So today started out like every other American day, going to Starbucks (oh yeah!). I know your in Paris, there are cafes all over the place why got to Starbucks? Because when I order cafe in one of those I get a tiny shot glass of coffee for five dollars, for six you can at least get a decent sized portion of coffee at SB (this is a paid product placement). After breakfast we headed off to Jardin du Luxembourg and the Pantheon. The garden is very beautiful, though like Versailles I would think it even better in summer. I got to see the Pantheon last time, but didn't go/know you could go inside, the inside is sublime (many architecture students making sketches of the buildings unique features. In the crypt is where Hugo, Dumas, and Voltaire are now buried (to mention a few). It was at this time that the day started to take a turn for the worse (meaning the weather). Every day the forecast has been rain, but it only ends up just sprinkling in the afternoon, except for today when we wanted to do a lot of outdoor activities (Murphy's Law). To get out of the rain, the Musee de Orsay offered comfort and a good cappuccino (that was for you Alex). This museum has a huge collection of Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, and Rodin. It is often hard to enjoy such museums because of there sheer mass, so much artwork in such a little time, you have to put horse blinders on to not get sidetracked. For a side note, why do people feel it is acceptable/needed to take pictures with famous art? The people that have the six thousand dollar cameras that sit there clicking away at every Monet and Rodin, put the camera down! Unless you are an art history professor on sabbatical or an art photographer, just enjoy the art work and leave the picture taking to the professionals. After some lunch it was off to the Rodin museum to keep getting out of the rain, which the first thing they did when we got in was shove us back outside for the first part of the exhibit. Finally we ended at Napoleon's tomb, man that guy has the biggest ego ever! Who needs a gold domed building ten stories high to be there tomb? (a short man that's who). Tomorrow is Thanksgiving for you people back home, but we are off to London on the Chunnel.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Nathaniel out!
P.S. Happy Birthday Grandpa!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Stories from Paris: an abbreviated tale
Alright, I finally got an internet card, in fact I wanted one for just one hour, but the hotel was out of those so now I am using one that was already purchased and thus stealing internet (my luck continues to Paris). So there is a lot of stuff to cover considering that I haven't posted for a couple of days so I will try to do the reader's digest version (I know ironic considering they went bankrupt) of the story thus far. So yes we got here, and me assuming that because we booked the flight and the shuttle at the same time that the shuttle would know when we got there and we would have no problem, well you know what happens when you assume. After a ten hour flight we get off the plane, get our luggage (yes Dad that garment bag made it), and walked out of the terminal to get our shuttle, one small hitch in this plan was the catching of the shuttle. What we did not know until later was that you needed to call them and let them know you were there so they could come and pick you up...well fine then, after several trips in and out of the terminal that picks you up we get someone in information to call our shuttle company and they say they will come to pick us up. One pulls up outside and we go to him and say we have a reservation for Miller. No luck, we go back to the information counter and try again (while doing this the shuttle that was sent for us must have come and left) so we go out again, and find another couple of people that are having the same problem. We try to get in the shuttle that comes for them and still no luck (ahhhhhhhhh!, this is on no sleep mind you). To make a long story longer, we go to information again (getting lots of looks from the person who is helping us) and call the place ourselves, we got a hold of them, Mom is livid and they say they will be there in five min. Well that was more like 10, and then we had to go pick other people up at their terminals. It took as a very long time to get to our hotel, but at least it was our hotel.
At the hotel, we had requested two twin beds instead on one queen (yeah Mom and son in same bed, this isn't Oedipus). We get to the hotel and they are like "two beds" we don't do that. We show them the reservation and then all the sudden it is "oh yeah, I guess we can do that". We get to the room and wait for the maid to come and then she had to call the front desk to ask how to do it and then get another maid in there to help her figure it out. This is all with us looking that street bums and being really tired. This is where the nap comes in and then wondering around at night around our hotel. We found a good restaurant and had crepes for dinner and then strolled around the Opera district, finding some windows that had been decorated in Christmas fashion (like the New York Macy's ones) which were cool but kind of weird (gingerbread men humping women's legs...I'll leave you to imagining that).
OK, let us please move to day one (I am not counting that first day as day one, FYI) we get up and it is not raining (forecast said it would) so we decide to just to Eiffel Tower just in case it rains the rest of the week. We get there, do the picture thing, and get in line (we were third in line) to get in. Get up to the window to get tickets to find out that it is so windy that day that they have closed the top floor (mind you last time I was here I didn't go to the top for time constraint reasons, foiled again!) So we reluctantly got to the first two stories (of which there is a cafe on the second floor that we wait for it to open, they have muffins and coffee there, but then a man comes and says "NO, we are not open", why the hell was all the stuff there if they weren't going to open? oh Frenchies). We ended up getting our cafe at the first floor cafe (thank god). After this we walked the grounds and took more pictures during which time we were almost scammed by the drop the ring and then ask for a reward to keep it (oh Paris).
From here it was off to the Louvre. The Louvre is the Louvre, though there was hardly any people in it and I got to see the Mona Lisa for a good long time, plus a couple of pictures this time (the guards did nothing to stop it, who am I to not take advantage of that).
Today we wanted to do Versailles, which is what we did. I planned the stations the night before and we got there early with all the other people that were going out to the Chateau. On the train ride we bumped into another American off to the races, his name, Dave (when one Dave leaves another enters). He ended up tagging along with us the whole time (what a character) but the company was more then welcome to break up the party a bit. Versailles is beautiful, I hope to back sometime in summer when the gardens are in full bloom, you could really spend all day there and not see all of it.
