PARIS!!
So after classes on Thursday I made my way over to St. Pancras train station to take the Eurostar chunnel...all by myself. I've never traveled completely alone before, well...there was that one time...but I still had someone to see me off and make sure I got to the correct place. So I was a bundle of nerves that my printed ticket wouldn't be accepted...or they wouldn't let me through security...or I would get on the wrong train....yea...
But it was fine. Of course.
Except for that lady taking everything out of my purse and scanning my phone and camera separate... and swiping the inside of my purse with a thingermajig and scanning THAT....and basically making a big deal out of nothing. I don't get why...no one else had this special treatment. She did it to freak me out...I'm certain.
I was actually there super early so I had to wait at least an hour 1/2. Better than late I suppose.
The train-ride was only two ear-popping hours long.
If you don't know what the chunnel is...it's a train that basically goes underneath the mass of water separating the British Island from the rest of Europe. A channel/tunnel. Get it? Chunnel! :)
I was also afraid that I wouldn't find Kelsey when I got off because I wasn't able to check the computer before leaving to get her phone number. But luckily she was right there at the end of the platform waiting for me. :)
My was a I a chatterbox...unusual for me. I guess it comes with being excited to see a friend I haven't seen in awhile, who also lives in a big city...things in common to discuss. :)
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| slice of heaven right there!! |
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| they love Kelsey!! |
My first meal in Paris: mushroom, chicken, green pepper, and cheese pizza! Delicious! The cheese, as you can see from the picture, was very stringy...the best way to eat it (lol, reminds me of the Goofy movie). Apparently Kelsey eats at this pizza place every Friday night...so when we walked up they were already waving at us from the window and chatted with Kelsey while we were inside. They loved her! After I took a silly picture of Kels, this guy insisted I take one of her and him together. lol. They gave us superb service too because we were the only ones in their shop eating. The pizza was huge...I could only eat a bit before I was full. :) mmm
After pizza it was Eiffel Tower time!! Hopped back on the metro.
Little side note on the metro in Paris: while it's more spacious than the tube trains...it seemed dirtier to me. Homeless people were sleeping in the stations and there were often performers on the trains themselves who would walk around asking for money after they did their little show. People were also more social on the metro and made more eye contact (sometimes in a creepy way). You would not see that in the London tube. (Maybe in the station, but not on the actual train). Paris in general seemed dirtier to me as well, which is a shame because it's such a beautiful city. People smoke as much there as they do in London, however, I feel like people in London make more of an effort to not leave their cigarette butts all over the sidewalks like Paris. Also, the techniques people used to make money, whether homeless or street performers, was shocking to me...the lengths some of them would go! I'll never forget that old man curled up with two adorable puppies squished together on his chest. It made you feel so sorry for the dogs that you wanted to give him money...but that was the act. I saw him a couple of times actually...in the same area by the Notre Dame...
We walked to the tower (avoiding all the guys selling the same cheapy souvenirs trying to get us to buy their stuff).
Finally, we passed the last building and there it was, a clear, complete view of it all lit up like the 4th of July.
I started jumping around and squealing like a little kid hyped up on candy. lol
I've always dreamed of seeing the Eiffel Tower.
Just to see it once.
And there it was in front of me...more amazing than I had imagined.
The architecture of the structure...so modern. Steel, criss-crossing...not something I would normally like. But put it all together and add lights to it...AWEsome!! The detail of it can be missed...around the arches there is little curly patterns and on the outside is writing. Not sure what it said though...when we saw it in the daylight it was rather foggy.
We walked to the grassy area so I could get a full view of it to take a picture. Kelsey told me that it sparkles every hour after dark...which I didn't know and didn't know what to expect.
I think I screamed a little when it started!!!
"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go. I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home. I'll spend forever wondering if you knew...I was enchanted to meet you!!!" (sorry...sparkling = this song).
So I ooo-ed and I ahh-ed and I'm sure Kesley was very entertained by my raw excitement. I told her it was "better than fireworks"...to which Katy Perry's song made it into my head for the rest of the night. :)
Mm Mm good! Wow! is all I can say. I don't have the capability to describe how I felt about it in any more detail other than...I was "wonderstruck." :)
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| the Sparkling tower |
Friday:
Get ready to hear about one of the most TERRIFYING experiences of my life!!
