October 9
Paris!!! :D
After getting ready this morning, researching more about the Paris metro, and doing some last minute packing, I finally headed to the airport! I got there a little early and so I just chilled near my gate for about three hours until we started boarding. The flight to Paris was good and we even got free food and drinks, which was nice.
Then the fun part began… I had to take the shuttle to a different terminal once I arrived. Once I got to the right terminal, a nice man at the info desk told me where to buy tickets and that the route to get to my hostel I had mapped out was correct. Luckily I was also able to buy the tram ticket I needed for a transfer at the airport as well, which was easy and was one less thing I had to figure out later. Once I got onto the RER B train that would take me into the city everything was going fine until we got to one of the bigger stations and the train just, stopped… There were a bunch of announcements going on in French and so a nice man sitting next to me from Switzerland helped translate for me. Apparently there are a bunch of strikes going on with the metro workers right now and so not all of the trains go through to their final destinations, apparently including mine. I was kinda freaking out at this point…. I had no idea how to get to my hostel from this random train station, but luckily the man from Switzerland was also going in my direction and so he kindly took me under his wing and we figured out the metro system together! Thank you sir wherever you are!!!
He got off at one of the stations before me and then it was up to me to figure out the rest on my own! I got off at the right station and was able to find the right tram that I needed that would take me closer to the hostel. From there I walked down some sketchy streets next to a dark park and pretty much ran to the hostel and kissed the floor when I finally saw it. (Not really, but you can sense my level of relief!).
I quickly checked Jessica and I in and then tried to message her on Facebook as soon as I could to warn her about what happened and giver her step-by-step instructions on how to get around the strikes and get to the hostel. What should have taken me an hour, ended up taking three. I was also doing it in the dark, around 7-10 p.m. I just felt bad for Jess because she would be doing the same thing even later than I was, because her flight didn’t even get in until after 10! Also, some of the public transportation stopped running at about midnight, so she had a small window of opportunity to make it to the hostel. With nothing more I could do, but anxiously wait and hope that she would get here ok, I waited in the lobby for her arrival.
Around 12:30, I looked up and there she was! I was so excited to see here and so relieved that she made it!!! She ended up taking a pretty sketchy taxi straight from her terminal and it cost her about 80 EUROS!!!!! Ohhh boy… There wasn’t much she could do and at least she made it here ok! Even though it was a LOT of money, it was probably the best decision in the end.
It was great to see Jess and we stayed up talking and catching up until about 2 a.m. I am so glad we both got here safely and I can’t wait to catch up more and start exploring the city!!!
October 10
We woke up, IN PARIS!!!! And had some FREE breakfast at the hostel. They have really fresh bread and croissants and all sorts of drinks to choose from. After we ate, we got ready for the day and I ended up taking the coldest shower of my life because I couldn't figure out the shower knobs… oh well I am officially awake now!
I am really glad Jess said she was bringing nicer clothes, because then I did too. I realized that I am probably never going to get the chance to come back here and I am going to have these pictures forever, so I want to look nice in them. Without her, I probably would have ended up bringing a bunch of T-shirts… Thanks Jess! :)
We started walking towards the Seine River and found a little mini Statue of Liberty. All of the sudden, I look to my right and there it is… THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!! It is ginormous and absolutely beautiful. It seems so unreal to be seeing it in real life! We went towards it and then decided that we wanted to climb up it! The stairs were the cheapest option and there was a really short line! And honestly, walking up it wasn’t even that bad! We were both in pretty good shape and there was enough scaffolding in place so that we weren't toooo freaked out about our fear of heights.
We made it to the first and second platforms and looks around. You could see absolutely everything and I had no idea that Paris was this big! Compared to Oslo, it is HUGE! From the second platform, we had to take the elevator up to the top and that was an even better view, although a little crowded and very cold. I still can’t believe I am in Paris, let alone at the top of the Eiffel Tower… After we looked around and took a bunch of pictures, we headed down. I love traveling with Jess because we both aren’t afraid to take super tourist pictures and make complete fools of ourselves! :)
After the Eiffel Tower, we headed over to see the Arc de Triumph which was really cool and then we walked along the Champs de Elysees street with all the high end shops like Gucci and LV (STRICTLY Window Shopping lol).
At that point in the day, it was getting a bit late, so we stopped at a bakery and split a baguette as we made our way over to the Louvre. We heard something about free admission on Friday afternoons, but apparently this was not the case. :( The only thing we really would have been interested in seeing would have been the Mona Lisa and so we decided it wasn’t worth spending the money to go in. We crossed the Seine on the iconic lock bridge and were sad to see a lot of plywood and graffiti. Apparently the weight of all of the locks is destroying the bridge and so people aren’t allowed to add onto it anymore. :( We did see a few people adding locks to the next bridge over though, so hopefully the love tradition will continue!
We wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at sunset and so we headed back towards the way we came. On the way, we stopped at a little bakery and got some macaroons, which I have never had before! They were amazing! I got chocolate, which was my favorite and salted caramel (which reminded me of Norwegian brown cheese….). We finally made it to the Eiffel tower, but missed the sunset by minutes, darn! It was still breathtaking seeing it all lit up at night and my pictures seriously don’t even do it justice.
On the way home we looked for a cheap meal (both broke college students) but weren’t having much luck, so we stopped at a grocery store and picked up some sandwich ingredients that we could take back to the hostel.
We walked 11.8 miles today, but I barely even noticed it because I was having so much fun with Jess. We have been talking and laughing non-stop and it is great to have someone from home so close.
October 11
Today at breakfast, we look over to the table next to us and who do we see?! BRAD SNOW! He was a diver at Fairview High School a few years ahead of Jess and I. We called his name and none of us could believe it! What are the odds of all of us being in Paris, at the same hostel, at the same time? Crazy! We agreed to catch up later and Jess and I headed out for the day.
We decided to go and check out the Catacombs! On the way we stopped at a bakery to try Pan Au Chocolate (Croissant filled with chocolate) and it was amazing. Jess also wanted to take out some cash, but when we tried at a local ATM the thing ATE HER CARD!!! We went into the branch to see if there was any way of getting it back, but the lady said the person who could do that wouldn’t be in until Monday. Needless to say, we were freaking out… That was her only way of withdrawing money while abroad and while she still had credit cards she could use, not everywhere accepts American credit cards because they do not have a chip with a code. Seeing as there was nothing we could really do and it was too early back home to call her parents, we decided to continue on to the catacombs… At least we are here together! If anything I can always lend her money in an emergency. I think that this trip would have been very stressful by ourselves, so I am so glad I have Jess here and we can make light of any situation together.
We waited in line for about an hour and a half and then we made it to the catacombs! It started with a never-ending staircase down into the Earth and the first half of the tour was mostly information about the type of rocks and some other kind of boring stuff. Then we reached the history of the catacombs and learned that there are more than 6 MILLION bodies down there! Crazy! We entered the actual catacombs and it was unbelievable… so many bones! There were even parts where you couldn’t see how far back the wall was because there were just so many bones in the way. They made decorations like hearts and stuff out of the skulls and the only bones we could really see were the skulls and major leg and arm bones, so I wonder where all of the other ones were put? Stuffing? This was probably tied with going up in the Eiffel tower for my favorite part of the trip and so I am so glad that we decided to do it!
When we came out the other end, we started off to see the Gardens of Luxembourg and the palace. We stopped and got some crepes from a street vendor and wanted to wait until we reached the park to eat them, but we soon realized we were going in the completely opposite direction… (That’s what you get for letting me navigate, Jess!) (Sorry again!!!). Once we righted ourselves, we finished our banana and Nutella crepes and then finally reached the Gardens, which were beautiful! There were so many people just hanging out on the grounds too!
After looking around for a bit, we did some souvenir shopping and then went to see Notre Dame. Wowww, it was so pretty and unreal. I wish we could have gone inside, but the line was super long and we really wanted to make sure that we made it to the Eiffel Tower in tome for sunset because we missed it yesterday. We walked through the Latin Quarter to get there just in time and the views were amazing! It is one of those images that will be ingrained into my mind forever and I will never forget. We took a bunch of pictures and then just sat on the lawn to soak it all in!
After it got dark, we stopped at a nearby restaurant and split a pizza. The beer is cheaper than the water here, so naturally we took advantage of that. ;) We were still a little hungry after, and so we stopped at a little grocery store to pick up some sandwiches for later that night.
Jess heard that the Louvre was amazing lit up at night, and so we ventured back over there to take some more pictures and it was really pretty. The Louvre is also gigantic, if you don’t know. I don’t think there would be any way to see the whole thing in one day! On the way back to the hostel, we walked along the lock bridge at night, which was cool, and then made our way back.
We walked 12.42 miles today! I am having so much fun and I can’t believe we only have one more day left! I am really going to miss spending time and catching up with Jess!
October12
Our last day. :( We had breakfast with Brad and then went back to our room to get ready and pack. After checking out, we stored our luggage and then asked directions to a local book market that Jess wanted to check out. The lady at the reception sent us to a flea market and so we eventually found the book market (at the park right next to the hostel). We looked around for a while and it was cool to see so many familiar titles in French.
