Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Dear Grace,

At the moment I am sitting on the plane that is taking me home, and so far I’ve managed to keep myself entertained for five hours. Now I just have five more to go! So, I thought I might as well update my blog, as the plane we are on has an outlet for me to keep my computer plugged into, so I’ve been busy editing my photos and putting together one last video for this trip.

So, the last few days of our trip: first off, we drove up to the French Wine Road, which is a road that runs along the border between France and Germany. Here we stopped to walk around and take pictures and just enjoy the scenery.

I don’t know why, but I’ve never had a strong desire to visit France or Paris, and as we were walking around I found myself resenting how pretty these little villages were. When Mom asked me why I wasn’t freaking out about how pretty it was like I normally would, all I could tell her was that the villages were prettier than anything I’d seen in England, but I didn’t want to admit it. She then suggested that it was probably because I’d feel like a traitor if I admitted to that, and I believe she is exactly right.

I am basically British, and since the French and Brits hate each other, that would explain my general disinterest in France, as well as my sense of British pride and strong desire to defend my beloved island against anything that dares to be prettier or better in any way.

But I digress.

Anyway, these villages are set in the middle of miles and miles of vineyards that stretch and roll way as far as the eye can see. I admit that these villages were indeed the most picturesque I’ve ever seen, but Britain is still better.

Next, we drove over to Paris (well, just outside of it) and rode the train into the city, where we went to our first stop: The Louvre.

 

Holy freaking crap. What a mob. We seriously couldn’t get close enough to the Mona Lisa to get a decent picture! Still, it’s cool that I can now say that I’ve seen the real Mona Lisa.

Next, we shoved our way through the crowds of Asians (if you don’t believe me when I say that like 90% of the mobs consisted of Asians, I will prove it. I have video evidence) and went to see Venus de Milo, who is supposed to have been the pinnacle of beauty for centuries.

I was surprised when I saw her face and her figure and realized that she wasn’t what would be considered a classic beauty today. She had a rather masculine build and plain features. I guess it just goes to show you that beauty is entirely cultural.

Next, after a lunch at a little French Café, we took a bus and headed on over to see Notre Dame. It was so cool to get to see that cathedral, and my only regret was that I didn’t get to climb around on the towers or make any gargoyle friends while we were there ;)

Next stop: The Eiffel Tower!

Dad was SOOOO excited because last time he and Mom were in Paris they hadn’t gone up inside, but this time we actually got in and got to ride all the way to the top. My favorite part of the whole experience was that it got dark by the time we reached the top, so all of the city lights were on. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized the charm of Paris.

Then the lights of the tower itself came on, and when we got back down to the ground and stood underneath the tower again, I learned something; it sparkles!

Day two of Paris consisted of us hauling ourselves over to the other side of Paris to pick up my big suitcase, which Rose so kindly took care of for me while we were trekking around the continent, and then we headed on over to see the grand palace of Versailles.

Holy mother of monstrosities. Poor Crazy King Ludy’s Herenchiemsee was dwarfed in comparison with this place. I’m telling you, it was ridiculously huge, and even more ridiculously crowded with – you guessed it – Asian tour groups.

  

When we were told that there was a two hour wait just to check through security, we opted to go exploring the gardens first instead.

The gardens were HUGE, as I’m sure you’ve been able to deduce from the photos, but we seriously walked and walked for at least 30 or 40 minutes to get out to Marie Antoinette’s little getaway house clear out on the far northeast end of the estate.

  

We didn’t spend much time in the palace itself, because it was so crowded that you literally couldn’t move your arms most of the time, and you had to go down the hallways by awkwardly shuffling your feet and throwing hate-daggers with your eyes at people who would purposely bump and shove you, even though you clearly had nowhere to go. So yeah, when it got to the point that both Dad and I were ready to start throwing punches, we got out of there and headed into the city to see a certain famous film site:

I felt rather duty-bound to visit this site #1 because I once danced the lead part in Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend back in junior high, and #2, because my darling bestie, Lyssa, recently discovered it, and I felt I should go pay homage on both of our behalves.

Random thing I’d like to throw in here: the metro station signs are mega creepy in Paris!

Seriously though! The signs look like something straight out of a horror movie or something that point down into a dark hole in the ground, as if to say: “Monster pit, enter at your own risk,” and the farther down you go into the tunnels, the creepier and sketchier and dirtier it gets!

Well, on to my very last thing to tell about my amazing adventures in Europe, and I’m extremely glad I got to end this trip on such a high note (no pun intended): I went and saw the original Paris opera house!

Childish and silly, though it was, I couldn’t keep myself from singing a little Phantom of the Opera while I was walking around, and then of course snapping a few photos of myself using my hat as a mask (I was insanely disappointed to learn that none of the souvenir stands in the vicinity sold any kind of Phantom paraphernalia).

What an incredible experience. I’ve always been terrible at writing endings to things like this or saying goodbyes, but I guess the point in having endings is to give way to new beginnings. Although this semester is over and this fairytale has finally come to a close, my life will go on, and the memories I’ve made on this journey are treasures that I’ll carry in my heart forever. This experience has also taught me this: my life doesn’t end today because this adventure is over. No. My adventure is just beginning. Every morning that I wake up there’s a new adventure waiting to be had, no matter where I am. All I have to do to find it is to set foot out the front door.