The morning was pretty chill (chill as in relaxed...but it was actually a little nippy this weekend in Paris, as well). We got ready to head out. Stopped at a bakery for coffee and pain au chocolats (crescents filled with chocolate...mm). Then hopped on the metro.
Kelsey had class until 11:00, so she got off and I just stayed on for a couple more stops to go to the Louvre on my own.
I found the Louvre just fine. It's a giant castle, you can't exactly miss it....and the picture taking began. :)
I got there early Friday morning...shortly before it opened. So the line wasn't super long outside the Pyramid. Thank heavens.
The second I got in and found out where to leave my coat, I made a beeline for the Mona Lisa.
Not really because I was so eager to see her...
But because I knew that if I waited, it would be extremely crowded later in the day.
She was in the wing with paintings from the Italian Renaissance. :) ...stuff I learned about in my art history class last semester...and a style I particularly love. So that was cool getting to see them. (especially "Pastoral Symphony"...I love Venetian art!)
Mona.
"Weren't you disappointed when you saw her?"
No, actually. I knew what to expect...yes, it's a small painting with rather dull-ish colors. But it's what the Mona Lisa, and Leonardo in general, offered to art history that makes it so important. Sfumato (smoky painting technique) and portraits of ordinary (rather than extraordinary) women. Thank you da Vinci. :)
I almost had more fun "people-watching" than looking at the artworks. lol.
It seems to be a cultural thing for Asians to take pictures with the artwork. haha! With either a very serious non-smiling face, or the ridiculously overused and meaningless peace sign...they stand (usually individually) in front of a painting and have someone take their picture.
Here are some prime examples:
I had a good chuckle at...ahem...one in particular. lol!
So this is me mocking them....
yes, anyways...
I made my way through part of the ancient Greece and Egypt section before meeting Kelsey for lunch.
I started taking silly pictures just because I thought of captions or random songs to go with them. :)
...Like the Hercules songs that played through my head in the Greek vase room...yup.
It took Kelsey and I awhile to find each other. We had planned on meeting in the ticket area under the pyramid...but, well, that place is rather large. It didn't help that for some reason when we tried to call each other...our calls wouldn't go through. Paris doesn't like me, I guess.
I finally spotted her in the very center and we went off to get some grub.
We decided on a reasonably priced (for the Louvre) Chinese place and had some tasty noodles with four different kinds of chicken kabobs. We looked in some shops before going back to the museum.
Here is where it started.
Since Kelsey had just gotten there, she still needed a ticket (even though the Louvre is free for students). The ticket booth lines looked quite long, so I looked around for a place to sit and wait for her. It was rather crowded in the central area under the pyramid and I didn't see any benches nearby.
Earlier I had told her what floor I wanted to see next, so I looked for the entrance to those exhibits.
I said, "Okay, I'm going to go up that elevator and find a spot to wait for you at the top"
This is what Kelsey heard:
"Okay, I'm going to go up that elevator and start looking at the stuff on the floor I told you about earlier."
*shakes head at the terrible miscommunication and listening...on both our parts...I could have explained myself much better*
So there I was, not even going into the wing yet, at the top of the elevator...waiting for Kelsey.
I looked at the little gift shop...in open view in case she walked by.
I sat on the ledge of a large potted plant and watched the top of the elevator.
I walked to the edge and looked down at the pyramid center to see if I could see which ticket line she was standing in.
Hmm...I don't see her in any of the ticket lines...but maybe she's around a corner I can't see.
.....
Gee, surely she's gotten through that line by now.
.....
Dang it Kelsey! Where the heck are you!!
.....
After waiting for at least half an hour I finally accepted the truth that Kesley had misunderstood me...
I figured she thought I had gone ahead to look at the artworks on said floor. However, how was she going to know which direction I went once I got to the floor?....which is why I just wanted to meet at the top of the elevator first before going in!!
Not gonna lie...I was angry. Not rightly so...because it was just as much my fault as hers. But the anger preceeded fear. I needed someone to blame.
I marched down to the payphones. French French French. I knew I should have taken French in High School...but mom and dad said Spanish was more practical. WELL...It would have been VERY helpful at this moment! The instructions on those phones were all in French.
Somehow I discovered a collect number to call and they spoke to me in English....I entered Kelsey's number...which, wouldn't you know...no one answered.
