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Mar 19
We took the tube to the train station this morning and got on the train (Eurostar) to Paris. It was really nice, it only took about 2 hours and it wasn't very crowded. We took a taxi to out hotel and our driver didn't speak English, but we told him the address and he got us there. We are staying in Briton Hotel in Paris. It has a great view of the Eiffel Tower, Tuileries Garden, and The Louvre. It's a really nice hotel.
We walked around a in that area and in the park for a while then decided to go to the Eiffel Tower. A really old lady helped us get there on the metro because we didn't have a map. She didn't speak English but she acted out the directions. It was raining really hard when we got near the Eiffel tower so we stopped for some coffee. It was a lot bigger than I though it would be. We took lots of pictures and waited for it to get dark and to take some when it was lit up. We went back to our neighborhood on the metro and got some great French food for dinner.
Mar 20
This morning we got up and had coffee and pastries. We walked in Tuileres Garden a little and saw that big spider by Louise Bourgeois that used to be in front of Tate Modern. It's a nice park, it's got big water fountains and lots of trees and flowers and benches.
We walked to Notre Dame and saw a lot of the area around the river. The church was very pretty and it had a lot of nice stained glass inside. It's a huge church with nice tall ceilings. I liked the exterior the most though, it was decorated with lots of detail and of course had the gargoyles. We stayed for about an hour and took a few photos.
We picked up some wine and brie to try. It was really cheap, and really good.
Then we went to the Arc de Triomph. We took the metro half way and walked the other to see the city. It was nice, we took a few photos and hurried down to the river to catch a night boat ride. We just barely made it on the boat, but did get on. It was snowing and we sat outside for the first half of the trip. It was a good ride, we got to see a lot of stuff along the river like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, and lots of big buildings and old hotels.
We had French onion soup for dinner near our hotel. The food here is great!
Mar 21
Today we got up early and got a quick breakfast of pastries and coffee and went to the Louvre. It is right next to our hotel, we can see the whole thing from our balcony. It is so big, it is hard to think that people used to actually live it in. It seriously must have taken them an hour to walk to the other side of the house.
We wondered in the direction of the Mona Lisa to get to see her before the room got too crowded. It was really great seeing it. There was a barrier so we didn't get too close, but it allowed more people to see it. There was a glass covering the painting and it was tinted slightly to preserve it. Surprisingly photographs were allowed, so I decided I might as well take some. I didn't use my flash on any of them though because that is what damages them. I did take lots of great ones though just for me to remember what all I saw there.
Throughout the day we saw the most amazing collection of art that I have ever seen, and probably will ever see. The Louvre really is as great as everyone says. Some of the highlights were: several paintings by masters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Raphael, The Slave and also Dying Slave by Michelangelo, Cupid and Phyche, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory of Samathrace. We also saw lots of Italian, English, German, Flemish, Dutch and Spanish paintings. We went through a lot of Egyptian artifacts and art. There was a special exhibition on Babylon that Dad and I went into. It was good, but we couldn't read any of the descriptions of the objects or the historical commentary so we didn't really know what a lot of it was.
Mom and Hannah only stayed a few hours and then went shopping, but Dad and I stayed for about 10 hours total. I was so glad to get to spend so much time in there. We didn't see even half of their collection though, this museum is just so big. When you go you have to plan out what you really want to see, because you cannot see it all. The only thing that would have made it better is if I could read French and be able to understand the commentary. But everything else about it was amazing, and I am so glad I got to go.
Mar 22
This was our last day in Paris. We got up and had pastries and coffee again. We walked around the area for a couple of hours. Dad and I left Mom and Hannah after a while because they were stopping to shop. It was good to just see the city because it is so interesting and nice. I got a few souvenirs and we stopped to get some wine and chocolate for gifts. We met up at a café for sandwiches at lunch time. We stopped and got one painting from an artist on the street. It was a really nice colorful abstract painting of the city.
After that we packed and went to the train station. I had trouble in customs again because the denied visa, which was no surprise, but luckily the officer was nice and we made our train.
Mark picked us up at the station which was really nice of him. He took us to his house and we brought them some wine from Paris. Lawry cooked us a great dinner of chicken and vegetable pie. We talked about all of the things we did in Paris, and London. They were curious about Chickasha and they said they might come through there when they are in Tulsa. I guess it might be mildly interesting to someone who lives in London, just because it is so incredibly different.
We got checked into our hotel later and planned out the rest of the week in London.
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