Paris

Boarding the plane for Paris, we encountered our first use of French... another language we can now check off our list. We flew in to Paris, Beauvais and took a bus to Manu's place. My mom's student Emilie found us a friend, Manu, to stay with. We loved him! He and his roommate Sylvain were amazing, very hospitable, and made us feel at home.

Our first day here we went to the Palace of Versailles. It was enormous! ALthough many kings have lived there, King Louis XIV is the most infamous of those that lived there, he reined for some 70+ years! This was neat for me, having learned all about him during dance history as the SunKing in ballet. We were able to see the ballrooms in which he would perform with his courtiers... it was exactly as I had imagined. The palaces were beautiful and were actually quite similar to those palaces we've visited in Spain. It is impossible to fathom living in a place like this. What a life!

That night we went on a Seine River cruise. It was beautiful, my favorite part of the Paris trip. It was so different seeing the city at night from this perspective. The Eiffel Tower lit up at night was jaw-dropping. The following day we went to the Louvre and again were blown away by its size. You could never truly appreciate all of the artwork in the museum, there's simply too much artwork to enjoy. We decided to see the Mona Lisa and the Egyptian section. I was surprised how small the Mona Lisa was, but it is true there is definitely something tragically, mysterious about the woman in the painting.

After the Louvre we went to the Notre Dame. Again, it was huge and beautiful... this seems to be the theme in Paris. I hadn't expected a gothic cathedral, I'm not sure why, but it was beautiful. The circular, stained glass windows were a beautiful shade of deep blue and purple. There were people participating in confession and mass. It has been interesting to see cathedrals in each country we visit, for the most part they are similar, but still manage to give off a completely different vibe.

Many met up with us after the Notre Dame to show us around some of the city. He took us first to an art museum that overlooks the city. There was a breakdancing group out front performing and were very entertaining to watch. After the museum we walked around a shopping district, but didn't dare to walk in to any shops ;) and then went to a park to walk around. We met up with Sylvain after he got off of work and went to a traditional Japanese food restaurant, so that Ellen and I could take them out to dinner to thank them for their hospitality.

We had planned to visit the Eiffel Tower on Monday morning, hoping we would miss some of the weekend crowd, but when we woke up it was pouring rain. We took the metro to the tower and were drenched by the time we arrived. We went up to the second level of the tower to look out over the city, but it was so rainy and foggy we couldn't see anything :( so we enjoyed a coffee in the cafe and headed back. Manu and Sylvain took us out to a traditional French dinner our last night there. For appetizers we had the traditional Christmas meal, Fois Gras, Goose liver. I actually didn't mind it all that much, surprisingly. It was served with seasonings and bread, so I think maybe I couldn't taste it as well ;) I had grilled fish and fresh vegetables... something I had been dyeing to have. After dinner we walked around the Louvre all lit up at night and walked around admiring the night life.

Overall, I truly enjoyed our time in Ireland and France because I truled loved the people that we encountered. People in Ireland always made you feel welcome and wanted. We could not speak a word of French, but the people were more welcoming and warm than the majority of Spaniards I have encountered. This trip made me realize that I can go anywhere in the world and no matter the place, if I don't feel that I am in good company or liked and respected by the people around me, it means so much less. Life is all about the people we meet and the connections we make.