So, in anger I thought "Heck, I'm in the Louvre!!...I came here as a once in a lifetime experience...SO, I'm going to do what I came here to do...look at art!!!"
I set off to the floor that I said I wanted to look at earlier, desperately hoping that I would run into Kelsey somewhere along the way.
At this point I wasn't too worried yet. I was just frustrated.
I was still sweeping the looming fear into the corner...denying it room. Plus, I was faithful that God would pull through for me...that we would find each other. I don't think I even prayed much at the time...because deep down I had a peace that I would run into her and everything would be fine.
So I went into the exhibits...taking the wrong turn and walking around the Medieval Louvre section before finding the floor I intended on going to in the first place.
I tried to take my time...not worrying. Took lots of pictures and admired Napoleon's apartments. Once I finished this floor...still not running into Kelsey....I had a decision. "I can either go to another floor and take my blessed time, or I can go back to the ticket area and see if she's waiting for me there."
I decided to go to another floor.
However, I was only there for a short time....
Because at this point...Kelsey and I had been separated for at least 2 hours...and I was beginning to panic.
I couldn't focus on the art...my mind was starting to race.
So back to the ticket center under the pyramid I went.
I kept changing my position....
From my overhead lookout at the top of the elevator,
to the center of the floor under the pyramid....in plain view in case Kesley was looking for me,
to the coat area...because she would surely need her coat before she left.
No Kelsey
And I finally let the monster loose....the thought thundered through my head...that deafening cry of doom, clawing at my sanity.
Lost!
When I say I "was lost"....I mean that I "lost" Kelsey.
I knew exactly where I was in the Louvre...and I could figure my way around with the map in my purse.
No.
I had lost my only guide to Paris
...and if I couldn't find her before the Louvre closed...well, then I WOULD be LOST....in Paris....alone! Stranded! For two days until Sunday when my train leaves....I think I can find my way to the station....I hope.
My mind raged with all of the possible courses of action...in case I couldn't find her.
I could try to find her foyer...it is near the Arc de Triomphe and fancy purse store....easy enough to find. Once I got there though, I would have no idea what street her foyer is on or the name of it.
Maybe I could call the Vandon House and they could get a hold of the Paris program and leave a message for Kelsey...
But I COULD NOT leave the Louvre until it closed. Because my best chance of finding Kelsey was to stay put. I was partly her responsibility...so she couldn't just leave me there, could she?
Kelsey had to still be in the Louvre.
If worse came to worse though...I'd have to find a hostel to stay in.
I tried the pay phone one more time...this time adding the area code Kelsey told me that I might need.
It rang and rang and finally some woman spoke in French and there was a beep...
crap, well, I hope this is voicemail....
so I left a message and hung up the phone feeling sick to my stomach.
Not knowing if the call even went through.
I went back to my balcony lookout.
Are you surprised to hear that I wasn't completely sobbing yet?
I am.
So panicked you can't even cry.....yea, that's where I was.
My eyes simply became misty as visions raced before them.
I had been praying throughout this whole thing...but my prayers kicked in hardcore at this point.
Out of options.
Only faith.
Isn't that how it always works?
My eyes swept over the crowds...gee, I don't know how many times....never resting.
God, I know you'll come through for me and I've been patient up until now. But I lost Kelsey around 12:30 and it is now 3:30....Lord, help me!!
My knees were just about on the ground.
Quite honestly, if there weren't so many people in the Louvre, I probably would have curled up in the fetal position and started rocking back and forth.
I walked back down to the center of the ticket area....turning this way and that...always looking.
My lips were licked raw (I tend to do this when I get nervous).
Come On! I've never even lost my parents in a grocery store as a kid!
And there I was...a different country, different culture, different language that I only know TWO words of, my phone couldn't call Kelsey, and I didn't know my way around Paris...at all.
I had one more available option at the time....
I could go to the information desk and fill out a missing person form.
I didn't think they could do much for me, since the Louvre doesn't have an intercom system...just guards with radios in each room.
But I had to try.
"Do you speak English"
"A little" (great....)
She asked me questions to fill out a missing person form...half the time she didn't know the word in English and we had to use arm and hand motions like charades to understand each other. It was rather ridiculous.
After a few minutes of that and only getting halfway through the sheet she suddenly realized that the form was only for missing children.
GAH!
But she turned the sheet over and said I could leave a message for my friend.
