Well I woke up at eight this morning, made it downstairs for breakfast at nine and thirty minutes later we were on the bus headed to Sacre-Coeur. Sacre-Coeur is a fancy looking catholic church that sits on the top of this hill. It was like the Spanish steps all over again, but it smelled worse. I didn't actually go in the church. We walked around to the square and had an hour of free time to do whatever. First I went to a little church and it was really pretty inside.
I was walking around and some street artist asked me if I wanted my portrait made. I said ok after negotiating the price, it was still high, but hey, how many times am I going to be in Paris. Well it took about 10 minutes, and I really don't know if it looks like me at all. I didn't get a great look at it before he rolled it up with the wax paper stuff. Well I guess I will be surprised when I actually get to look at it when I get home. Well after that I walked around some more and saw all of the street artists. There were so many people there it was crazy. I also bought a tube to put my portrait in. I still had time so I ventured further out and looked in some of the gift shops, got a few postcards, then just looked around until it was time to leave. Next we walked down to Moulin Rouge.
Then we got back on the bus and went to Notre Dame. It was amazing. I remember watching the movie and reading the book, but I still wasn't prepared. It was not really a happy looking place inside. There were stained glass windows, and flying buttresses. I bought a guide book there before I left. Then I tried looking around for an ATM so I could get some money for lunch, but when I did find one it rejected my card because I had a hold on my account. Yeah, thanks Bank of America, because of you I missed lunch.
After Notre Dame I went on the optional trip to the Palace of Versailles. It was cool I guess, but the palace wasn't my favorite, I kept comparing it to the British places and it loses. Anyhow, I really liked the garden area. It was huge. I walked for like 12 minutes and didn't really even get to the end of it. Well we got back on the bus and made it back to Paris.
The bus dropped those of us who had not seen the Eiffel Tower yet at the tower. We all stayed together at first and I talked to an older couple from Malaysia. They had their god kids with them and it was nice to talk to people who spoke English so well. So I went to the second level of the Eiffel Tower. It is so cool to see all of the lights of Paris at night. You can't really see much when it is dark, but it is really pretty just all the lights and the occasional landmark. After the tower, I wandered around until I found a metro station. It was harder than I ever would have imagined. Then I figured out how to buy my tickets, and actually get where I needed to be.
I went to the Christmas Market on Champs Elysees. There were tons and tons of stalls selling stuff mostly food. That may be why I feel sick now. Well I had some potato thing for dinner. It was very similar to the hash brown casserole, but without the cheese. It was really good. I also got some churros before I left. I didn't leave until eleven, and the party was still going. I wonder what time they actually close down stuff, it must be late. Well now I am back in my hotel room writing this and trying to get rid of this very specific headache I have had all day. Well tomorrow we are going to the Louvre for a few hours then heading back to London.
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