Shalyn Takes on Scotland!: PARIS!

Hey Everyone!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!! Gobble Gobble! <--- (that's for you mom!)

As you know, Jessica and I spent the past weekend in Paris! We left at 4:50 am Friday morning and arrived back in Stirling at 1:30 pm on Sunday! What a weekend we had!

The plane ride to Paris went just fine. We had to take a bus from the small airport into Paris (about 1 hour) and then we began walking. The first stop for us was the Arc de Triomphe. It was magnificent! The detail carved into the stone was amazing and the size of the Arc is incredible! There are some pictures of Jessica next to it and she looks like an ant!

Next, we went down some side streets and found a cafe/restaurant to eat some lunch and a cheeseburger and a coke cost me 19 euros - awesome! We spent some more time walking through the streets where there was a huge Christmas fair/market and continued to a park that was right next to the Louvre. We never made it inside the Louvre because the hours of operation never seemed to fit our schedule. It took us 2.5 hours to find our hotel Friday night and thanks to a man on the street who we refer to as our angel, we were able to get there. We went back to the Christmas market and stopped at several different booths to get some dinner - mostly dessert!

Saturday, we waited in line forever to get up to the top of the Eiffel Tower but we did it! While we were waiting, I witnessed a couple getting engaged! Woot! The view from the top of the tower was pretty amazing - you don't realize how tall it is until you get to the top. We had a lovely cloudless day and you could see the entire city. After the tower, we headed down to the park next to it and took some more pictures before we walked through some smaller neighborhoods. We went to a bakery with the most delicious food and then walked through a flea market before we got on the metro and went to visit Notre Dame.

Notre Dame was impressive. Jess walked me there while I was forced to look at my feet and she stood me right in front of the door and told me to look up. All the little figures crafted into the stone was mind boggling. It really is a beautiful building. The beaut on the outside is equally reflected inside the cathedral. The ceilings are amazing and each of the little side room type things had it's own unique look or had some form of carving, statue or painting in it. We were half way through the church when mass started so we were able to see and hear all of the songs and prayer. I was also able to light a candle for Brenna, one of the girls I babysat this summer who has leukemia.

After Notre Dame, we walked around some more side streets and eventually found a restaurant. I had pizza with Parma ham - a smoked ham that looks and kind of tastes like it was never actually cooked. And here is a shocker for those of you who know me - I tried salmon. Yup, you heard right! Jessica somehow inspired me to try it. And I will say this - it didn't go disastrously! She said it wasn't good salmon so I guess that means there is even more hope for me! haha

On the way home we went to go visit Moulin Rouge and the small neighborhood around it. We also stopped at the Christmas fair again and watched the Rock n' Roll tree cutting show - the guy had music blasting and revved the chain saws to the beat and even included his own dance moves. He has a big ego - even started giving a speech after... We mastered the metro system and made it to the bus transport with time to spare! At the airport in France for the trip home, I got in the wrong line first then had to go back and have them check my visa since I am not a member of the EU. Jess and I both managed to set of the metal detector. The man asked if I spoke French and I said no. He then asked if I spoke English and I responded "Sí". He was pretty confused and so was Jess...It was really confusing! I was practicing my Spanish for my exam Tuesday and trying to learn French and that wasn't the first time I had done that... After the lady wanded me and made sure I wasn't smuggling anything, I was able to watch another woman unpack my entire bag only to find nothing. She was not very pleased and either was I. She stinks at re-packing bags by the way.

Once in Stirling, Jess and I ran to the cinema with time to spare! Of course we went to see Harry Potter and we didn't feel like making another trip back into town. I had a lovely postcard from my parents waiting for me and lots of homework!

This week, I had a Spanish language exam which went fair enough. I also had my Spanish culture exam which also went pretty well. Spanish is officially over for the semester and I will spend my time focusing on History and Linguistics. Tomorrow, I will be spending the day in Glasgow with Elsa and meeting up with one of Steph Brink's friends who has some inside knowledge of the city! From there, I am heading into Edinburgh to meet Lisa and Melanie to enjoy St. Andrew's weekend (all of the historical sites are free!) We will be staying in a hostel and heading back Saturday night.

I also got a haircut - Jess has always cut her own hair and as a spontaneous decision, I told her to cut mine. It looks amazing and people keep saying it looks professional! Woot! I was her first customer =]

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to say that I am an incredibly lucky girl to have the most amazing parents in the world who inspire me and believe in me no matter what. They continually encourage me to see the world and expand my horizons and I wouldn't be here without them. My little brother is pretty fantastic too =] I am currently wishing that I could have magically arrived home to spend the Thanksgiving break with my family and friends. I never miss family holidays and it is breaking my heart that I can't be there. Here's hoping that you are all playing some football, making some horrible music videos, failing at karaoke, and eating loads of food for me! (Save me one of Aunt Lynn's buckeye bars mommy!!!)

That's all I have for now! Apologies for taking so long to post again - it's been crazy and Paris was incredibly exhausting! Oh yeah - we got a wee bit of snow last night and I think the forecast says more is coming! And the sun sets at 3:50 today - the sun was only out for 7:57 hours =/

Love you all and Happy Thanksgiving!

Arc de Triomphe