As she handed the sheet to me, I felt someone close behind my right shoulder lean close to my ear and say:
"When we go to Italy together, we are holding hands!"
My knees about gave way.
I swung around! My eyes didn't focus on her face but I knew it was Kelsey...and I basically collapsed on her.....my form of a hug after having lost someone for over 3 hours!
I promptly thanked God as well. :) :) :)
So...we proceeded to explain our individual stories, emotions, and thoughts from the past few hours.
This took quite some time. And every time we thought we had covered everything....we talked about it some more...SO traumatizing!
We even went to get coffee just so we could chat and have time to calm down.
Apparently, it had only taken her a few minutes to get through the ticket line and then...yup...she thought I had already gone in to look at paintings and so she went into the museum....and SOMEHOW walked RIGHT PAST me.
We did this the whole afternoon...just barely missing each other.
She walked swiftly through the floor she thought I was on...thinking I'd be in the next room, or the next....and well, that's how it continued for Miss Kelsey.
Except her story includes buying a calling card and trying to call me...but even that didn't go through to my phone...so she called her mom and cried instead. :( aww!
I discovered that the second time I used the pay phone...it actually went through to her cell! However, she had gone to sit at a cafe and calm herself down...and just barely missed it!! She couldn't call the number back, of course. But when she saw that she had a missed call, that's when she knew I must be close to a phone...so she came to look for me.
And spotted me at the information desk.
THANK GOD I HAVE BRIGHT RED HAIR....and I also wore a plaid shirt that day....easy to spot from a distance.
One this is for sure...I grew up a lot in one day!! It was terrible while it happened...but it makes for a good story and we can just laugh about it now. I'm sure Kelsey and I will talk about it for years to come...."remember that one time when we lost each other in the Louvre!!??" Part of me feels like it never happened because of how quickly it took for the fear to disappear and things to return back to normal. But it did happen, and it was very unpleasant...and we learned A LOT of big lessons that day. We will always have an emergency plan and meeting place from now on.
I think I might even write and illustrate a children's book similar to this experience someday....Lost in the Louvre (a traveler's tale by Ami Holcomb)
haha!
I didn't really feel like it anymore, but since we were in the Louvre...we had better look around.
I got to see Aphrodite (the famous woman sculpture without arms)
and an awesome sculpture of Mary Magdalene that I never knew about!!
We walked briskly through the Egypt and Greece section...because a lot of that stuff can start to look the same.
It was kind of sad...by the time we got to the room with all the marble sculpture, some of my favorite art...the room was dark, because we neglected to think about the fact that the room is lit by windows in the ceiling...and the sun had already set. The sculptures were still neat, just not as pretty as they would be if the sun was shining brightly on them...
After a long day at the Louvre, we left and went to the Arc de Triomphe and paid the admission fee to climb the stairs to the top. Probably not the best idea, since my feet were already so sore from walking around the Louvre all day.
But the view from the top of the Arc...over Paris at night....STUNNING!!! and totally worth it! :)
After that it was time to eat!!! My was I hungry!!
Kelsey took me to an Italian street...which was cool in itself...it was narrow with brightly lit shops, restaurants, and lot of people walking about.
And this is the gyro that I ate....cheap, but huge and delicious! I could only eat about half. I think mine had lamb meat, and piled fries on the top...kind of interesting, but very tasty!
And if our day wasn't busy enough, we then walked over to see the outside of the Notre Dame at night. Totally worth it...it's gorgeous. Kelsy and I had fun singing Disney songs from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. :) lol
On the way back to her foyer, Kelsey pointed out a hotel with a roof that used to sparkle like the Eiffel tower. Right next to this hotel was a two-story adorable carousel and a skating rink where a small hockey game was going on (no big deal...lol). :) Oh, Paris...
The end of Friday. SLEEP! I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares that night...but I did have visions of painting upon painting swimming before my eyes as I laid in bed before finally drifting off.
WOW! That was probably my longest post.
But really...it was my most eventful weekend in Europe thus far...so I feel like that's a good excuse.
Bravo if you read all of that!
Cheers friend,
~Merely Mortal~
Kelsey had class until 11:00, so she got off and I just stayed on for a couple more stops to go to the Louvre on my own.
I found the Louvre just fine. It's a giant castle, you can't exactly miss it....and the picture taking began. :)
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| the Louvre is giant! Those were only two of the four wings of the castle. |
I got there early Friday morning...shortly before it opened. So the line wasn't super long outside the Pyramid. Thank heavens.
