Kelly's Adventures Abroad!: Paris

Paris is just lovely in the fall! We enjoyed a pretty relaxed trip filled with landmarks, shopping, and delicious food. On the Champs-Elysees I went into the flagship Sephora which was HUGE and I also went into the Gap, which made me feel oddly at home. We took a cruise on the Seine River the first night and got to see many great sights with sparkling lights and just before we also ate escargot and I had the best French onion soup ever.

The next day, our only full one, we took one of those on and off bus tours of the city. It's nice because it offers you transportation and also some background information/history about the landmarks. We went to the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame.

That day we also did some shopping, of course, and in this one tiny shop the young man at the counter gave us a huge spiel on the American system, telling us that it's all about "mon-ay, mon-ay, mon-ay! And if you don't have mon-ay, you are feenished!" It was so funny because his English wasn't very polished and so sometimes he'd get so

passionate he'd just switch to French and we didn't understand a word! That night we went out for my very early birthday dinner and we all had yummy food followed by even more delicious creme brulee.

On our last day we extensively explored the Paris Metro which I got down pretty well by the end of it. We went to the Flea Market in the morning and even though it wasn't quite what we expected (it ended up being only antiques and some kind of junky stuff),

I had a lot of fun looking around at the different little French treasures. I even found one of my own and bought a silver ring while I was there and mom bought a cute painting from this little old lady. Afterwards we went to the Paris Catacombs which are really odd because they are basically underground tombs where the bones and skulls of people have been assorted in decorative, artistic ways. Weird, huh? After, we traveled around to a couple different neighborhoods to experience what a more "French" Saturday would be like and I ate a crepe that was to die for. Then we pretty much just had time to grab our luggage and some snacks before heading to the station to catch our return train!

The overnight trains are quite the experience. Not of us got the best sleep and 6 people in a little cabin makes for very awkward sleeping arrangements! But we got lucky and always had seemingly trustworthy people in our cabins.

The last day was spent once again in Bologna but it was really laid back because we were all pretty exhausted. We just roamed around a bit...Tia Diane and Chris climbed the tower while my mom and I went to the Bologna Antique Flea Market which is only once a month and VERY promising. We found lots of beautiful (albeit expensive) items, and decided that it was much nicer than the one we went to in Paris! That night we went out to a nice dinner and Charlotte came with us. After, Charlotte and Chris had to run to the gelateria to grab some before it closed!

The next morning was very sad because we all had to say goodbye. It was 5 in the morning when they left, and after I called my dad and was talking to him for a while to unwind. At 6, I heard my buzzer ring and Tia Diane and Chris ran up the stairs frantically explaining that they had left a suitcase! So they ran back down to the taxi and luckily made it to the airport just in time to make their 6:55 flight. I talked to my mom early this morning and they all got home safely...she was so happy to see Emma (our dog) and also the boys (as a sidenote) hehe.