tuilleries and walk to the Ile

de la Cite to see Notre Dame. The Jardin was awesome, and as we approached the Louvre we realized that the lines were really short. We decided to take advantage of the situation and go in. Wes and I checked out the Italian and French wings thoroughly (we only had a few hours), and I left feeling pretty satisfied, even though I didn’t see most of the museum. But it’s probably better to see a small part thoroughly than to see only a little bit of the whole thing. The worst part was DEFINITELY the Mona Lisa, where a woman literally used me as a tripod for her camera (which, by the way, you were not allowed to use), leaning on BOTH of my shoulders as she took a photo on top of my head. It took all of my self-control not to punch her in the face. Besides the fact that she was flagrantly ignoring the ten thousand signs telling you not to, her use of the flash is going to ruin that beautiful painting for the generations to come…and all for some rushed, probably fuzzy photo that no one cares about. People can be so ridiculous. The best part of the museum for me was the large format French classical paintings, which were enormous and absolutely beautiful.

After that we walked to Notre Dame, and at that point it was pouring rain. We went inside and checked it out. I’ve stopped keeping count, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is my 1000th church. Yes it was beautiful, whoopdeedoo. Next!

We then walked to Berthillon, a famous ice cream maker on the Ile St. Louis (thanks, Katherine Nesbeda!) where I had the BEST passion fruit sorbet ever. Since it was raining so hard, we decided to grab a cab home. It was harder to do than we thought it would be, and ended up walking all the way past the town hall before we found one willing to take the four of us.  

That night we went to a restaurant frequented by Hemingway, called the Closerie. Though it was gorgeous, Wes and I both had soups that featured raw egg and one of us would end up paying for that decision dearly.

After dinner, we made a spontaneous group decision to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower now that the lines would probably be shorter. It was FREEZING cold and raining, but it ended up being totally worth it. When we finally got to the top (almost 2 hours later), we were all floored by the view. Well, all of us except for Elyse who was smart enough not to go outside into the hurricane-force winds. I, of course, was wearing a skirt (what a moron) and besides being numb from the hips down, I also caught about 300 people pointing and laughing at me as they bundled in their fleece

jackets and gloves.  Hey, it’s ok…I’m in Paris!

The next day, it was raining horribly, and Elyse and I consulted our guidebooks over breakfast to decide what we should do. As it was Monday, almost every museum was closed. There were few options available to us that weren’t outdoors, so we decided to head to Montmartre and walk around a bit. We followed a walking tour recommended by the Michelin guide, which took us past everything we wanted to see. Unfortunately, Wes was feeling nauseous and we began to realize that he probably had food poisoning. Though we had a great time walking around, we had to go back home to let Wes lay down. We saw the Sacre Coeur, the Montmartre vineyard, the Moulin (not the Moulin Rouge…it’s an ACTUAL windmill), and the place where I would like to live (seriously), and it was a thoroughly enjoyable day in general.

Tuesday morning, Wes was still feeling awful and we knew something was seriously wrong. Even though we thought it

was probably food poisoning, we called for a doctor who prescribed Wes some medicine and confirmed what we already knew. At that point there was nothing to do but wait for him to get better. The poor guy couldn’t even stand up without feeling dizzy.  Trying to make the most of the day, Elyse and I visited the Musee D’Orsay, which was AWESOME! I love love loved it. Loved. Loved. Then, I got a haircut. A real Parisian haircut!

On Wednesday, Wes was feeling a bit better so we chanced a day trip to Versailles. We rented a car, and after a hair-raising scene in the 12-lane, no-rules madness also known as the Arc de Triumphe, we arrived. Unfortunately the weather still wasn’t cooperating, and the rain and chill persisted. Versailles itself was RIDICULOUS. There really is no other word. We all decided that the people that built this must have been insane. My favorite part of the entire thing was Marie Antoinette’s Petit Trianon (hey Book Club girls…so glad I read her bio), where I could have spent days, never mind hours. It was a peaceful oasis and my ideal living space. Besides that townhouse in Montmartre, of course. That night we went out for dinner in the Latin Quarter, which was lively and fun.

The next day, we switched to another hotel (we were originally planning on going to Brussels for Thursday and Friday nights, but since Wes was under the weather, Elyse and Rick decided to stay and we cut out Brussels from our itinerary) right next to the Opera.  The hotel was just as awesome as the last, and maybe even a bit more so because it was covered with bookshelves – bookshelves everywhere! Hurrah! Also, we had a balcony on the fifth floor so I could people watch on all the chic Parisians.

On Thursday, Rick, Elyse and I had lunch at a cute brasserie (awesome onion soup), and a fun dinner right at our very own hotel (have I mentioned that I LOVE cheese?). Friday was a bit more eventful since Wes was feeling much

better. We started with a walk all the way from the Opera to the Bastille (which was underwhelming). The walk itself was awesome, full of little shortcuts and secret courtyards and plazas which were ours to discover. We went to the top floor of the Pompidou Center for lunch (AMAZING VIEW, thanks again KN) and then to the Jardin de Luxembourg for a leisurely walk around the park.  There was a running joke among the four of us that we kept missing the Orangerie’s opening times, and Elyse really wanted to go. We took a cab there and ended up losing heart at the entrance – we just weren’t meant to do it. Instead we hung out in a Salon de The (Elyse and I had green tea infused with lotus flower and grapefruit – MMMMmmm), and napped before dinner.

We dined at a great little Italian place on our last night, which was sad since we had become used to hanging out together. I am so happy the Cosgriffs came to Paris with us. It was SO MUCH FUN.  Now let’s just hope my parents decide to do the same thing in Italy!

The next day we departed for Amsterdam! Pics from Paris are below: