Paint

After the pants debacle of the night before I knew I had to do something to alleviate my ripped pants situation. So I showered and ate the breakfast again then got my stuff all packed to leave at the hostel for the day. The woman working at the desk told me of a mall down the road, Place d'Italie, so I went there (picture 1). It was still early (9 or so) so the mall was pretty empty and the shops were just opening. I went into a store called Printemps which looked like Macy's. The prices were like Macy's as well. 80 euros for jeans! Yikes! I moved on to a sports store because I knew they usually had more reasonable prices. I found a pair of zip-off hiking pants for 30 euros. Score! I have always wanted a pair of pants like that so I guess in the end it was kind of good thing. The pants are size XXL though. How insane is that! I am not fat and I have to get pants that big in Paris. Europe is weird.

Now that I had some pants to where (I wore my running shorts to the mall), I took the Metro (picture 2) to Centre Pompidou (picture 3). This is a very cool building. There are no walls so you can see all the industrial parts and they painted them bright colors. I really liked it. The Modern Art Museum is inside. I was going to go into the museum but the line was at least a half hour long and it was 9 euros to enter. church and walked around the When I go back to Paris some day I will visit this museum. They have a ton of really good early nineteenth century paintings (cubism, surrealism, etc.). I walked over to Les Halls next. There has been a market of some sort at this place for over a thousand years. The most recent incarnation is an above/below ground mall. I walked through it for a little bit but it wasn't that interesting inside so I left. I went to St. Eustache Church next (picture 4). I sat inside the church for a while resting and soaking it in. I liked the inside a lot. It was like a downsized Notre Dame inside. There were quite a few people inside but it was still quiet and peaceful. I left the park that surrounds Les Halls. The sun started shining and it was nice.

I walked along the Seine to the Musee d'Orsay. This is a super famous museum and holds the best collection of Impressionist art in the world. It is housed in an old train station. The main hall has statues and holds the galleries of pre-Impressionist paintings, the people that paved the way for the Impressionists. It is very impressive to walk in and see the whole train station lay out in front of you. It was about lunch time now so I sat down in between the statues and had my lunch (picture 5). The appetizer was a huge Fiji apple and a banana. It was great. The main course (and dessert) was a bunch of strawberry and white chocolate granola bars I bought at a grocery store. THEY WERE AMAZING. I actually had them the day before in the Versailles garden but they tasted better when surrounded by awesome art. Honestly, the best granola bars I have ever had. Anyway, right when I was finishing them a guard came up told me I couldn't eat there. Perfect timing, I had just finished. I walked around all the galleries. You could take pictures inside which I thought was weird for an art gallery. I love the Impressionists and there were a few paintings that I really, really liked. One was "Charing Cross Bridge" by Derain (picture 6). Another fauvist painting by him. I liked it because it was of London and because it was a fauvist. There were a ton of paintings by Van Gogh and I guess if I had to pick one favorite it would be "Midday" (picture 7). The usual Van Gogh swirls wrap me in a warm blanket and make me feel all fuzzy inside. There were a ton of Monet's as well, "Water Lilies" and "Rouen Cathedral" two famous ones. Of course, my favorite style of painting of all, pointillism was also well represented. I liked all of them but my favorite was "Beach at Heist" by Georges Lemmen (picture 8). It makes me want to go to a beach so bad. I bought a magnet of this painting. I walked around for a while and examined more of them. While I was navigating the museum, I, on accident, followed a pretty cute girl around. She looked about my age but I didn't say anything to her. Oh well.

I walked over to the Hotel des Invalides next. It is a big complex of museums and a church. I went inside the church. It was pretty nice inside but I have seen better. I sat and rested for a while. Hotel des Invalides is famous for holding Napoleon's Tomb. Again, it was a pretty steep price for something that I just wasn't interested in and didn't want to spend the time examining. I don't feel bad about that. The church has a golden dome which was shining very nicely in the sunshine (picture 9). Next stop was the Champ de Mars. A really long expanse of grass from the Military School up to the Eiffel Tower. The Tower was just as good in the sunshine. I walked down the Champ for a while and sat on a bench in the sunshine and ate some cookies. I also read a little bit and just watched the people go by. It felt great and was something I hope I remember for a long time.

I walked over to the Eiffel Tower. My plan was to go up the steps because it is cheaper and because the lines for the elevators were CRAZY long. As I walked up, they closed off the stairs. I was about a minute too late. Shucks. I waited in line for the elevator but the more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to do. The usual things, long line, expensive, would have rather done or seen something else, and the stupid guys selling these dumb metal key chains constantly walking around shaking them made me decide it was a bad idea. I crossed the Seine and over to the the Trocadero. It is up on a hill and give the best views of the Tower (picture 10). Fantastic clouds. I was so glad it was sunny. There were street performers and lots of people just hanging out. I decided to walk over to the Arc de Triomphe next.

It was a much easier walk when I wasn't exhausted, it wasn't raining, and it wasn't dark. I walked past a bunch of cafes and a cool flower shop. The Arc de Triomphe was built in honor of one of Napoleon's victories. It took over 20 years and he was long gone when it was finally completed. It is the largest single arch in the world. It is located where twelve streets all meet. I happened to walk to it when the ceremony of relighting the tomb of the unknown soldier was going on. The tomb is located under the arch. I ascended the stairs to the top. There were great views all around. Down one street to La Defense, the big commercial development on the outer edges of the city. Down the opposite street, the Champs Elysees, to the Louvre and Place de la Concorde. The Eiffel Tower was there and the Tour Montparnasse (a big black monstrosity which was the cause of the building height restrictions in central Paris). Sacre Couer was visible perched up on top of the hill. It was so nice on top. Three people from CA took my picture for me with the Eiffel Tower hanging out back there (picture 12). One girl said she was studying in Paris and visited London but liked Paris a lot more. I disagree but that's ok. I came down for the Arc and hopped on the Metro.

I got off at Notre Dame for one last look (picture 13). It was amazing in the late afternoon/evening light. Fantastic. The Seine with the setting sun was also great (picture 14). As most of you know (or should know by now), one of my favorite things in the world is the sun and water combo. I walked back to my hostel. On the way I bought a Turkish chicken sandwich and fries. French Fries are popular in Paris even though they were invented in Belgium. I grabbed my stuff from the hostel, not before taking a picture, and hopped on the Metro again to go to the bus station. I checked in and waited. The scene getting on the coach was nuts. People were bringing their luggage (big bags) onto the coach and the driver was telling them not to. People weren't checking in like they were supposed to. There was a huge mob push to get on the coach first. Craziness prevailed. I sat up front near the driver who played really crappy 80s hair band music the entire ride. Not pleasant. But I made it through and back to Victoria Station in one piece.

Paris was a great trip. There were so many things that I wish I could have done but that doesn't really matter. I still had a lot of fun and many adventures. I can't wait until I go back!