The second I got in and found out where to leave my coat, I made a beeline for the Mona Lisa.
Not really because I was so eager to see her...
But because I knew that if I waited, it would be extremely crowded later in the day.
She was in the wing with paintings from the Italian Renaissance. :) ...stuff I learned about in my art history class last semester...and a style I particularly love. So that was cool getting to see them. (especially "Pastoral Symphony"...I love Venetian art!)
Mona.
"Weren't you disappointed when you saw her?"
No, actually. I knew what to expect...yes, it's a small painting with rather dull-ish colors. But it's what the Mona Lisa, and Leonardo in general, offered to art history that makes it so important. Sfumato (smoky painting technique) and portraits of ordinary (rather than extraordinary) women. Thank you da Vinci. :)
I almost had more fun "people-watching" than looking at the artworks. lol.
It seems to be a cultural thing for Asians to take pictures with the artwork. haha! With either a very serious non-smiling face, or the ridiculously overused and meaningless peace sign...they stand (usually individually) in front of a painting and have someone take their picture.
Here are some prime examples:
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| well...she's rather small. But she's doing the peace sign |
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| My hero. haha |
So this is me mocking them....
yes, anyways...
I made my way through part of the ancient Greece and Egypt section before meeting Kelsey for lunch.
I started taking silly pictures just because I thought of captions or random songs to go with them. :)
...Like the Hercules songs that played through my head in the Greek vase room...yup.
It took Kelsey and I awhile to find each other. We had planned on meeting in the ticket area under the pyramid...but, well, that place is rather large. It didn't help that for some reason when we tried to call each other...our calls wouldn't go through. Paris doesn't like me, I guess.
I finally spotted her in the very center and we went off to get some grub.
We decided on a reasonably priced (for the Louvre) Chinese place and had some tasty noodles with four different kinds of chicken kabobs. We looked in some shops before going back to the museum.
Here is where it started.
Since Kelsey had just gotten there, she still needed a ticket (even though the Louvre is free for students). The ticket booth lines looked quite long, so I looked around for a place to sit and wait for her. It was rather crowded in the central area under the pyramid and I didn't see any benches nearby.
Earlier I had told her what floor I wanted to see next, so I looked for the entrance to those exhibits.
I said, "Okay, I'm going to go up that elevator and find a spot to wait for you at the top"
This is what Kelsey heard:
"Okay, I'm going to go up that elevator and start looking at the stuff on the floor I told you about earlier."
*shakes head at the terrible miscommunication and listening...on both our parts...I could have explained myself much better*
So there I was, not even going into the wing yet, at the top of the elevator...waiting for Kelsey.
I looked at the little gift shop...in open view in case she walked by.
I sat on the ledge of a large potted plant and watched the top of the elevator.
I walked to the edge and looked down at the pyramid center to see if I could see which ticket line she was standing in.
Hmm...I don't see her in any of the ticket lines...but maybe she's around a corner I can't see.
 |
| the view from my waiting spot at the top of the elevator |
Gee, surely she's gotten through that line by now.
.....
Dang it Kelsey! Where the heck are you!!
.....
After waiting for at least half an hour I finally accepted the truth that Kesley had misunderstood me...
I figured she thought I had gone ahead to look at the artworks on said floor. However, how was she going to know which direction I went once I got to the floor?....which is why I just wanted to meet at the top of the elevator first before going in!!
Not gonna lie...I was angry. Not rightly so...because it was just as much my fault as hers. But the anger preceeded fear. I needed someone to blame.
I marched down to the payphones. French French French. I knew I should have taken French in High School...but mom and dad said Spanish was more practical. WELL...It would have been VERY helpful at this moment! The instructions on those phones were all in French.
Somehow I discovered a collect number to call and they spoke to me in English....I entered Kelsey's number...which, wouldn't you know...no one answered.
So, in anger I thought "Heck, I'm in the Louvre!!...I came here as a once in a lifetime experience...SO, I'm going to do what I came here to do...look at art!!!"
I set off to the floor that I said I wanted to look at earlier, desperately hoping that I would run into Kelsey somewhere along the way.
At this point I wasn't too worried yet. I was just frustrated.
