France, in the buff

I got back from France yesterday at 10 am. Have I mentioned lately I love my life? If I could tell you all the stories, I would. Probably will in person. For now I'll give the shortest summary I can.

I met up with the girls Wednesday morning in Nice. We went to Antibes, took naps on the beach.

Next day got busted for not buying tram tickets, the rent-a-cops were SUCH jerks, way more than necessary. Shook it off and went to Monaco which is beautiful. Kaitlin, Ellena and I went to the Damien Hirst exhibit. Then Alex and I took a 1.5 hour bus ride to Juan les Pins to see where her sister used to live. 45 minutes later we had to leave to catch the last train back. Worth it? Umm...

That night we found out our flight the following morning had been cancelled due to the Volcano erupting in Iceland, so we rescheduled it for the next day.

Friday I was really grateful I actually got to see Nice. Tried to do Rick Steve's walking tour, couldn't really figure it out so I explored around the city's center. Made it up to the mountain though, great views.

That night we found out our flight had been cancelled yet again, so we booked a train for the next morning instead. At 1 am apparently all of us but Kaitlin slept through 2 men coming into the room to drop off one of their's luggage. We kind of freaked out for a while about that when she woke us up...but then it just turned into a giggly slumber party and until he came back into the room and turned out to be the HOTTEST guy travelling Europe. :) So things worked out.

Saturday we took a 5 hour train ride to Paris. It was packed, sooo many people didn't have tickets--cheaters. We learned our lesson in the dept.

On our first day in Paris we ate dinner right down the street from the Eiffel Tower and afterwards went up into it.

Next day was the Arch De Triumph, Champs Elysses, the Louvre, and dinner on a boat outside Notre Dame.

Monday Megan went back to Hatfield, and Alex and I went to Versailles. We found out upon arrival it's closed on Mondays, but the gardens were open so we saw those. Massive. Also rented a boat to row on the canal in. A canal in your backyard? Fly.

Pizza across the street from our hostel, made friends with the guys working there, and we traded art. One of them drew my portrait and I drew him a picture as well.

Tuesday we did the Catacombs: it was bananas. 2 km, half of that the walls were lined with bones neatly stacked into patterns. Buhhhh.

Our flight back to Hatfield for Tuesday night got cancelled, so Kaitlin found a coach for that night to get back. Before she left we took a walking tour of Montmarte and saw such things as where Von Gogh lived, where Picasso traded paintings for meals, and a few spots where the movie Amelie was filmed.

Wednesday it was just Alex and I left. We split up, she went back to the Louvre and I to the Dali exhibit in Montmarte--very cool. Then I sat on the steps of the Sacre Coeur and watched street performers. Got asked on a date by a 45 year old, but to make up for it on the metro ride back I met a much younger guy named Will who is an actor. He was nice--and not creepy.

Thursday we kept it pretty simple sally with a picnic in Luxembourg park and then a night in the Latin quarter. Piano lounge, then a Latin club where we made a bunch of friends and sang "Stand By Me" to the whole joint--oh my gosh so fun. I did notice, however, that once it gets dark, Paris turns into roaming grounds for the weirdest, creepiest guys. So we made our way back once the club closed.

Friday morning we ate breakfast in Amelie's cafe, walked around Montmarte a bit, and watched an awesome band (Felix Fables) perform on the Scare Coeur steps. I loved them! People even danced, they played Johnny B. Good as their last song, it was fun. Best way to spend the last afternoon in Paris.

Got some baked goods, went back to the Louvre where I got in for free since Alex had become a "Friend of the Louvre", and they get a friend in for free on Wednesday and Fridays (keep that in mind--good thing to know). Glad we got to make it back.

We made a quick trip back outside to see Paris one last time in the sunset before we headed back to grab our luggage and get to the coach station. On the metro ride there we ran into 2 guys studying at UofH as well from Connecticut which was fun, we ended up spending the rest of the trip home with them.

8 hour coach ride back to England, nasty breakfast in the only open at 6 am restaurant until our coach to Hatfield came. Nap like a mofo on that, and we were back!

Best trip to France I think I could have ever asked for! Voi la!

All photos are on Facebook.
Nice
Paris Sat-Tues
Paris Wed-Sat