Days Two and Three

Day Two and Three, Paris

As of this moment, I never want to leave Paris. I have been waiting all my life to come here and now that I have made it, I don’t want to leave. There must be some form of study / employment that I can do to keep me here.

Today we are hoping to make it to the Louvre but we were out very late last night (in bed at about 5:00) so we slept a little late and that may change our plans. But so far, we have seen Basilique de Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, Sorbonne, Parthenon, Notre Dame, La Seine, Le Centre Pompidou and the half an our walk from our hotel to central Paris at sunrise. I have studied and obsessed over this city for so long that to finally get to see these monuments, I can’t help but feel overwhelmed. There is so much to do and we have so little time in this trip, I plan on coming back again, and soon.

As a city Paris is very noisy (I love it) and I think driving in Paris is kind of like Hinduism: either you are born into it or you will never fully understand it. The way cars, mopeds, motorcycles and pedestrians interact with each other on the streets is fascinating. They all seem to know what is going on but to the uneducated eye, it all looks like total chaos. Our hotel is modest but has a great view (in gallery) and I have already spent some good time sitting in front of the window watching Paris go by.

I am also intrigued by the café’s and how all the chairs face out to the street. The larger cafés have rows and rows of small tables facing out into the street as seats to the city’s theatre. So far, my language skills have been ok. I am trying to use as much of my French as possible but I have been incredibly nervous. I have been dealing not only with language issues but just learning how the whole system works. All a challenge but, fun.

The first photo gallery is finally up and includes pictures from our travels and the first day in Paris. I’ll be getting more up as soon as I can.

Ok time to get out of the room and get some coffee. Missing all of you but not Denver, move here. Its better.