We met up with Brad at a local restaurant and caught up while we ate. I am not sure what I ordered… I think it might have been liver… but it was good!
After saying goodbye, we waited at the hostel for our airport shuttle to pick us up. This was what we decided to take back to the airport so that we wouldn’t have to deal with the metro again and it ended up being cheaper anyways! When our driver got here, he rushed us into the shuttle and was honestly kind of an a$$hole… (Pardon my French). I have never felt so carsick in my life and he sped through the busy city streets. He rushed us so much for no real reason and even tried to charge us extra in order to get our backpacks, which he considered “luggage”. I was so glad to finally be out of the shuttle and even though he knowingly dropped us off at the wrong terminal, I didn’t care at that point.
Jess and I were luckily flying out of the same terminal and so after going through some pretty freaky parking garages, we finally made it to the right termianl, printed off my boarding pass, and made it through security. I sat with her at her gate until her flight and I was really sad to see her go. :( I had so much fun this weekend!!! She is planning a trip in a month to Dublin and I think one of our other friends who is also studying abroad this semester will be there too, so I might join them! :D
After Jess left, I wandered around the airport for a while and then got onto my plane and headed to Amsterdam! I had a 9 hour layover, overnight, and while I wanted to get out of the airport and explore, so that I could say that I have been to Amsterdam, I was a little afraid to because it was the middle of the night. In the end, I just found a comfy couch near an outlet, Skyped my family to let them know I made it there safely, and then fell asleep!
October 13
After catching a few hours of sleep in the airport, I woke up early and walked around the airport until my flight. I was a little bit afraid to sleep in the airport, but no one bothered me and it was pretty comfortable. The Amsterdam Airport is also REALLY nice and it was ranked as #1 for sleeping in on one of the web-sites I checked while doing research for the trip.
The flight only lasted 40 minutes and then I was back home in Oslo. I took the express train downtown, got a new student Ruter pass, and then finally made it back home. I still had class today and so after going to campus, I printed off a few things and then went to our study group for Genetics.
After that, I went back home, said hello to my roommates, and then crashed because I was so exhausted!
Paris was an awesome trip and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go! It was great seeing Jess and we had so much fun together!!!! Can’t wait to see you and Julia in Dublin! :D
Paris!!! :D
After getting ready this morning, researching more about the Paris metro, and doing some last minute packing, I finally headed to the airport! I got there a little early and so I just chilled near my gate for about three hours until we started boarding. The flight to Paris was good and we even got free food and drinks, which was nice.
Then the fun part began… I had to take the shuttle to a different terminal once I arrived. Once I got to the right terminal, a nice man at the info desk told me where to buy tickets and that the route to get to my hostel I had mapped out was correct. Luckily I was also able to buy the tram ticket I needed for a transfer at the airport as well, which was easy and was one less thing I had to figure out later. Once I got onto the RER B train that would take me into the city everything was going fine until we got to one of the bigger stations and the train just, stopped… There were a bunch of announcements going on in French and so a nice man sitting next to me from Switzerland helped translate for me. Apparently there are a bunch of strikes going on with the metro workers right now and so not all of the trains go through to their final destinations, apparently including mine. I was kinda freaking out at this point…. I had no idea how to get to my hostel from this random train station, but luckily the man from Switzerland was also going in my direction and so he kindly took me under his wing and we figured out the metro system together! Thank you sir wherever you are!!!
He got off at one of the stations before me and then it was up to me to figure out the rest on my own! I got off at the right station and was able to find the right tram that I needed that would take me closer to the hostel. From there I walked down some sketchy streets next to a dark park and pretty much ran to the hostel and kissed the floor when I finally saw it. (Not really, but you can sense my level of relief!).
I quickly checked Jessica and I in and then tried to message her on Facebook as soon as I could to warn her about what happened and giver her step-by-step instructions on how to get around the strikes and get to the hostel. What should have taken me an hour, ended up taking three. I was also doing it in the dark, around 7-10 p.m. I just felt bad for Jess because she would be doing the same thing even later than I was, because her flight didn’t even get in until after 10! Also, some of the public transportation stopped running at about midnight, so she had a small window of opportunity to make it to the hostel. With nothing more I could do, but anxiously wait and hope that she would get here ok, I waited in the lobby for her arrival.
Around 12:30, I looked up and there she was! I was so excited to see here and so relieved that she made it!!! She ended up taking a pretty sketchy taxi straight from her terminal and it cost her about 80 EUROS!!!!! Ohhh boy… There wasn’t much she could do and at least she made it here ok! Even though it was a LOT of money, it was probably the best decision in the end.
