When you are trying to make up for lost time...

Since I felt I didn’t get a chance to do much the day that I landed, I was glad I had a good night’s rest.  I showered up and headed to the café down the street for my croissant and latte.  I got to the Opera a little after 12pm.  There wasn’t much of a line yet, but there were groups of students everywhere.  I didn’t wait too long to get inside.  This opera house is truly extravagant!  I was amazed at how much detail was put in place.  I took a bunch of photos there and even made it to the gift shop to pick up something for my mom.  

I felt the Pantheon was a good choice for my next stop.  It took me a while to figure out where it was.  I was getting frustrated, but eventually I found the little street that led me up to the building.  Again, tons of students everywhere, but I walked in right away.  Talk about grand!  It was one of the most impressive city buildings I have ever laid eyes on.  I was a bit confused on what the pendulum was about.  Regardless, I left to find some crepes.  I was dying for something sweet.

Towards the metro stop I remembered I saw a man selling crepes and decided to have one with nutella.  By now the sun was beating hard, so I headed to Luxembourg Garden to have a seat and enjoy the view.  People were sunbathing everywhere.

I was excited to find out that it was barely 3pm.  I felt I could still sneak in another museum.  I headed back on the metro and exited at the Notre Dame stop.  I looked at the cathedral at a glance and noticed the long line of tourists waiting to get inside.  Who knew that was the last time I would see the Notre Dame in one piece?

I had to walk along the Seine river to get down to the other side to the musee de l’orangerie.  I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to get inside.  I wasn’t sure how long the wait would be.  I asked a bicycle-cab how much would he charge to take me over there.  His rates were listed at 15 euros.  Unfortunately I did not have enough cash with me and I preceded to walk away.  The man stopped me and asked how much I had.  We came to an agreement at 10 euros.  I was not aware they can negotiate. 

What a ride!  It felt good to be off of my feet.  He got me there in no time.  The line was long (by now it was later in the day and that was to be expected).  I was relieved when they let me in.  It was close to 4pm and the museum closed at 5pm.  I did something that got me in a bit of trouble with security.  I found a wall plug and used it to charge my phone.  I HAD TO!!  I couldn’t be here with a phone that was dying out!  I wanted to take my pictures.  Regardless, I charged it for 15 minutes before security yelled at me.  Off I went!

I found the main room of Monet’s Water Lilies right away.  It was amazing!!  I absolutely loved it!  I walked through the rooms and stared at each of the paintings.  This museum was quick to navigate.  I left shortly before 5pm.

I made my way back to my hotel and quickly changed.  My friend and I had made plans for dinner.  I made it back to his place to pick him up and we headed over to Rue Mabillon to Marcello.  I joked to him that he ended up taking me to an Italian restaurant, but the food was very good.  We talked through the night about the changes that were coming up for him.  I like hearing a different perspectives.  It took me a moment to realize he was pretty concerned about the decisions he was making, but I feel confident that things will be fine.    

Unfortunately, by the time I made it back to my hotel, my other friend was messaging me to come out.  We had made plans for tomorrow, but now she’s out and about and wanted to meet up.  I couldn’t do it.  My feet were killing me.  I turned her down and we settled to meet the next day.

Paris: Day Two

I woke up early to head down to the Catacombs of Paris.  I heard the lines to get in were terrible, and they were right!  I also read online that it’s a bit chilly down there, so I wore some leggings underneath my dress.  I figured I could easily take them off somewhere once it was over.  The weather was tipping 80 degrees, but I did my best not to think about how warm it was.  Since I literally ran up to the line, it never occurred to me to grab some coffee and munch on a croissant while I waited.  The line was moving very slowly.  At one point, I couldn’t take it anymore.  I asked the people in front of me if they could hold my place in line.  I was so out of it.  I needed my java fix.  I ran to a bakery nearby and ordered a cup of espresso along with a baguette sandwich.  I scarfed it down as soon as it was ready.  I enjoyed talking to some of the people in line with me.  Behind me were two pretty girls from Demark.  They had been staying in Paris for one week now.

