Paris

Well, I'm glad we're finally here, let me tell you. I think I forgot how absolutely exhausting traveling abroad is. We were all a bit crabby after the long trip, especially a little someone who's name starts with "M" and ends with "allory".

The trip went pretty smooth. Pretty. The plane to L.A. was awesome, actually. My dad got to know the attendants and they kinda pampered us. That's my dad for you. I also finally got a good bit of my request writing done, which was excellent. It was even sunny when we landed.

But then we get off.

6 hours is a LONG time to spend with the same four people cooped up in a board room. Thankfully I had Inception rented on my iPad (I LOVE that movie) and thus was occupied, but Mallory...not so much. She was driving me crazy. But it got better when we go to our AirFrance gate. The line was humongous. At least we were all sitting together.

The plane ride itself was not bad, I suppose. I mean, for a 10 hour flight. I got to catch up on some movies I had been wanting to see (btw TinTin is SO predictable) and got a little more writing done. But I could not for the life of me get to sleep. No matter how much I tossed and turned, I only fell asleep finally from sheer exhaustion. The food was quite decent for airplane food. But apparently not enough so for Mallory. She threw up as we landed.

Short train ride later, we're in the city itself and get to our flat. As far as Paris flats go, it's not that bad. It's a bit smaller than we're used to but it's livable. I tried to get some pictures for you all but it's just too small to get decent ones. It's in a good location though: 2 blocks from Jardin du Luxembourg and a block from the Latin District.

So once we get settled in, we met our British friends Tony and Susan in Jardin Luxembourg for a classical concert and had a little walk 'round there before going for dinner in the Latin district. It's this wonderful little pizzeria we found last time that has THE best four cheese pizza I have EVER tasted. Delicious, but Mallory doesn't like the "stinky cheese".

After dinner we took a stroll down the Seine and watched the sunset fade behind Notre Dame. A simply marvelous first day in Paris.

For our first full day, we got up at...erm, noon. Baguettes and butter for breakfast before we go to le Louvre. I had been to see the glass pyramid entrance to le Louvre, but never inside. That place is HUGE. You could walk for miles and never reach a dead end. So of course we saw all the famous pieces: Mona Lisa, Winged Venus, the hall of Monarchs. Each room was like walking into a different time period! It was brilliant! The Greek rooms had columns and marble carvings and the neo-classic period had brilliantly carved golden frames around each picture. But I have to say, the hall ofMonarchs was my favorite. It was like walking into Versailles at the height of the 17th century! Gold leaf patterning everywhere, ornately carved furniture, windows a mile high, it was amazing.

For lunch, we met Tony and Susan at Chartier, my parents' favorite resteraunt in Paris. It used to be a Post office in the 1800s and has still retained its vaulted ceiling with globe chandeliers. The waiters all wear traditional waistcoats and white aprons and the menu is purely French (no messing about with burgers and such). My dad nicknamed our waiter "Monsieur Fantastiqué" on account that he said everything was just that, fantastic.

We walked off our sizable (and delicious) lunch all the way to le Sacre-Coer. I love that place. It makes me want to learn French just so I can live there and learn to paint the Parisian skyline. My parents always used to have a painting above their bed that they bought there named "Jardin du Sophie". I have ALWAYS wanted to find Jardin du Sophie. So we tried in vain for about an hour, asking all the vendors and tour guides and policemen we saw. But alas, they think that perhaps it is a madeup place. I still have faith that I will find it someday. But not this year, it seems.

It was now that my mother and Susan insisted we go shopping. Ah, Galleries Lafeyette never ceases to amaze, both in the grandeur of the stain glass ceiling, and how truly expensive it is. 128€ for a sundress. That's $175. Um, no. Instead I bought two shirts at H&M. My mother and I have been to H&M in Paris, London, Koln (Germany), New York, San Francisco, and of course, Seattle.

Oh, and my Hetalia friends will like to hear, we passed a manga shop and I saw the most hilarious poster ever in the window: it had a huge picture of Chibi Italy, being all cute with his pasta and white flag and the title was "Italia: Shounen Hero". Now that I look back I think it makes no sense at all, but I couldn't stop laughing.

To finish off the day, we headed off on the metro to the center of the city, to the Arc de Triumph. 217 steps is alot after walking all over town, but it was worth it. From the the top we watched the blazing sunset and surveyed all of Paris. As the sun went down, the Eiffel tower lit up and I tell you, it was like something out of a fairytale. I could see exactly why they call it the City of Lights.

After we all dropped dead from exhaustion and slept until 10 the next day, we set out for the Musée d'Orsey. We FINALLY met Tony and Susan after nearly getting lost and an extremely long line before heading to the only exhibit we cared about: the French Impressionists. Manet, Renoir, Dagas, etc. and Monet. Oh Monet. I love Monet so much. We have this huge book of Monet that my parents used to keep on the coffee table that I used to try and copy out of when I was little and said "I'm gonna me like Moan-Et when I grow up!" (so much for that). But the water lilies just took my breath away in person. How Claude managed it is beyond me. That I could write to reflect his painting would be the gift of a lifetime.

Our lunch was, as my father described it, a "true Parisian lunch". Aka a wonky little hole-in-the-wall on some random boulevard with a limited menu, a feisty old woman for a waitress, and excellent food. Unfortunately after that we had to say goodbye to Tony and Susan, who took the tunnel back to London after that. My parents, however, decided we needed to do a bit more shopping. So off we went to Rue Cler.

It was fun for the first mile or so. We stopped to see Cathedral St. Sulpice and there were some cute boutiques along the way. But once it started raining and my dad started to need the map, Mallory and I both looked at each other and knew this was going to be a long one. We did get to see les Invalides, the military hospital and we saw the Eiffel Tower from afar, but by the time we finally got to the little street market with sore feet, I was wondering if it was really worth it. It was not a choice to Mallory and I, we were taking the metro back.

My parents didn't get enough walking, apparently. They left us at the flat to go back to an art show they had seen on the way while I took a bath. Correction: ATTEMPTED to take a bath. The hot water only got about 3 inches before it ran out and I didn't realize the drain plug didn't work, so I had to wait 20 minutes for the hot water tank to fill up again and so washed my hair and shaved my legs in all of 5 inches of lukewarm water. Fun times.

We hit the sack early after packing, then woke up at 4:30 this morning (Morning Sunshine!) and took a taxi to the airport, only to find that they had changed our flight to 3 hours later. After frustration over finding breakfast and not being able to get into the lounge like we should have, I'm finally sitting here at the gate, waiting for our flight to Barcelona with frustrated parents, an extremely bored little sister, and poor wifi reception.

But all and all, I'm enjoying the trip so far. I miss you all back home!
Welcome home to Hallie, if you read this!
I will be posting pictures from Paris later tonight when we get to Carcassone.

Hasta Luego!
Σοφία (Sophia)