I was still sweeping the looming fear into the corner...denying it room. Plus, I was faithful that God would pull through for me...that we would find each other. I don't think I even prayed much at the time...because deep down I had a peace that I would run into her and everything would be fine.
So I went into the exhibits...taking the wrong turn and walking around the Medieval Louvre section before finding the floor I intended on going to in the first place.
I tried to take my time...not worrying. Took lots of pictures and admired Napoleon's apartments. Once I finished this floor...still not running into Kelsey....I had a decision. "I can either go to another floor and take my blessed time, or I can go back to the ticket area and see if she's waiting for me there."
I decided to go to another floor.
However, I was only there for a short time....
Because at this point...Kelsey and I had been separated for at least 2 hours...and I was beginning to panic.
I couldn't focus on the art...my mind was starting to race.
So back to the ticket center under the pyramid I went.
I kept changing my position....
From my overhead lookout at the top of the elevator,
to the center of the floor under the pyramid....in plain view in case Kesley was looking for me,
to the coat area...because she would surely need her coat before she left.
No Kelsey
And I finally let the monster loose....the thought thundered through my head...that deafening cry of doom, clawing at my sanity.
Lost!
When I say I "was lost"....I mean that I "lost" Kelsey.
I knew exactly where I was in the Louvre...and I could figure my way around with the map in my purse.
No.
I had lost my only guide to Paris
...and if I couldn't find her before the Louvre closed...well, then I WOULD be LOST....in Paris....alone! Stranded! For two days until Sunday when my train leaves....I think I can find my way to the station....I hope.
My mind raged with all of the possible courses of action...in case I couldn't find her.
I could try to find her foyer...it is near the Arc de Triomphe and fancy purse store....easy enough to find. Once I got there though, I would have no idea what street her foyer is on or the name of it.
Maybe I could call the Vandon House and they could get a hold of the Paris program and leave a message for Kelsey...
But I COULD NOT leave the Louvre until it closed. Because my best chance of finding Kelsey was to stay put. I was partly her responsibility...so she couldn't just leave me there, could she?
Kelsey had to still be in the Louvre.
If worse came to worse though...I'd have to find a hostel to stay in.
I tried the pay phone one more time...this time adding the area code Kelsey told me that I might need.
It rang and rang and finally some woman spoke in French and there was a beep...
crap, well, I hope this is voicemail....
so I left a message and hung up the phone feeling sick to my stomach.
Not knowing if the call even went through.
I went back to my balcony lookout.
Are you surprised to hear that I wasn't completely sobbing yet?
I am.
So panicked you can't even cry.....yea, that's where I was.
My eyes simply became misty as visions raced before them.
I had been praying throughout this whole thing...but my prayers kicked in hardcore at this point.
Out of options.
Only faith.
Isn't that how it always works?
My eyes swept over the crowds...gee, I don't know how many times....never resting.
God, I know you'll come through for me and I've been patient up until now. But I lost Kelsey around 12:30 and it is now 3:30....Lord, help me!!
My knees were just about on the ground.
Quite honestly, if there weren't so many people in the Louvre, I probably would have curled up in the fetal position and started rocking back and forth.
I walked back down to the center of the ticket area....turning this way and that...always looking.
My lips were licked raw (I tend to do this when I get nervous).
Come On! I've never even lost my parents in a grocery store as a kid!
And there I was...a different country, different culture, different language that I only know TWO words of, my phone couldn't call Kelsey, and I didn't know my way around Paris...at all.
I had one more available option at the time....
I could go to the information desk and fill out a missing person form.
I didn't think they could do much for me, since the Louvre doesn't have an intercom system...just guards with radios in each room.
But I had to try.
"Do you speak English"
"A little" (great....)
She asked me questions to fill out a missing person form...half the time she didn't know the word in English and we had to use arm and hand motions like charades to understand each other. It was rather ridiculous.
After a few minutes of that and only getting halfway through the sheet she suddenly realized that the form was only for missing children.
GAH!
But she turned the sheet over and said I could leave a message for my friend.
As she handed the sheet to me, I felt someone close behind my right shoulder lean close to my ear and say:
"When we go to Italy together, we are holding hands!"
My knees about gave way.
I swung around! My eyes didn't focus on her face but I knew it was Kelsey...and I basically collapsed on her.....my form of a hug after having lost someone for over 3 hours!