After saying goodbye to Dave, we headed to Notre Dame, which is about the best cathedral that you can go to, nuff said.
Tonight we headed back to the Eiffel Tower, because they are doing a special light show for the 100th year celebration (I think 100 years at least) so we watched that and then noticed that elevators were going to the top and not to be one to be bested, got in line to see if the top story was open, it was and before you knew it, we were on our way up. It must be mentioned that Mom does not do well with heights, not well at all (horrible). The elevator from the 2nd to 3rd story is open (not like Empire State building at all). Mom is freaking out, but she made it, and I can finally say that I have been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but it was really windy still (I almost got blown over). After that we went back to the Louvre to get some night pictures and then back to the hotel as I am writing this right now.
That covers some of the basic stuff, but there are lots more stories to come. Tomorrow is another jam packed day and I am looking forward to it.
Nathaniel out!
Picture count: 337 (damn!)
At the hotel, we had requested two twin beds instead on one queen (yeah Mom and son in same bed, this isn't Oedipus). We get to the hotel and they are like "two beds" we don't do that. We show them the reservation and then all the sudden it is "oh yeah, I guess we can do that". We get to the room and wait for the maid to come and then she had to call the front desk to ask how to do it and then get another maid in there to help her figure it out. This is all with us looking that street bums and being really tired. This is where the nap comes in and then wondering around at night around our hotel. We found a good restaurant and had crepes for dinner and then strolled around the Opera district, finding some windows that had been decorated in Christmas fashion (like the New York Macy's ones) which were cool but kind of weird (gingerbread men humping women's legs...I'll leave you to imagining that).
OK, let us please move to day one (I am not counting that first day as day one, FYI) we get up and it is not raining (forecast said it would) so we decide to just to Eiffel Tower just in case it rains the rest of the week. We get there, do the picture thing, and get in line (we were third in line) to get in. Get up to the window to get tickets to find out that it is so windy that day that they have closed the top floor (mind you last time I was here I didn't go to the top for time constraint reasons, foiled again!) So we reluctantly got to the first two stories (of which there is a cafe on the second floor that we wait for it to open, they have muffins and coffee there, but then a man comes and says "NO, we are not open", why the hell was all the stuff there if they weren't going to open? oh Frenchies). We ended up getting our cafe at the first floor cafe (thank god). After this we walked the grounds and took more pictures during which time we were almost scammed by the drop the ring and then ask for a reward to keep it (oh Paris).
From here it was off to the Louvre. The Louvre is the Louvre, though there was hardly any people in it and I got to see the Mona Lisa for a good long time, plus a couple of pictures this time (the guards did nothing to stop it, who am I to not take advantage of that).
Today we wanted to do Versailles, which is what we did. I planned the stations the night before and we got there early with all the other people that were going out to the Chateau. On the train ride we bumped into another American off to the races, his name, Dave (when one Dave leaves another enters). He ended up tagging along with us the whole time (what a character) but the company was more then welcome to break up the party a bit. Versailles is beautiful, I hope to back sometime in summer when the gardens are in full bloom, you could really spend all day there and not see all of it.
After saying goodbye to Dave, we headed to Notre Dame, which is about the best cathedral that you can go to, nuff said.
Tonight we headed back to the Eiffel Tower, because they are doing a special light show for the 100th year celebration (I think 100 years at least) so we watched that and then noticed that elevators were going to the top and not to be one to be bested, got in line to see if the top story was open, it was and before you knew it, we were on our way up. It must be mentioned that Mom does not do well with heights, not well at all (horrible). The elevator from the 2nd to 3rd story is open (not like Empire State building at all). Mom is freaking out, but she made it, and I can finally say that I have been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but it was really windy still (I almost got blown over). After that we went back to the Louvre to get some night pictures and then back to the hotel as I am writing this right now.
That covers some of the basic stuff, but there are lots more stories to come. Tomorrow is another jam packed day and I am looking forward to it.
Nathaniel out!
Picture count: 337 (damn!)
Monday, November 23, 2009
Drems of planes, trains, and shuttles
First I have to say that this is being typed on a French keyboard, which is not set up like an English keyboard, so this is where weird mistakes may come from. We finally made it to Paris and had gotten a shuttle to take us to our hotel, but did not research how to use the shuttle and needless to say it ended up taking us forever to get to our hotel. I made the mistake of lying down on the bed and ended up taking a two hour nap, but the sleep was much needed. ok typing on this keyboard sucks and there is a baby crying in this internet cafe, I am going to go back to the hotel and hopefully get some wifi.
nathaniel out!
nathaniel out!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Surprise!!
This is going to be a surprise entry for all you that follow this blog, some are in the know and others are not, but Mom and I are going to Paris for a week (in fact I write this as she yells at me to get ready because Dad will be here in 15min to pick us up to take us to the airport). The whole trip materialized out of the fact that for as long as I can remember my Mom has said she wanted to go to Pairs, and my final comment to that was that she wasn't getting any younger ;). We leave today at 1pm and will get to Paris on Sunday at 11am. The forecast on weather.com was rain for the whole week, so great news to start with. Alright now I really have to go, but more to follow.
Picture Count: 0 (the Journey Begins)
Picture Count: 0 (the Journey Begins)
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