Paris!

This past weekend I went on a trip to Paris, and it was wonderful!  I had wondered if I would actually like the city because I felt like I had expectations of the city that were so high.  Luckily, the city lived up to my expectations!  It was so beautiful and full of things to see!

On Friday, I had to leave my flat before 7 in the morning.  Thank goodness I have inherited the ability to be able to sleep in every situation- I was able to catch up on my sleep on the bus and then the plane!  As soon as I stepped off of the plane, I knew that I would love France!  It was so sunny and over 50 degrees.  It felt so good!  Even though I think Sweden is a pleasant winter wonderland, it was so nice to feel some warmth!

Once Trent and I had traveled to the city center, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city and making our way back to the hotel.  Then we were able to meet up with our friends from ISU who have been studying in Canterbury, England, for the semester.  It was so nice to see some familiar faces!  I love meeting international students in Uppsala, but it felt great to not have to worry about a language barrier for a little bit!  At that point it was after 10 PM, so we had a very late dinner and then walked back to the hotel.

The next morning we woke up early so that we could get a full day of sights!  We started off going to the Sacre Couer church in Montmarte, which is not only a great church but also provides the best view of the city of Paris besides the Eiffel tower!  We then went to the Montmarte cemetery where a lot of famous people are buried.  We stopped to see Hector Berlioz and Alexander Dumas' graves.

From Montmarte, we then walked out to the Louvre.  I had always heard about how huge it is, but I didn't truly understand how enormous it is until I saw it with my own eyes!  We stayed at the Louvre for most of the morning and the early afternoon, and I felt like we barely scratched the surface of what there is to see.  Luckily, we saw all of the very famous things there, such as the Mona Lisa, Aphrodite, etc.

After the Louvre, we all walked to Notre Dame Cathedral.  We had planned it so that we arrived for the tour in English.  I think it was really great that we did go on the tour because it made me appreciate the cathedral so much more.  Our tour guide was very enthusiastic about the cathedral, and she was incredibly detailed in explaining everything- I had no idea how much detail could be contained in a single mural on the wall!  However, my overall impression of the cathedral was that it is kind of "creepy".  It is very dark inside, and the music playing on the organ (at least while we were there) is very dark and dreary sounding.  I know I am biased, but I think I prefer Uppsala's cathedral!

After our tour, we went for a walk along Champs Elysees to see all of the shops and the Arc de Triomphe.  Once we were done shopping, we all went out for a nice French dinner that our hotel recommended to us.  We were so shocked about how nice the waiters were to us in that restaurant!  For the most part, it is very true that the French are not so excited to see Americans in their country, so it was a very welcome surprise that we received such good service at dinner!

After dinner we took the Metro out to the Eiffel Tower.  We took the elevator up to the top of the tower.  Luckily, it was a clear night, so we were able to see great views from the tower.  We stayed around the Eiffel tower for awhile, walking around the park and riding the carousel.  Finally, after an exhausting day, we took the Metro back to our hotel.

Now we come to a funny story!  Since all of us in Paris were Americans, we all moved our clock forward an hour for Daylight Savings Time.  Apparently, the Europeans don't change their clocks until late May.  We did not find this out until we were at the airport!  So all morning we are wondering why shops are opening so late and why it appears that no one has changed their clocks yet!  Unfortunately, it also meant that Trent and I spent an extra hour at the airport.  Oh well, at least the time change made us early instead of making us miss our flight!  Plus, it made for a funny story.  Our European friends back in Uppsala thought it was hysterical hearing about our time adventure!

As much as I loved the weather, the culture, and the atmosphere of Paris, it felt so good to get back home in Uppsala.  Even though I stepped out into cold, snowy air as soon as I got to Sweden, I was so happy to be back! That's when you know that you love a place!

Since I've gotten back, I have been very busy with work for my class.  I've had to hole myself up in different libraries because it so hard to get work done in my apartment!  There are always people knocking on the door wanting to talk or do something.  I love that most of the time, but when it's important to get a lot of things done, it is almost impossible!  This week I also went to a Swedish Pub Night to try traditional Swedish food.  Ironically enough, it is one of the only times that I have had real Swedish food besides sweets because Swedes love foreign food!  Out at the nations, they serve mostly hamburgers and things of that sort, and there are so many Asian restaurants here.  At the pub night, I was boring and ordered Swedish meatballs, but I also tried reindeer, a moose burger, and famous Chanterelle mushrooms from my friends' orders.

On Sunday, I will going to the town of Romme in the Dalarna province to go skiing.  I am a little bit nervous because the friends who I am going with are quite good skiers (they are French and they like to go to the Alps) !  I have not gone skiing for years and years, and even then I was definitely a beginner!  I hope that I will be ok!  Either way, I know that I will have lots of fun!