March 2, 2010
Paris, Paris, Paris… chewed me up and spit me out. But I had a great time! Like my last excursion out of the UK, I learned a lot, took way to many pictures, and had so much fun. Not everything went right, but those were probably the most memorable times. I’ll start from the beginning because there is no way I could completely summarize this crazy weekend in a sentence or two. Highs and lows, laughs and near tears, surprises and disappointments. We experienced it all in the city of lights (and bad smells, and rude French people, and crepes, yummy yummy crepes).
So Thursday… It seems so long ago now, but we visited the Tower of London for history class before we left for Paris. And the Tower of London was awesome. I loved it! We got up way too early (7:00AM, gasp!) to meet John, our professor, at the tower at nine. What a beautiful day it was. Sunny days in London are so rare, I’ll never devalue blue sky and sun again. John led our group of about 25 around the grounds before going into the tower. We found the place where beheadings were popular during the Tudor period. But only if you were popular enough to draw a large crowd (think dukes, bishops, and big time criminals) could you be executed out here. All those other petty thieves were given a less ceremonious execution at the corner of Hyde Park. Apparently, you had to tip the executioner or else he might not give it his best swing the first time – maybe miss by an inch or not go all the way through – and he’d have to swing a few times before the job was done properly. Sorry, that is really disturbing, but I thought it was quite entertaining when John told us some stories of beheadings gone wrong.
Moving on…we entered the Tower through traitor’s gate! If you passed through this gate, which connects the tower directly to the Thames, it meant you were on your way to a swift execution. After your parade down the Thames, they went straight to business and then put your head on a spike on Tower Bridge. Today, the gate is separated from the Thames by an embankment you can walk down, along the river. What used to be a great place of punishment, death, and torture is now a tourist attraction and a place for leisurely walks by the river!
Tower of London has 21 towers in all... we toured about seven I think. First, we hit up a tower that housed serious prisoners (they believed in the wrong religion or something). There was all kinds of graffiti on the wall a.k.a. engravings denouncing the government or something radical. These people must have been locked up for a long, long time because these engravings were intensely detailed. Works of art! After that tour, we wondered into the courtyard and met at another popular spot for beheadings. This one for famous people that might draw too large of a crowd and entice a riot (!). Think Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard. Henry VIII loved beheadings.
Next, we found the crown jewels. They were impressive, shiny, and nice. Glittering crowns, a scepter with a huge diamond, and robes lined in gold. You know, the stuff I wear everyday. Outside the tower that held the crown jewels there were kids marching along beside a guard dressed in red. They were so cute! Every time the guard would halt and turn, the kids would scramble to keep up with him. I couldn’t have kept a straight face if I was that guy.
And that pretty much sums up my favorite parts of the Tower of London. After class ended, we scrambled onto the Tube to get all of our last minute stuff done at home before we left for France. I rushed to finish my theatre paper because I left it for the last minute, of course. Then, I ran to exchange my pounds for euros before jumping back on the tube headed for the train station.
St. Pancreas train station (yes, like the body organ) was so different from any airport... I had a minor freak out when we went through security because I didn’t have all of liquids in a plastic bag. They didn’t care at all. They barely checked by bag as it went through the x-ray machine. That both relieved me and scared me a bit. Anyone could pass anything through that lax test! I’m going to be in a tunnel under a huge body of water! That is almost as bad as 30,000 feet in the air! No, I didn’t really freak out that much. I was just happy to pass through customs once again with no hassle. Another stamp in my passport! That thing is filling up… three whole pages!
The train ride to France was so relaxing and fun. We actually had some leg room and could lean our seat back… ahh the luxuries of rail travel. I got so comfortable that I fell asleep and totally missed the part where we went underneath the tunnel! What the heck?!?! Anyway, before I knew it, we were in France, sailing through the countryside. And two hours after we left London, we arrived in Paris at Gare du Nord station. Which, conveniently, was located only a few blocks from our hostel.
I had I minor freak out when we got off the train. Everyone spoke French! Of course, I knew about this, but it hadn’t really hit me until I couldn’t understand anything that was going on around me. I was lost and overwhelmed for a minutes, until Hallie saved me. She took a few semesters of French and knew the basics. She taught me “Help, I’m lost”, “Thank you”, “Do you speak English?” and “I love you”. That’s all I need to know, right? The shock of not being able to understand the most basic signs and sayings never really wore off, but I got used to being in a constant state of “Huh?”.
As we made our way to our hostel, Julie, Laurel, Hal, and I took in the city for the first time. We were staying in the part of Paris called Monmarte. I didn’t know much about it until our tour the next day, but apparently it is quite the trendy, young area. Lots of Parisian charm and cafes! And our hostel was right in the heart of Monmarte. We found our little room in the second floor and settled in. After about five minutes, we realized we were starving and headed out into to the great, French-speaking unknown to find some supper. The receptionist at the hostel recommended a good restaurant and we went straight there. I had the best French Onion soup I’ve ever had in my life. In fact, I think it was the first bowl French Onion I’ve ever had. And I didn’t even know that I ordered it because the entire menu was in French. So. Over. My head. But so goooood. French food quickly found a place in my heart.
After our delicious dinner, we headed back to Le Village Hostel to plan our weekend. And we were pretty tired so we slept a bit too! More of Paris tomorrow!
Love,
Kelly
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