....Paris....

Okay so I haven't posted since yesterday, but it feels like six years. We left Oxford yesterday morning and walked to the train station that took us to London. We saw the British Library. I needed my mother again to tell me what everything was. I wish you book lovers could have seen all of those pretty books. They were locked behind glass but very pretty. I love the way they look! They are so old and worn, which makes them beautiful.


 This internet here is pretty bad so I may not be able to add pictures :/ But they will all be on FB when I get home. (which isnt very long!)

But the Library was very neat. We saw some of the works of Shakespeare. His actual hand writing was behind the glass (that I touched). We saw the Gutenberg Bible. Which is a big deal for us ACU JMC majors. Gutenberg was the man who invented movable type, or in English is the first Printing Press. A huge step in technology and obviously extremely important to us Journalism majors. This was the first Bible printed for commoners. Decorated very carefully and beautifully.  
In the Library we also saw the Magna Carta and one of my favorite parts......The Beatles original work! It was cool because they had their original scribbles from when they were writing a couple of their songs. Pretty sweet. That definitely put their tunes in my head for the rest of the day, which was FOREVER long.

The next step was to get to the train station. We took the Chunnel to Paris. Parts of the train ride were under water. I was expecting the entire trip to be under (for some reason) but it wasn't. Thank God because the pressure that it put on your ears was almost unbearable. It hit us all at once and everyone jumped and groaned. I really enjoyed when we started getting closer to France though because it there was beautiful country-side. Those tall skinny trees along the plain green fields like you see on movies...they are real!

When we arrived in Paris and our professor let us loose the fact that we were alone in a strange country hit us. We all were just standing there for awhile. Finally we got the nerve to head out. The underground (trains) are different than in England and not just because everything is in French instead of English. Its just very difficult to maneuver ESPECIALLY with luggage.  One of our girls actually got caught in the door and ended up having to drop her bags behind in order to get on the cart with us. Thankfully there was a nice Frechman who waited there until she got back with her stuff. It was a scar experience for all of us and after that we were all super freaked. We were tired and hungry and stressed and alone. It had been a long day and we finally found our hotel (which wasn't what we expected) But hey, it's better than an Egyptian sleeper-train. We found a McDonalds (that actually tasted real) and headed for bed.

We were ready to start over today. And we did! We have successfully conquered the Metro/Underground for an entire day. It went smoothly too. But I must confess something....I forgot my camera. I know, I know....I almost balled in the Metro when I realized it. But I keep reminding myself that I still experienced those things and I'm alive and happy. So....I feel kind of better. I did take pictures with my phone though.

First we went to Notre Dame. It's HUGE! I was astonished at the size of it and the architecture was unlike any other, I think. It gave Westminster a run for it's money. And the bell actually rang! I need to re-watch The Hunchback of Notre Dame again when I get home. Its hard to describe how beautiful it was. One thing that was humerous was the fact that at Westminster you could offer prayers by lighting a candle or by writing it down. (I lit a candle in honor of my family and wrote Jordan's name on a piece of paper) BUT in Notre Dame it cost 2 Euros to put in a prayer request and 5 Euros if it was a big one. LOL. crazy French people.

After that we made our way to The Louvre which is a very famous museum. And rightfully so. It was crazy big...we saw like one sixth of the interior. The most important things for me to see were the Mona Lisa, which was beautiful but smaller than I had perceived and the famous (armless) statue of Venus, which was beautiful. I can't wait to come back with my familia.

Then it was on to the Eiffel Tower. It was brown....not what I expected, but pretty all the same. Just like all the pictures....very tall. I didn't have the urge to go to the top, but I actually wished I had after my friends got back. I didn't really want to spend the money (because Pris is SO expensive) but their pictures seemed to be great. The park was a little trashy though....

I've eaten ham and cheese twice today (I don't like ham)...haha, but It tasted good. I'm feeling better about Paris every minute. Not my favorite town, by far, but definitely a memorable place. Being here makes me want my mom and dad. lol. My dad is so good at picking up new things and would be great at maneuvering through the subways and trains. And my mother would drive me crazy reading everything but it would be nice to follow her brilliant mind around.  I want them to experience these things too, and I'm thankful that they let me come. :)

Tomorrow is another day of Paris before we head to Germany to meet our class again. We are going to take it slower and find some neat areas, hopefully. I'm getting excited to see the concentration camp in Germany!