Capri!

I think the easiest way to do this is to update by city. So I've been staying in Naples but went to Capri today. It was INCREDIBLE. It was hot and sunny and every single bit of the island amazed me. Pictures don't even come close to capturing it... but I tried!

Last Visits, First Tries... Is that a hint of nostalgia around the corner?

“What is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? -it's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”

So this is probably my very last post from Paris (to make sure the blog is totally finished, I'll probably write one from home after ITALY with the girls next week.

So I'm sitting in my apartment with less than 18 hours before I leave and trying to think of how to best sum up this trip. In a lot of ways, it was good, and in a lot of ways, it was really hard. I think the best way to sum it up is that if it were February right now, I wouldn't do it again. But since it's July, I'm glad that I did. The whole thing was overwhelming... deciding to move to a completely foreign city, one I've never before visited... and not just any city, but Paris. The City of Lights, the City of Love, one of the supposed greatest cities in the world. And I will admit, there are days I hated this city and just wanted to leave. But the closer I got to doing just that, the more I have to admit that it is an incredible place.

That's not to say it wasn't the hardest thing I've ever done. I can't even count the number of times I called home crying, the number of times I wished I'd never come, the number of days I stared at what are supposed to be the greatest monuments in the world and wanted only to see the Ben Franklin Parkway. But I guess going through anything that hard forces you to mature in some way or another. And it was, overall, an experience not many people will get to have. I lived in Europe for 5 months! I had wonderful experiences, saw beautiful things, met lovely people that I will never forget...

And yet. I looked at the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower and just wanted to be looking off the Empire State Building. I picnicked in the Jardin du Leuxembourg and missed the trees in County Park in Lancaster. I looked at one of the trillion sitting rooms in the Chateau de Versailles and just wanted to be in Gmom's living room. So was it worth it? I don't know. But I am glad I did it, and even more glad to be going home, to what I personally consider the Greatest City in the World- LANCASTER COUNTY BABYYY

(photo cred to some random website on GoogleImages)

Institut du Monde Arabe

This museum was alright but would have been a lot better if it didn't smell really weird. The building itself was awesome though.

St. Chappelle

St. Chappelle is this gorgeous church right next to the Conciergerie, the prison where Marie Antoinette was held before they chopped off her head. It's known for its fantastic stained glass displays of saints. I was kind of disappointed because a big chunk of it is getting renovated, but otherwise it was pretty incredible.

Versailles... PARTDEUX!

Bonus points if you got the VH1 reference in the post title. Sunday, I decided to head BACK to Versailles to complete my chateau experience. The last time I went, we only visited the chateau because it cost $$$ to go to the other parts and we wanted to wait until it was nicer weather since the rest was mostly outside. And then last weekend I realized this was my last chance to see it- CRAZY! So South-African-Emma, Australian-Louisa, and I headed back to see le Hameau de la Reine, the Queen's Hamlet. So if you don't know the backstory, all the opulence of Versailles made Marie Antoinette feel really out of touch with nature (kind of a shame it didn't make her feel out of touch with the French civilians, since if it had, it might have saved everyone some trouble).

So she had this little retreat built for her, complete with its own farm. It had 11 buildings, all for Marie and her posse, including the Queen's House, a Billiards Room, Boudoir, Dairy, Refreshments Room... there was even a Reheating house to ensure all food served would be just the right temperature. Ridiculous? Yeah, a little. But either way, I'm really glad I ended up going (I was planning on skipping it altogether because of fundsss issues).

While we were there, we also the Petit Trianon, the Grand Trionon, the Grotto, the Queen's Theater, and the temples, but the Queen's Hamlet was what we really wanted to see.

It was a good day, and a nice way to spend my last Sunday in France.

FIFA Fan Fest

So before I start... Brighid, the picture on the left is for you. Look, it's Laura pushing the Eiffel Tower!!!!

So, you might have heard that the World Cup is going on (lolololololololol) and in Paris there's this really awesome set-up called the FIFA Fan Fest, where they cover the pond in front of the Trocadéro- a viewing platform to the Eiffel Tower- and then project the game onto a huge screen. Apparently they do this in a couple cities around the world (Berlin, Mexico City, Rio, and I don't remember the others...).

We watched the USA vs. Ghana game. It started off pretty tame but WOW Ghana fans got crazy by the end. When they scored the second goal in overtime, the Ghana section started dancing and singing and didn't stop until the game was over. It was a neat experience, though.

The picture on the left has the red blow-up guys that would go up any time someone scored.

I finally found MY PEOPLE. Check out that patriotism! Oh, and I am happy to say I FINALLY got to participate in a "USA! USA! USA!" chant during my time in Paris.

This is a video of the Ghana fans after their team scored. Crazy! (Oh and I just watched it- you can definitely hear Laura talking the whole way through it. hahahah listen for her cute little accent!)

Paris Pride

So, to be totally honest, this is kind of a fake entry because I didn't actually go to Paris Pride. However I DID wander through it on my way somewhere else (which was awesome because I was like 20 minutes late to begin, and then tried to make my way through swarms of crazy dancing people). I think it was celebrated in different parts of Paris (?) but the part I stumbled into was in the Bastille circle. It was CRAZY. There were rainbows everywhere, and there was this huge stage set up with this wild DJ. People were dancing really out-of-control, too. It was a little much for me but it looked like people were having a good time.

Umm yeah this kid was definitely no older than 14 or 15, and he had "entree" written on his back with an arrow pointing down. That's what I mean by Pride being a little much for me. PS has anyone gone to Philly Pride? Is it this crazy?

Oh, and also really funny- I saw these three men in uniform and I thought they were supposed to be sailors (you know, like the Gay Sailor thing) because of their cute little hats... and then I saw they had actual guns and were just policemen hahahaha

Bercy/ Festival Mondiale de la Terre

Saturday afternoon I went to Bercy, which is in the SE corner of Paris, although not too far from where I live. I wanted to go to Bercy Village, a little shopping center built into what used to be wine storehouses. Also in Bercy is a garden I wanted to see, and the Palais Omnisports Paris-Bercy, which is a huge concert/show venue (kind of like the Wachovia Center in Philly).

But first I stumbled onto the Festival Mondiale de la Terre (Worldwide Earth Festival) which was like an environmental fest with music and sellers and stuff.

So I kept wandering (Bercy Park is huge) and came across the Marche Nordique Decouverte, which is this huge walk where everyone uses those pole things.

I didn't watch for long but I did get to see the kickoff!

Then I found the Jardin Yitzhak Rabin, which is this LOVELY garden named for a Nobel Peace Prize winner from France. It's cool because there used to be trains running all through Bercy and you can still see the tracks. Like I said, Bercy Park is huge and I also ran into this cool fountain/pond thing where little kids were swimming.

So finally I found Bercy Village, which was SO cute! I actually couldn't stay long because I was running late on plans (comme d'habitude), but it was such a nice, sweet little shopping area. I was really glad that I'd ended up seeing Bercy; it'd been on my list for a while, but I thought I wouldn't end up seeing it. It was lovely though and if I had more time I'd definitely go back!

Oh and I saw some pirates.