It was great to see Jess and we stayed up talking and catching up until about 2 a.m. I am so glad we both got here safely and I can’t wait to catch up more and start exploring the city!!!
October 10
We woke up, IN PARIS!!!! And had some FREE breakfast at the hostel. They have really fresh bread and croissants and all sorts of drinks to choose from. After we ate, we got ready for the day and I ended up taking the coldest shower of my life because I couldn't figure out the shower knobs… oh well I am officially awake now!
I am really glad Jess said she was bringing nicer clothes, because then I did too. I realized that I am probably never going to get the chance to come back here and I am going to have these pictures forever, so I want to look nice in them. Without her, I probably would have ended up bringing a bunch of T-shirts… Thanks Jess! :)
We started walking towards the Seine River and found a little mini Statue of Liberty. All of the sudden, I look to my right and there it is… THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!! It is ginormous and absolutely beautiful. It seems so unreal to be seeing it in real life! We went towards it and then decided that we wanted to climb up it! The stairs were the cheapest option and there was a really short line! And honestly, walking up it wasn’t even that bad! We were both in pretty good shape and there was enough scaffolding in place so that we weren't toooo freaked out about our fear of heights.
We made it to the first and second platforms and looks around. You could see absolutely everything and I had no idea that Paris was this big! Compared to Oslo, it is HUGE! From the second platform, we had to take the elevator up to the top and that was an even better view, although a little crowded and very cold. I still can’t believe I am in Paris, let alone at the top of the Eiffel Tower… After we looked around and took a bunch of pictures, we headed down. I love traveling with Jess because we both aren’t afraid to take super tourist pictures and make complete fools of ourselves! :)
After the Eiffel Tower, we headed over to see the Arc de Triumph which was really cool and then we walked along the Champs de Elysees street with all the high end shops like Gucci and LV (STRICTLY Window Shopping lol).
At that point in the day, it was getting a bit late, so we stopped at a bakery and split a baguette as we made our way over to the Louvre. We heard something about free admission on Friday afternoons, but apparently this was not the case. :( The only thing we really would have been interested in seeing would have been the Mona Lisa and so we decided it wasn’t worth spending the money to go in. We crossed the Seine on the iconic lock bridge and were sad to see a lot of plywood and graffiti. Apparently the weight of all of the locks is destroying the bridge and so people aren’t allowed to add onto it anymore. :( We did see a few people adding locks to the next bridge over though, so hopefully the love tradition will continue!
We wanted to see the Eiffel Tower at sunset and so we headed back towards the way we came. On the way, we stopped at a little bakery and got some macaroons, which I have never had before! They were amazing! I got chocolate, which was my favorite and salted caramel (which reminded me of Norwegian brown cheese….). We finally made it to the Eiffel tower, but missed the sunset by minutes, darn! It was still breathtaking seeing it all lit up at night and my pictures seriously don’t even do it justice.
On the way home we looked for a cheap meal (both broke college students) but weren’t having much luck, so we stopped at a grocery store and picked up some sandwich ingredients that we could take back to the hostel.
We walked 11.8 miles today, but I barely even noticed it because I was having so much fun with Jess. We have been talking and laughing non-stop and it is great to have someone from home so close.
October 11
Today at breakfast, we look over to the table next to us and who do we see?! BRAD SNOW! He was a diver at Fairview High School a few years ahead of Jess and I. We called his name and none of us could believe it! What are the odds of all of us being in Paris, at the same hostel, at the same time? Crazy! We agreed to catch up later and Jess and I headed out for the day.
We decided to go and check out the Catacombs! On the way we stopped at a bakery to try Pan Au Chocolate (Croissant filled with chocolate) and it was amazing. Jess also wanted to take out some cash, but when we tried at a local ATM the thing ATE HER CARD!!! We went into the branch to see if there was any way of getting it back, but the lady said the person who could do that wouldn’t be in until Monday. Needless to say, we were freaking out… That was her only way of withdrawing money while abroad and while she still had credit cards she could use, not everywhere accepts American credit cards because they do not have a chip with a code. Seeing as there was nothing we could really do and it was too early back home to call her parents, we decided to continue on to the catacombs… At least we are here together! If anything I can always lend her money in an emergency. I think that this trip would have been very stressful by ourselves, so I am so glad I have Jess here and we can make light of any situation together.
