Day 5: Bonjour Madamoiselle!

Day 5: Paris, France

We got to Paris on the overnight train around 9 am shortly after what was supposedly an extremely bad snowstorm for the area. (It was all melted in one day) Apparently my mom had been praying for us, and hoping we weren't caught in the blizzard somewhere. Alia and I were completely unaware of this issue, aside from the train getting a few more people than it was originally planned due to weather, we didn't know everyone was worried about us.

When we left the train station it was bitter cold compared to Italy. Italy was chilly, but not the freezing cold temperatures that Paris had. We waited forever in the cold for a taxi to come to the train station and pick us up. (Thanks to the nice man who was getting everyone taxis or we'd be STILL standing on that curb even now.) The first thing I noticed was that people in Paris don't smile as much as Italians. And no one was yelling "Ciao, Bella" at me either. Darn, I missed Italy, I got so much attention there! HA!

We couldn't wait to get to the hotel so we could shower and get the 4,000 different strains of the Plague we contracted from the train toilets off of us so they didn't make a permanent home in our bodies. The train was a fun experience to have, but I promise you they do NOT clean their bathrooms. Train bathrooms are... weird? Is that the word to use? How about a neat experience? This might be too much info for everyone.... I can hear you all going, "Whoa Lana, TMI... T...M...I!" But hear me out, this is funny! Train toilets have this little flap at the bottom of the toilet bowl, so the whole time you're sitting on the toilet, the flap never stays shut or open so it constantly rushes cold wind in and out. So the whole time you sit down you get a nice freezing gust of cold air on your bum every 1/2 second. Not to mention the whole time you're sitting you're being jostled back and forth and almost fall off the toilet. I would've killed to have balance right then. I need to work on that whole balance thing... you can knock me over by looking at me. I'm not very tough! (See, I told you it was funny!)

When we got to the hotel our hotel room wasn't ready so we went and got breakfast at a nearby restaurant. The food wasn't the same as in Italy. It was fresh, but our breakfast consisted of 4 different types of bread, some juice, and some eggs that were burned and dry. I missed Italy even more. The fresh squeezed juices, and perfectly cooked EVERYTHING from Italy was not what was on my plate this morning in Paris. Double sad face. But we were still in Paris and it was awesome to be there!

After a long breakfast waiting for our room, it was afternoon, around 1 pm. We went back to the hotel, checked in and decided to sleep for a few hours since the train was not conducive to sleep, despite calling it a sleeper car. Around 5 pm we got up and got ready and decided to head over to Notre Dame. They'd be doing a few different evening mass ceremonies, and since both of us are Mormon, it's not often we attend a mass, let alone one in the Notre Dame cathedral.

We walked over there, with 50 layers on because Paris was freezing, and got there just in time for the mass to start. It was just a couple blocks from our hotel. Lucky girls we are, getting to stay 2 blocks from Notre Dame in Paris! The walk over the Seine River was beautiful at night, and the cathedral was gorgeous in the evening light also.

The mass ceremony is very reverent. The girl who was singing had the most beautiful opera-like voice. It was extremely clear with no vibrato. We both sat really quietly through the whole thing. It was beautiful and peaceful. I'm really glad we did the mass that night. We were exhausted and it was low key and perfect for how we felt. Also we got to do something I may never get a chance to do again in my life. How many people get to say they went to a mass at the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris around here? Yeah, not too many!

All bundled up and ready to go out in my 50 layers of clothes.

To better understand just how many layers I had to put on to keep me warm, I will list it here:

I would put on regular socks, then my leggings, then my jeans, then my tall knee high ski socks (you know the super thick kind made for extreme temperatures), then my leg warmers, then my knee high boots. Then for the top half of me, I'd put on a tank top, a t shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a thick wool sweater, then my black wool coat I bought in Italy, then a thick fleece scarf, my beanie, and my gloves. Usually by the time I got all this on, I'd have to pee. Grrrr...

STORY OF MY LIFE PEOPLE, STORY OF MY LIFE! I'm the girl that if you tell her she won't be able to use the bathroom for the next hour I'll have to pee so bad for that entire hour. I'm just a weirdo like that. You probably don't want me on road trips, unless you don't let me drink fluids in the car and distract me from being able to think about whether I have to use the bathroom or not.

Anyway, back to the trip....

After the mass we walked around, and found a bunch of offering candles that said NOEL on them by a nativity scene. This was pretty common in every church. Offering candles are everywhere.

Inside Notre Dame Cathedral. You're not supposed to take pictures of the altar, or main area of the chapels, this was off in a hallway.

The ceiling and hallways. You can see how spacious and open the inside of these cathedrals are. I loved every single cathedral in Italy and Paris. They are huge, and gothic. They are all made out of stone, and have the most amazing ceilings.

Another hallway shot of Notre Dame interior.

Out in the square in front of Notre Dame. It was gorgeous and reflected a kind of white hue in the lights. I love the Christmas tree behind me.

View from across the street. Notre Dame is much smaller than you think compared to what it looks like in the movies. I thought it would be this gargantuan sized building. It's big, and spacious inside, very beautiful and very ornate. I just thought it would be bigger than it was. But I thought the same thing about the Coliseum in Rome too. I guess things get built up in our minds of how they're going to be so much so that when you get there you're surprised but still in awe because of how amazing Europe is. I loved this trip. Wish I could've stayed in both countries for a few months and really explored.

Oh and here's what my dinner was like... chicken, salad and.... FRIES?! I wasn't as impressed as I was in Italy with the food, but it was still very fresh and Paris was still fun!

Journal Postcard 12/9/10 - Paris

Today in Paris was short lived. Despite having our own room on the sleeping car, we barely slept. Every time the train stopped we woke up panicked that we'd missed the spot we needed to get off. We froze our butts off waiting for a taxi and by the time we got to our hotel we were wiped out! We got breakfast, made a quick decision to take a chill day and took a nap. Then we decided to go to an evening mass at Notre Dame. it's a short walk from our hotel. The mass at Notre Dame was interesting and the singer had one of the most beautiful voices in the world. A great choice on our part I think. We got a less than impressive dinner afterward and went to sleep. French food so far isn't the best. Every place we went in Italy was fresh, amazingly delicious and we were in FOOD HEAVEN! France needs to step up in the food department!