(Happy Tax Day everyone!)
My friend KO (who will be my roommate when I am down in Marseille this summer) came up to visit Paris this past week. I feel like she saw and experienced alot of what is normal to those of us who live here, but not so normal to see and experience all in one week!
--There were protests against the Olympics last week as the torch was attempted to be relayed through the city. (We didn't see this actually, but heard all about it. Some people scaled the Eiffel Tower with banners as a protest!)
--There were/are protests/strike about the education system. Teachers and students not showing up to school. Whenever there is a strike, even a non-transportation one, it makes transport a little crazy, because more people are out and about during the day (instead of being at work) than normal.
--Therefore, transport was a little crazy. KO got to experience that all by herself--and survived!
--There is a special deal for six months right now in France with museums and national monuments. Some of them are free at special times. Because of this, KO got to go to three museums for free! (Pompidou, Orsay, and the Louvre)
--The night we went to the Louvre was a special one-night-a-year only deal where music and dance students were set up all through one section of the Louvre, and would perform in the rooms, surrounded by art. It was amazing and beautiful. (The camera died right before we started to watch the performance, so no pictures or video. Sorry. Maybe next year.)
--There is a special statue set up in the Tuileries right now--of a giant spider. It is wonderfully Parisian weird. Pictures on the photoblog soon.
--She also got the full gamut of weather. Beautiful blue skies and big cotton ball clouds, so warm you could take off your jacket, and pouring rain, hail, freezing winds, etc.
--The cherry blossoms peeked this week while she was here, so all her pictures of Notre Dame look gorgeous. (See the photoblog, again.)
--Drunk men screamed at us and made us jump out of our skin.
--All kinds of men flirted with us, pretty typical for Paris.
--She got to see riot police and cops with machine guns--pretty typical as well.
--She also got to see cops busting illegal immigrants selling pirated stuff--also typical.
And well, she had a blast. She got some good alone time with art and history, some friend time practicing the language she's been learning for the last 2 years with some friends of mine who also speak that language (but man was I ever lost!), some sleeping time, some bettercountry time, some shopping time. Yay for good vacations in Paris. Any of you who read this is welcome to come yourself!
My friend KO (who will be my roommate when I am down in Marseille this summer) came up to visit Paris this past week. I feel like she saw and experienced alot of what is normal to those of us who live here, but not so normal to see and experience all in one week!
--There were protests against the Olympics last week as the torch was attempted to be relayed through the city. (We didn't see this actually, but heard all about it. Some people scaled the Eiffel Tower with banners as a protest!)
--There were/are protests/strike about the education system. Teachers and students not showing up to school. Whenever there is a strike, even a non-transportation one, it makes transport a little crazy, because more people are out and about during the day (instead of being at work) than normal.
--Therefore, transport was a little crazy. KO got to experience that all by herself--and survived!
--There is a special deal for six months right now in France with museums and national monuments. Some of them are free at special times. Because of this, KO got to go to three museums for free! (Pompidou, Orsay, and the Louvre)
--The night we went to the Louvre was a special one-night-a-year only deal where music and dance students were set up all through one section of the Louvre, and would perform in the rooms, surrounded by art. It was amazing and beautiful. (The camera died right before we started to watch the performance, so no pictures or video. Sorry. Maybe next year.)
--There is a special statue set up in the Tuileries right now--of a giant spider. It is wonderfully Parisian weird. Pictures on the photoblog soon.
--She also got the full gamut of weather. Beautiful blue skies and big cotton ball clouds, so warm you could take off your jacket, and pouring rain, hail, freezing winds, etc.
--The cherry blossoms peeked this week while she was here, so all her pictures of Notre Dame look gorgeous. (See the photoblog, again.)
--Drunk men screamed at us and made us jump out of our skin.
--All kinds of men flirted with us, pretty typical for Paris.
--She got to see riot police and cops with machine guns--pretty typical as well.
--She also got to see cops busting illegal immigrants selling pirated stuff--also typical.
And well, she had a blast. She got some good alone time with art and history, some friend time practicing the language she's been learning for the last 2 years with some friends of mine who also speak that language (but man was I ever lost!), some sleeping time, some bettercountry time, some shopping time. Yay for good vacations in Paris. Any of you who read this is welcome to come yourself!
3 comments:
Hey girl. I read your blog. Are you proud of me? Did you know I have a blog now. I'll e-mail you the link.
Go Olympic Protesters! I kind of wish the Torch had been in my area so I could protest too.
On a nicer note, glad you had such a good time with your friend. Also glad she got to see so much and wasn't overwhelmed by it all, I know I would be :-)
Good Gosh I Want to Come and Visit!!! I wonder how I would fare at the transportation thing...
-your daisey friend in SF.
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