We waited in line for about an hour and a half and then we made it to the catacombs! It started with a never-ending staircase down into the Earth and the first half of the tour was mostly information about the type of rocks and some other kind of boring stuff. Then we reached the history of the catacombs and learned that there are more than 6 MILLION bodies down there! Crazy! We entered the actual catacombs and it was unbelievable… so many bones! There were even parts where you couldn’t see how far back the wall was because there were just so many bones in the way. They made decorations like hearts and stuff out of the skulls and the only bones we could really see were the skulls and major leg and arm bones, so I wonder where all of the other ones were put? Stuffing? This was probably tied with going up in the Eiffel tower for my favorite part of the trip and so I am so glad that we decided to do it!
When we came out the other end, we started off to see the Gardens of Luxembourg and the palace. We stopped and got some crepes from a street vendor and wanted to wait until we reached the park to eat them, but we soon realized we were going in the completely opposite direction… (That’s what you get for letting me navigate, Jess!) (Sorry again!!!). Once we righted ourselves, we finished our banana and Nutella crepes and then finally reached the Gardens, which were beautiful! There were so many people just hanging out on the grounds too!
After looking around for a bit, we did some souvenir shopping and then went to see Notre Dame. Wowww, it was so pretty and unreal. I wish we could have gone inside, but the line was super long and we really wanted to make sure that we made it to the Eiffel Tower in tome for sunset because we missed it yesterday. We walked through the Latin Quarter to get there just in time and the views were amazing! It is one of those images that will be ingrained into my mind forever and I will never forget. We took a bunch of pictures and then just sat on the lawn to soak it all in!
After it got dark, we stopped at a nearby restaurant and split a pizza. The beer is cheaper than the water here, so naturally we took advantage of that. ;) We were still a little hungry after, and so we stopped at a little grocery store to pick up some sandwiches for later that night.
Jess heard that the Louvre was amazing lit up at night, and so we ventured back over there to take some more pictures and it was really pretty. The Louvre is also gigantic, if you don’t know. I don’t think there would be any way to see the whole thing in one day! On the way back to the hostel, we walked along the lock bridge at night, which was cool, and then made our way back.
We walked 12.42 miles today! I am having so much fun and I can’t believe we only have one more day left! I am really going to miss spending time and catching up with Jess!
October12
Our last day. :( We had breakfast with Brad and then went back to our room to get ready and pack. After checking out, we stored our luggage and then asked directions to a local book market that Jess wanted to check out. The lady at the reception sent us to a flea market and so we eventually found the book market (at the park right next to the hostel). We looked around for a while and it was cool to see so many familiar titles in French.
We met up with Brad at a local restaurant and caught up while we ate. I am not sure what I ordered… I think it might have been liver… but it was good!
After saying goodbye, we waited at the hostel for our airport shuttle to pick us up. This was what we decided to take back to the airport so that we wouldn’t have to deal with the metro again and it ended up being cheaper anyways! When our driver got here, he rushed us into the shuttle and was honestly kind of an a$$hole… (Pardon my French). I have never felt so carsick in my life and he sped through the busy city streets. He rushed us so much for no real reason and even tried to charge us extra in order to get our backpacks, which he considered “luggage”. I was so glad to finally be out of the shuttle and even though he knowingly dropped us off at the wrong terminal, I didn’t care at that point.
Jess and I were luckily flying out of the same terminal and so after going through some pretty freaky parking garages, we finally made it to the right termianl, printed off my boarding pass, and made it through security. I sat with her at her gate until her flight and I was really sad to see her go. :( I had so much fun this weekend!!! She is planning a trip in a month to Dublin and I think one of our other friends who is also studying abroad this semester will be there too, so I might join them! :D
After Jess left, I wandered around the airport for a while and then got onto my plane and headed to Amsterdam! I had a 9 hour layover, overnight, and while I wanted to get out of the airport and explore, so that I could say that I have been to Amsterdam, I was a little afraid to because it was the middle of the night. In the end, I just found a comfy couch near an outlet, Skyped my family to let them know I made it there safely, and then fell asleep!
October 13
After catching a few hours of sleep in the airport, I woke up early and walked around the airport until my flight. I was a little bit afraid to sleep in the airport, but no one bothered me and it was pretty comfortable. The Amsterdam Airport is also REALLY nice and it was ranked as #1 for sleeping in on one of the web-sites I checked while doing research for the trip.
The flight only lasted 40 minutes and then I was back home in Oslo. I took the express train downtown, got a new student Ruter pass, and then finally made it back home. I still had class today and so after going to campus, I printed off a few things and then went to our study group for Genetics.
After that, I went back home, said hello to my roommates, and then crashed because I was so exhausted!
Paris was an awesome trip and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go! It was great seeing Jess and we had so much fun together!!!! Can’t wait to see you and Julia in Dublin! :D