Once we finally got inside the entrance, I realized my tickets came with the audio.  I offered to share my headphones to the girls behind me so they could listen in on what was happening.  I didn’t realize how far down we were going!  I counted 150 steps!  This is definitely not for the weak-minded.  Luckily, no one was freaking out, although there was a group of students that started to screech a little.

The catacombs were very impressive.  Each of the bones were layered up evenly as if they were bricks.  There were times I felt I wasn’t really “there”.  It’s hard to grasp seeing 6 million people layered up like that.

I never felt afraid, and everyone around me was well behaved.  I bought a book from the shop above and said bye to the girls.  They were flying out that day.  I decided I still had time to do something else off of my itinerary.  It was now past 3pm.  I wanted to continue so I headed to le Cimetière du Pere-Lachaise to see if I could find Jim Morrison’s tomb.

It took me another 45 minutes to get there.  By now I had been using my phone to find directions.  I entered the cemetery with a 30 percent charge.  I walked around and took some footage but my phone started to act up.  Next thing you know, it turned off completely.  I tried turning it back on, but it said I was out of battery.  Weird.  I figured “someone” didn’t want me to film.  I didn’t let it creep me out.  I just went on my way. 
Too bad I kept going in circles.  I walked around aimlessly but couldn’t find any help around, and the tourists I did run into didn’t know where his tomb was.  I figured I will walk back to the main entrance to look at the floor map again, but people told me it was now closing.  I must have misread the wrong information online.  I thought the cemetery closed at 8pm but it closes at 6pm.  I had to leave.

I found a café to charge up my phone.  I thought about my time in Paris.  I felt I could still knock off le Jardin du Luxembourg.  It was sunny out and I knew I didn’t have time to see another museum.  Off I went!

Since it was now early evening, people were dining everywhere outside.  The cafes were filled with people.  I walked my way over to the entrance.  It was pretty massive.  I covered as much ground work as I could before resting up.  It was nice seeing everyone enjoy their time in the garden.  People were reading, taking pictures, and absorbing the beauty of the palace.  I didn’t get a chance to go inside, but it looked lovely.  

By now it was getting close to 8pm.  I figured I should head back if I wanted to rest up first.  I took a quick shower and laid down once I got to the hotel.  I didn’t want to leave my hotel too late.  This time around, I found my hotel a bit unsettling.  I had some very noisy neighbors who kept going in and out of their hotel room which was right next to mine.  I felt uneasy but I didn’t want to make a fuss since I knew my hotel was at full capacity when I booked online.  I wanted to rush out before I ran into any of them in the hallway.  Oh well.  What could you do?  The area was filled with people, so I never felt unsafe there.  I just felt uneasy.  The receptionist who was wonderful to me last time I had visited was not there anymore.  I missed him a lot.

From a friend’s recommendation, I wanted to checkout Kong.  I had on my new red ankle strap heels which were barely 3 inches.  I felt fine the whole  night I was walking in them.  They are now my go-to heels for traveling.  I found the Seine river and went down to the river walk thinking it was there.  I found out Kong was up on the street, but I did walk around a bit and enjoyed the view.  The Eiffel Tower was twinkling.

I finally found Kong and walked up to the bouncers.  They let me in, but this place was intimidating.  I was worried it was out of my price range.  Luckily, I did ask the bouncers if I could have a drink at the bar since I didn’t have reservations for dinner and they said it was fine.

Once upstairs, I tried to compose myself.  The bartenders were sweet.  I ordered the Asian Porn Star cocktail and loved it.

Since it was a bit pricey in there, I finished up my cocktail and messaged my other friend in Paris.  He was bar hopping all over and we decided to meet at O’Sullivans.  I took a cab and ended up st the wrong place.  I guess there’s two different O’Sullivans, but I finally found my friend in the end.   Everyone inside was so young.  But they had so much energy!  I loved it!  We danced all night long.  I had a blast with him and his friend.  We caught up a bit before we ended our night there.  I’m glad I got the chance to see him…