May 22, 2014

May 22, 2014

Arc de Triomphe, Champ Elysee, and Nearly Blown off the Eiffel Tower!!!

So this morning started off at seven in the morning for me. I just couldnt sleep and so I was up and about by 8:20ish. After the usual breakfast of croissant and baguette, we headed out to the eiffel tower and met the funniest little canadian lady and her husband. She was telling us all about how she had been to paris before and accidentally made her 80 year old mother climb the eiffel tower. She was so funny and she said that her mother sat and pouted for 2 hours because she had to climb.

So we wanted to go all the way to the top and we were hoping that the weather would cooperate and we could be up there before it rained. Yeah didn’t happen. When we finally got up to the top of the tower, and paying 15 euro to do so, we were standing on the top of the eiffel tower. The clouds rolled in and the wind began to bite and howl and I almost felt like I would be blown off the top of the tower if I hadn’t been surrounded by the railing. I took pictures of the landscape and tried to take some video but I think it is more rough than I intended it to be but it is what it is. When we finished at the top of the tower we headed back down in the pouring rain and practically ran back to the hotel because we forgot umbrellas and we kind of needed them as it was pouring! Minor detail I know right? Anyway we got everything situated and hopefully together and we took the metro and ran to the paris opera house. The same paris Opera house that had been the inspiration for the famous Phantom of the Opera written by Gaston Leroux and in 1986 was turned into a broadway smash by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Not to mention my all time favorite opera!!! It was incredible! The opera house interior was gilded with gold and so opulent and over the top it was almost unimaginable. The Theatre hall was exquisite! The red velvet chairs and opulent chandelier was so rich and vibrant that it almost seemed like a different world. Almost like we had gone back in time for a brief moment.

But then again this entire trip has been filled with those moments. Seeing history in such a way that it comes to life and reminds me why I fell in love with it in the first place. To see through another persons eyes for a moment and see what they saw and experience the pivotal moments in human history that are constantly talked about. The opportunity to learn and experience the wonder of life is compounded by the lives of others and you experience more than you ever could in a single lifetime. that probably didn’t make any sense but you love me anyway! :)

So after having to pry me away from the opera house we went back to the hotel for a second and then head out again to go to the champ elysee!!! It is said that it is probably the most expensive piece of real estate in the world. We passed by a number of shops that I could only ever dream about entering let alone buying anything. we passed Tiffany & co., we passed Louie Vuitton and countless others and that is not including 3 car showrooms I saw. But we got our shopping done and so that was a milestone.

When we first started down the Champ Elysee we began in the Place de Concorde, that was the square where Marie Antoinette was executed. There is a huge fountain and several statues in the square as cars drive by and all that. It was a busy street and we passed by the exhibition hall that we saw on the first day with lots of gold statues and cool picture opportunities. It’s funny as I am sitting and taking pictures Jill and Charee have begun copying the angles I look at and taking pictures the way I do. It’s funny and cool at the same time. I’ve never been copied before and so I’m definitely not used to it. But they continually say that it’s the highest form of flattery and so I just hope they get some good photos from it.

We walked all the way down the Champ Elysee to the Arc de Triumph and took some good pictures. Upon looking up the reference and importance of the Arc de Triumph, because frankly I didn’t really know it’s story in the first place. It’s important to note that the the Arc de Triomphe (in English: "Triumphal Arch") honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.  I didn’t realize that the names of those that died in the revolution and the napoleonic wars were inscribed on the inside of the arch.

We didn’t go inside it, but now I kinda wish we had. There is a ton of historical symbolism attached to it. It is viewed as the rallying point as we were winding down and just getting tired. But we still had shopping and stuff to do so we continued the trek!

Something that was totally random was that when Charee was in a shop looking for some t-shirts for her daughters on the Champ Elysee. I went in to look for a minute but then ducked out to find a place to stand or lean at least so I could give my feet a rest. I have no idea why my feet are acting up, I haven’t had this many problems for over 2 years! Anyway I was waiting for Jill and Charee to come out and this girl walked up to me and she must’ve seen me take a drink from my water bottle and she asked to drink from it! Totally random and it caught me off guard. I thought she just wanted to know where I got it and I tried to tell her I had no idea where she could get any but she continued to ask for water and finally I gave her my bottle. It literally had 2 swallows left and I had just refilled it from the bathroom in our hotel. But there was no way I was going to let a total stranger take a drink from my water bottle and then take it back. I lost nothing but a cheap water bottle and maybe helped her out. She ran off to catch up with her group and so whatever.

It is so weird that we are leaving france in two days. France has been utterly incredible but I am getting so excited for England!!! I have to contain the squeals of delight!! Tomorrow is our last day here and I have no idea what we will be doing. So it will be fun to find out!