On Wednesday we put up our umbrellas and took a Taxi to the Louvre. The line wasn't too bad and we got in with no problems. I was afraid it would be extra busy since the Louvre isn't open on Tuesdays. Nikole and I each got a multimedia guide, but before we could tour around for hours, we needed food. We decided, since it would be our only meal, we'd eat at the restaurant right in the museum. It was a very fancy place and we had a nice meal that filled up for the whole day. We finally started to walk around the museum. It was amazing. I have been to many museums, but I was so impressed with the Louvre. Not only with the works of art inside, but the work of art and architectural design that was the building itself. I really enjoyed it and feel like I've checked something off the 'bucket list' by going there, seeing the works, especially the Mona Lisa. Although I've seen so many replications, there really is nothing like the original. I could have stood and looked at her for hours - just trying to think what would have caused that famous smile. I know that I have a lot of experience and exposure to art because of my family and education. However, Nikole didn't like the Louvre as much as I did and was ready to leave shortly after we saw the Mona Lisa. I, however, wanted to see as much as possible before leaving. She stuck it out and I'm thankful for that. We were then going to walk to Notre Dame, but we discovered it was snowing. And on top of the rain we'd gotten in the morning it was dreadful outside. We tried for HOURS to get a Taxi, but after talking to some locals we found out that the taxi companies decided they'd rather not work than get into an accident. So we took refuge in a wine bar to dry off and get warm. But we did need to get back to our hotel so we waited again for almost an hour at a Taxi stop until one came. Luckily the guy waiting with us was going the same direction and let us split the cab with him, who knows how long we would have waited otherwise!
Thursday was a whole different story. It was sunny and dry, which made for perfect walking weather. We went to the bakery across the street from our hotel, got pastries to go and walked toward the Eiffel Tower. It was a fun walk and we were in much better moods. It only took us about 25 minutes to walk (with plenty of photo ops along the way). The line to ride the elevator was outrageous when we got there. So we decided to do the stairs. This line was short and we go up there in only a few minutes. We also found out that the 3rd/top level was closed because of all the snow from the previous day. So all those people were waiting to go only one small level higher than us. If you know me, you know my fear of heights. I felt sick, like my legs weighed 100lbs and my stomach had left my body. But I made it up to there. Nikole was kind enough to take the pictures on the way up, because I could only look straight forward and hold onto the railing for dear life. Once we reached the level, it wasn't so bad. I enjoyed the views of Paris and learning a bit about the Eiffel's history. We walked around and took views from every side before coming down. We were bombarded by people selling Eiffel Tower junk and scary women holding postcards asking for money.
Across the street was a holiday market where we looked around and split a sandwich. There were lots of cute holiday and Paris crafts and foods. Also, there were children walking around the snow with flippers, it was weird - I have no idea what the value in that would be.
After the holiday market, we took a taxi to Notre Dame. While in the taxi, the driver informed up that the tunnel we passed through a couple times a day was the very tunnel of Princess Diana's accident. That was a little bit of unsettling information. Notre Dame was amazing. I loved the architecture from the outside. There was just so much to look at, my eyes couldn't take it all in at once! I tried to take some pictures, but my camera couldn't capture it all either. Inside the church is just as beautiful, the stained glass, flying buttresses, sculptures - everything. From an art and beauty point of view, it can't be beat. But as far as it being a place of worship, it felt a bit weird with the tourists walking around and souvenirs. Either way, I'm very glad we went and experienced it. Since it was still early, we did a little walking and shopping. Nikole finished her gift list and I picked up one or two things myself.
We got back to the hotel to drop off our goods and were all set to go have a nice Parisian dinner. We walked to a nearby restaurant and were quickly reminded we were in France and not America. They didn't open for dinner until 7:30. We went back and waited until then and had a nice meal in an 'interesting' setting. It was a very modern restaurant with modern art photos on the walls. The photos in our room were of completely naked women. Nothing to encourage ordering the salad like looking at naked French models! The food was good and the waitress was really helpful in translating the menu.
Friday, we went on a few unsuccessful gift getting stops so we called it a morning and checked out of our hotel at noon. The train station was near lots of shops and restaurants, so we had a meal and people watched until our train came. The train from Paris to Cologne, Germany was pretty nice and only a quick 4 hour trip. Once we got to the train station in Cologne, though it was a different story. We saw a woman stealing food from a shop and getting chased, people drunk, barely walking and singing Christmas songs and the bums. Two bums in particular took to me. One guy asked if I'd like to share the salad he had just gotten out of the garbage. Another just stood and stared at me for 10 minutes before coming up behind where were sitting and just looking at me from behind. Thank goodness there was glass separating us, because he was so creepy.
Our train could not come soon enough! When it finally was supposed to, it was delayed, but we left and waited outside anyway. There was a mix up in the train cars and we luckily ended up with a bed one! This was great since we had a 11 hour ride. There were 6 beds, bunk style in the room. Nikole and I took the two middle ones and put our luggage on the top and locked the door. Luckily no one else tried to come in or had tickets for that room, so we got the whole place to ourselves. It was actually pretty great (relative to past sleeping on the train experiences.)
Now we are sitting in the dirty Copenhagen train station waiting for another train. But at least it has free internet and somewhere to plug in our computers. We have 5 hours to Stockholm, then an hour layover, and 10ish hours to Umeå. So, we left Paris at 4pm on Friday and will arrive at 6am on Monday in Umeå, what are you doing this weekend? I will be spending it entirely on trains. :)
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