Tre Joli

I'll start by saying that Chris has just finished writing about London, and it can be found here. It has lots of really good pictures and they're even in chronological order. Hmm that sounded a bit like an advertisement. Back to our usual programming, randomly collected pictures and all.

After using the Internet at the British Public Library we went back to the hostel to rest a bit and then ate dinner before heading out to the Leicester Square/ Covent Garden area. When we got off the street we were on was Charing Cross Road, which was exciting as that’s the name of a famous novel. We walked down a bit and stumbled, bizarrely enough, upon a carnival. It was so odd to see amongst old statues the flashing lights of the rides and I was excited to see swings so we walked through to watch for a bit. We ultimately decided that it would be fun to use part of our remaining money on the swings ride, instead of more food, because it was an experience we’d always have to remember. How many people can say they rode swings in the middle of London? We were two of four people on the ride and it lasted for quite a long time. At first I was worried by the dizzying feeling, thinking that perhaps it was different from what I remembered from when I was younger, but then I loved the feeling of the cold air on my cheeks, my legs pushing out over the city, and my arms spread wide. It was Chris’s first ride on swings and I’m certain that London was a very memorable place to have that experience.





After that we walked around the area some more and then headed back to the hostel, getting off at a stop that we figured would bring us somewhat close to a road that we knew had lots of grocery stores because we wanted to use the last of our money and I hoped to buy a specific kind of candy, Aero bites (mom and dad, remember those from Ireland?). We were so excited when we exited the station and right across the way was one of the biggest grocery stores we had seen because this meant that we didn’t have to go on a longer walk. Even better, when we went in the store it actually had the candy that I had just seen a few times before, as other stores had seemed to be out or not have them. Better yet, after we had gotten that, a bar of Cadbury dark chocolate, and two apples (for a good measure) we saw that we had very nearly perfectly used our money, as we now only have one pent. Not bad, eh?

This morning we got up a bit earlier, ate breakfast, and headed to the train station. The train ride was enjoyable, although I suppose that could be due to the fact that I really like trains. We kept getting excited as we passed little French towns (with the opening song from Beauty and the Beast going through my head) but there were also areas that seemed a lot more run down than the areas near the trains in London.

The journey to the hotel was quite stressful. We had to wait in a long line to get tickets for the metro because we could not read everything on the machines. We also couldn’t figure out how to get our bags through the gates, as they were too large, until finally someone else came along and did it with theirs so we followed suit. The metro itself was crowded, and with all our bags this made it really difficult. At the stop I couldn’t figure out how to open the door but thankfully someone did it for me so we were able to get off for our transfer. Walking to the hotel was very hard because there was about an inch of slush. We walked too far a couple of times and were very cold and wet in the snow. But what’s important is that we made it here safely and are staying in a really nice hotel. The room seems quite French, with striped wallpaper and red furnishings and it’s nice to be somewhere cozy after the dorm rooms in London.

After resting and drying off a bit we walked outside and could now actually look around and appreciate how beautiful the city is. We walked along in the snow and stopped to look in windows at all of the delightful looking pastries and went to a bakery that apparently has the third best baguette in Paris (I’m not sure who this is according to but it did taste very delicious to me). The store smelled amazing and after some awkward use of the maybe four French words we know we had a baguette in hand and walked to the Eiffel Tower. I loved that it was snowing when we first saw it because it made it seem like a more unique moment and we even made a tiny little snowman in the grass in front of the Tower. We walked over to the Seine River and to a footbridge where we could see the Tower before heading back to our area to stop at a grocery store.

The houses here are really beautiful, off-white with small black roofs, large balconies, and tall bookcases and elegant chandeliers in so many windows. I love standing in front of the windows of the pastry stores and bakeries and looking at all of the treats, thinking about which ones I would like to get. It reminds me of that book and movie Chocolat. In fact, there was one window filled with chocolate Eiffel Towers, and quite pricey ones at that. While it really is so charming here I find it very hard not knowing the language. I feel quite uncomfortable not being able to say even the most basic phrases to people because it makes everything much more difficult and I feel rude in situations, like when a store clerk is asking if they can help us. So far it’s been alright, as we’ve been getting by with smiles and pointing and asking if people speak English. I hope this continues to work. Despite this, I find what I have seen of Paris to be very amazing.

I can’t wait to explore more of this beautiful place tomorrow, hopefully with less slush. We plan on going to Musee D’Orsay in the morning, which I’m really excited for because it has some of my favorite and then to the Louvre/ Pont Neuf area in the afternoon. More then!




Here are some more pictures from London, once again just click to make them bigger:


Britain's new staff.


That's Tower Bridge in the background.


Chris eying the treasure in the British Museum.


Pocket watches on display in the museum.


Us on display.


The bird tried to pose for my picture.


This picture amuses me because Chris is standing so far away from the guard.


A friendly soldier at the changing of the guards. (Chris also pointed out when he zoomed in on the picture that the guard has good teeth, thus bucking another stereotype).