I promptly thanked God as well. :) :) :)
So...we proceeded to explain our individual stories, emotions, and thoughts from the past few hours.
This took quite some time. And every time we thought we had covered everything....we talked about it some more...SO traumatizing!
We even went to get coffee just so we could chat and have time to calm down.
Apparently, it had only taken her a few minutes to get through the ticket line and then...yup...she thought I had already gone in to look at paintings and so she went into the museum....and SOMEHOW walked RIGHT PAST me.
We did this the whole afternoon...just barely missing each other.
She walked swiftly through the floor she thought I was on...thinking I'd be in the next room, or the next....and well, that's how it continued for Miss Kelsey.
Except her story includes buying a calling card and trying to call me...but even that didn't go through to my phone...so she called her mom and cried instead. :( aww!
I discovered that the second time I used the pay phone...it actually went through to her cell! However, she had gone to sit at a cafe and calm herself down...and just barely missed it!! She couldn't call the number back, of course. But when she saw that she had a missed call, that's when she knew I must be close to a phone...so she came to look for me.
And spotted me at the information desk.
THANK GOD I HAVE BRIGHT RED HAIR....and I also wore a plaid shirt that day....easy to spot from a distance.
One this is for sure...I grew up a lot in one day!! It was terrible while it happened...but it makes for a good story and we can just laugh about it now. I'm sure Kelsey and I will talk about it for years to come...."remember that one time when we lost each other in the Louvre!!??" Part of me feels like it never happened because of how quickly it took for the fear to disappear and things to return back to normal. But it did happen, and it was very unpleasant...and we learned A LOT of big lessons that day. We will always have an emergency plan and meeting place from now on.
I think I might even write and illustrate a children's book similar to this experience someday....Lost in the Louvre (a traveler's tale by Ami Holcomb)
haha!
I didn't really feel like it anymore, but since we were in the Louvre...we had better look around.
I got to see Aphrodite (the famous woman sculpture without arms)
and an awesome sculpture of Mary Magdalene that I never knew about!!
We walked briskly through the Egypt and Greece section...because a lot of that stuff can start to look the same.
It was kind of sad...by the time we got to the room with all the marble sculpture, some of my favorite art...the room was dark, because we neglected to think about the fact that the room is lit by windows in the ceiling...and the sun had already set. The sculptures were still neat, just not as pretty as they would be if the sun was shining brightly on them...
After a long day at the Louvre, we left and went to the Arc de Triomphe and paid the admission fee to climb the stairs to the top. Probably not the best idea, since my feet were already so sore from walking around the Louvre all day.
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| therefore, we kind of collapsed once we got up the stairs |
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| The Arc de Triomphe at night...from the ground. :) |
After that it was time to eat!!! My was I hungry!!
Kelsey took me to an Italian street...which was cool in itself...it was narrow with brightly lit shops, restaurants, and lot of people walking about.
And this is the gyro that I ate....cheap, but huge and delicious! I could only eat about half. I think mine had lamb meat, and piled fries on the top...kind of interesting, but very tasty!
And if our day wasn't busy enough, we then walked over to see the outside of the Notre Dame at night. Totally worth it...it's gorgeous. Kelsy and I had fun singing Disney songs from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. :) lol
On the way back to her foyer, Kelsey pointed out a hotel with a roof that used to sparkle like the Eiffel tower. Right next to this hotel was a two-story adorable carousel and a skating rink where a small hockey game was going on (no big deal...lol). :) Oh, Paris...
The end of Friday. SLEEP! I'm surprised I didn't have nightmares that night...but I did have visions of painting upon painting swimming before my eyes as I laid in bed before finally drifting off.
Saturday:
We tried to beat the crowds by getting up early and going to the Eiffel Tower to take the elevator to the top.
But this wasn't exactly necessary. lol
It was rainy and foggy and there was no line....go figure, just our luck.
I still wanted the experience though, so we got our ticket and up the elevator we went.
You could still see a little bit from the first level...
But then we got up to the very top...and just laughed!
Because we couldn't. see. a. thing.
We were in the middle of a thick white cloud. haha!
I mean, it kind of sucked that we didn't have a good view of the city...but after what happened at the Louvre...we didn't really care anymore.
So we spent less than five minutes there before going back down. Hands and ears frozen and shivering.
I haven't really had to use my umbrella in Europe until I went to Paris. lol!
