A weekend in Paris!

O.K., so Gabi and Silvia were finished in Rome and planning to go to Paris and Amsterdam before going home to Brazil. Marcella also decided to take a week off and go to Venice, then meet the girls in Paris with yet another Brazilian girl. They asked if I wanted to go, so naturally I said yes. The great thing about Europe is that it's relatively small, and you can be anywhere in less than 2 hours by plane. So I bought a ticket and the next day was off to Paris. The girls had reserved a hotel what was apparently in the red light district of Paris, right next to the famous Moulan Rouge where they have the can-can dancers. So I met them there and they showed up also with Nevzat, a late entry to the weekend trip. I got a room at the hotel with the girls and Nevzat, then we went to dinner. Before I left Rome I asked Arno, my friend from France, what food I should try while in Paris. He told me to have something called "Andoulette AAAA", so we found a place that had it on the menu and went in. I ordered it and the guy said it was pig, a part from somewhere around the stomach. Yes, I've always been a very picky eater, but now I'm willing to try anything once, especially when someone reccomends it. I consider it a cultural experience and I enjoy trying new things. So they bring this thing out (you can see where this is going) and it looks like a sausage with dijonaise sauce on it, no problem. I take a bite, and it tastes a bit funny, but I thought maybe I just got a bad part, so I take another bite to be sure. Now I'm pretty darn sure that this is the worst thing I have ever tasted! It actually tasted spoiled to me, but apparently that's how it is. I can't believe people eat that crap, and I can't wait to talk to Arno. Anyway, the waiter was nice enough to take it away and bring me a steak in it's place, so all was good in the end. So the next day we did some sight seeing. First impression of Paris, it's freaking cold! The sun was shining, but it was windy and freezing. It was t-shirt weather when I left Rome, but Paris is a bit north. Anyway, we visited a big church on a hill near the hotel, I forget the name, but it had spectacular views of the city. Then we met up with Marcella at the Arc de Triumph, which is located at the top of the famous street where all the great shopping is, again, I don't remember the name, but the girls were excited to be there. After that we made our way to the Notre Dame cathedral. This is the first Gothic catherdral I've seen, and it's very different than the ones in Rome. There is an incredible amount of detail and ornamentation all over, and it's famous for it's Gargoyles. It's also very dark inside, and it just has an overall dark feeling to it, not the lighter, surrounded by angels feeling you get in other churches. It was impressive though, especially the "flying buttresses" on the back side. From there we went to that big tower they have there, the Eiffle Tower of course. That was impressive. We got there just before sundown and took the elevator to the top. It stops half way, where you can get off and walk around, then you have to take another elevator to the top. By the time we got to the top it was dark, and freezing of course. It was really cool though, and the city is beautiful at night. The tower is lit up at night, a soft yellow color, but it changes at times with the addition of about a million strobe lights that flash and make the entire thing sparkle, it's something to see.

The next day we went to the Louve, the famous art gallery where the Moana Lisa is. It was O.K., but honestly I'm not into all the paintings that much. I do like the ones that portray a scene with a lot of different things happening, but the portraits are boring, and after about 100 or so paintings I don't really need to see another. So we followed the signs to Moana Lisa. Everyone says she is smaller than you would think, so I was not surprised by that. It is small, sits behind glass, and looks, well, like the Moana Lisa. It's neat to say that I saw THE painting, but it really didn't do much for me, sorry. The other big attraction in there is the Venus di Milo, a 2000 year old statue found in Greece. That was intersting.

So after the Louve we went out and got some lunch at a corner cafe. The waiter was great, he was fun and he took 6 orders without writing down a thing. So, after experimenting the first night, I decided to go with something I could recognize, a ham and cheese sandwhich. But this was not just a sandwhich, it was: a slice of bread, ham, tomato, cheese,bread, ham, tomato, cheese, all carefully baked and melted together. It was absolutely one of the best things I have ever eaten, oh my God. I enjoyed it with a beer and French fries, of course. So I managed one of the worst and best meals ever while in Paris, but I have to say the crepes you buy on the street were good too, so overall the food was good. As for the city, it was big, very clean, beautiful and orderly. Two days really isn't enough to see it all, but honestly, I was looking forward to getting back to the cozy, slightly dirty, beautiful chaos that is Rome :)

Also, goodbye to Gabi and Silvia, the first of our big group to depart. I love all my Brazilian girls, but these two were from a different part of the country, and as they all will tell you, they have a different dimeanor. The other girls are party animals, very outgoing, and can make some noise when they're having fun. Gabi and Silvi on the other hand, are quiet and a bit more reserved, but incredibly sweet and friendly, they're great. All together they make a good balance of personalities, but I will miss my two friends from the "other" part of the country and I hope to see them again some time.