Traveling

Right now I'm waiting for my Eurostar train at the Paris Nord station. Free wifi is really difficult to come by, so I am once again typing in TextEdit and will paste this online when I can :)

Paris on a budget: When you have to spend in Euros (and you don't earn in Euros), things can get pretty expensive. Tips for Paris - go to the grocery stores to buy snacks and bottled water. They are 10x cheaper there than anywhere else. But have at least 1 nice dinner because you have to try the French wine, cheese, seafood, and crepes. Macaroons are also pretty big here too -- try at least 1 somewhere (Pierre Hermes recommended).

So Matt and I just parted ways...he is headed back home (after a short layover in Iceland) and I am now headed to Bristol. Looking back, it was a long 2+ months that oddly flew by, but it was a lot of fun. 

So, buddy -- Thanks for inflicting several pseudo-bruises on me, for not making fun of me as much as you could have, for eating worcestershire (instead of soy sauce) chicken, for trying to teach me how to drive stick, for enduring some of the longest layovers ever, for letting me unevenly chop your hair off, for getting "lost" in Montemarte, for letting me share in your rum with a side of cake, and for being an awesome travel buddy. Oh yeah, and for all the very "cooul" pictures too.

**This post was created several days ago.

Au Revoir Paris

(catching up on Photos)

Last day in Paris

7:45am - Matt woke me up to tell me he's going to try to beat the lines at the Louvre (which he apparently succeeded at because he was the 3rd person in line, woot woot)

7:46am - I decided to sleep in

8:20am - I couldn't go back to sleep so I got up to repack and prune my facebook friends

9:30am - Finally left the hotel, picked up water, crackers, and cheese at the grocery store; was mistaken for a local when someone tried to ask me for directions in French; got on the subway

10:00am - Went shopping at the Gap Paris on Champ Elysees (so that I can further avoid to do laundry until I get back to NY)

11:10am - Found my favorite spot in Paris at the Musee de l'Orangerie in front of Monet's Nympheas (Waterlilies)

12:30pm - Wandered into the Jardin des Tulleries to perch for some Babybel & biscuits

1:15pm - Found myself in a sea of people at the Louvre

1:30pm - Completed the museum pilgrimage to the Mona Lisa

1:50pm - Decided that I liked the Venus de Milo better; wandered through a couple more wings and found my favorite sculpture

2:30pm - Too hot and too many people in the Louvre

3:00pm - Wandered over to the Forum for some shopping

3:45pm - Decided to find an authentically French food (other than fries / frites)...

3:50pm - Balanced myself on a fountainside with a Nutella & Coconut Crepe which was hot and delicious

4:30pm - Hopped on the subway and made it back to the hotel in one piece after almost falling asleep on the train :P 

7:00pm - Had a McRoyale (aka McDonald's quarter pounder) for dinner [apparently McDonald's taste testing was part of the world tour...Matt has come to the conclusion that  big Mac tastes the same practically anywhere you go]

9:11pm - The sun set in Paris

...Bristol here I come!