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| This is our "really?" face |
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| I can't see a thing!!! yay! |
After that we went to warm up at a cafe and ended up getting coffee in a pub instead. lol!
Then we went back to the Notre Dame to walk around inside...again, singing Disney songs.
The inside wasn't as big as we thought. And compared to some other cathedrals I've been in...it was actually not as impressive for being such a famous church. :/
There were a LOT of people in there and it was hard to walk around...
plus the floor was super wet and muddy from the rain outside and the amount of people coming and going. Bleh!
I thought it was interesting that there were candle stands spaced every so often....people could buy a candle and put it on the stand, light it, then say a prayer. However, for some this was just a tourist attraction and people were taking pictures with their candles and just making a joke out of something that was supposed to be a sacred tradition (I'm not Catholic, but I'm sure that's what it is).
And then Jesus stormed through the Cathedral and knocked over the money trays. lol, okay, no...but there was a part of me that was disturbed at how much marketing was happening inside those walls.
Granted, I wasn't there to pray or sit in quiet reverence, I went to see the architecture...so I don't have much say on the matter.
After leaving, we went back down the Italian street so I could get my Banana Nutella Crepe!!!
She made them right in front of me fresh....spread the batter over the hot pan and used a tool to even it out in a circle. Nutella...and a whole banana....folded....HEAVEN!!
Oh. my. goodness! Probably my favorite food...well...since I've been in Europe really. :) :D :D
SO GOOD!!!
One of those foods that I closed my eyes to eat so my sense of taste could get the full effect.
Like a party in my mouth...mmm!
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| with my crepe in front of the bakery |
Then we went over to the shopping area near the Louvre so I could find some "I was in Paris" souvenirs. But the store Kelsey planned on taking me to....oh you'll never guess.....had moved. Yes. Surprised? I'm not. lol.
So we just looked around at other shops nearby and then went to the Musee D'orsay to see the impressionist paintings and other such works. I was excited to go in but when we got there the line...ugh....was so long, outside, in the rain. No thanks.
Shoot dang! I was bummed. :(
So we went to a macaroon shop to eat some more sweets and feel better about all of our weekend failures. haha!
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| My lemon and mojito (lime and lemon...not alcoholic..promise) The mojito was my favorite! mm |
Before going back to Kelsey's foyer, we stopped at the Disney store so I could have a look at the Tangled displays. :) Ah, yes. :)
We just chillaxed in her room for awhile, researched on the internet and talked about plans for Spring Break in Italy...and then got cleaned up and dressed fancy for our fancy dinner. :)
Most of my outfit consisted of Kelsey's clothes. lol
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| French onion soup appetizer....it was SO cheesy. yum! |
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| I ordered smoked salmon, being adventurous. However, I was expected cooked salmon like what our family gets annually in Wisconsin, not this raw looking stuff. haha! Just one more thing! It tasted alright...I couldn't finish all of it though. :) |
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| Didn't really know what this said in French on the menu, even Kelsey didn't know...so I ordered it only knowing it had caramel. Well, it was flan with caramel sauce. Not a huge fan of flan. |
We found a nice place on a local street away from the center of Paris.
I tried white wine for the first time at our fancy dinner.
lol....couldn't stand it. yuck!
Also, I was reminded how dainty Europeans eat...
I've heard that they think it's rude when people cut their food with their right hand and then switch the fork and knife continually to eat their food. This is interesting to me...and I've never been self-conscious about how I eat before until I ate with Kelsey. lol
Kelsey and I didn't really talk much because we were so exhausted.
Sunday:
I wanted to go see the outside of the Moulin Rouge and Sacre Coeur, but when I woke up I was so tired that we just decided to skip it to sleep an extra hour. I was okay with missing the Moulin Rouge, but now that I've seen pictures of Sacre Coeur (cause I didn't know what it was before then), I'm kind of sad that I didn't just suck it up and go see it...because the architecture is gorgeous. Oh well.
Instead we just went to a cafe and got coffee and pastries (cause that's the thing to do in Paris).
Then Kelsey accompanied me back to the train station and I took the chunnel back to London.
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| Arc de Tiomphe during the day |
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| Eurostar chunnel |
But really...it was my most eventful weekend in Europe thus far...so I feel like that's a good excuse.
Bravo if you read all of that!
Cheers friend,
~Merely Mortal~
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