So. I know. I am a TERRIBLE BLOGGER. Good thing I am not getting paid to do this. BUT, it is all for good reason. I have been super busy with the last week of school, Patrick arriving in Paris, friends arriving in Paris, and Bastille Day.
My weekend was a slow one, because it was the one prior to exams. On Saturday, I went to the Invalides to see the Musee d’Army and it is now my favorite museum in Paris! My mind was thoroughly captured looking at the progression of weaponry and armor. I even got to see the armor worn by Knights! I felt like I was in the movie “A Knights Tale” and I wanted to quote “It’s called a lance, hello!” After that we went to see the Napoleons Tomb and I now have filled my head with extravagant ideas about my own funeral. Even in all the excitement of what I was seeing, I did get a little chocked up. Growing up, mom would always take pictures of us girls on the cannons at The Battery in Charleston. It has become almost a slideshow of how we have grown. There were so many cannons at the Military Museum that it made me really miss my family. Ana asked if I wanted a picture with one, but with the Barnes girls it is very much “one for all and all for one.” So, I just took in a moment where I felt like my mom and sisters were there. I was waiting to hear her voice telling me to stop making funny faces and to quit messing with Randi. I decided to spend my entire Sunday in my apartment to relax and really prepare myself for exams. Pathetic, but I was preparing myself for the week ahead of me:
On Monday, I did get to see more the city that I love. My classmate and friend, Erin, and I went to study in the Luxembourg Garden. We felt trés cool sitting out there amongst all the Parisians, acting not as a tourist but as a student (It’s like being bumped up a class on an airplane… nothing to brag about but something worth noting). This past Tuesday, after rocking my exam my friend Micalea and I went to St. Chappell, and after waiting in a short line were very shocked at what we came into. St. Chappell as the most amazing stain glass! We sat down and just stared at the walls in utter amazement. We both came unprepared without our cameras, but my iPhone did do a lot of justice. I then took her to St. Severin and St. Sulpice.
Wednesday was finally here! It was the day Patrick would arrive, I would finish my last exam, my friend Magen would be in town, and the festivities for Bastille Day would start. After again rocking my 2nd exam, I was running to the metro to get to the airport. However, the metro stood in my way by closing the lines for metro tickets and thus making me stand in a line with train tickets and taking an hour! BUT, I made it to the airport and found Patrick for a very long overdue kiss! Then it was a mad dash to my apartment to drop off the luggage, change (because I was wearing shorts and FREEZING… yup I walked around Paris looking like “that girl” who didn’t look at the weather). Then it was off to meet my friend, Magen, and her brother-in-law, Tyler, in front of Notre Dame. Poor Patrick was starring at Notre Dame with ants in his pants wanting to go inside, but we had other plans to go to St. Chappell (which is just around the corner). They loved it and I loved listening to Magen and Tyler’s stories of their travels as they backpacked through Europe.
After St. Chappell it was off to the Luxembourg Garden, but took a slight detour so I could show Magen, and avid lover of books, the famous bookstore: Shakespeare and Co. Her eyes got huge walking around, and I felt like a great tour guide helping uncover pieces of Paris that can go un-noticed in the rest of all the excitement of the monuments. Arriving at the Luxembourg Garden, we all were in for a BIG SHOCK of two homeless people performing pretty risqué acts. The biggest shocker is that no one was doing anything about it. I wasn’t even prepared for that “scene.” As always, Luxembourg was awe-inspiring, and after asking a couple of old men where the original Statue of Liberty was in perfect French (My French isn’t that good, but I like to brag when I get it right) we found it! We parted ways after the Luxembourg Garden, and Patrick and I were off to explore more of the city.
I think the ants in Patrick’s pants had become unbearable because he wanted to go back to Notre Dame. The look on his face was unforgettable, as he wandered around inside trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing. Two months ago, I was that girl. I reminded me just how close I was to leaving the city, and how incredibly lucky I was to have been on this amazing adventure in my life. After, Notre Dame we decided to take the metro to The Louvre. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA I now welcome you to Patrick’s first experience with a crowded metro. You should have seen his face, and we missed 4 trains due to his fear with that many people around him. After the fourth missed metro, we were back on foot walking our way to the Louvre. We stopped to eat, where Patrick got his first bowl of Onion Soup.
At the Louvre, we went to see the Mona Lisa, the Greek Sculptors, and a real treat for me (because I had yet to see it): Napoleon II’s Apartments. Walking around you get lost in how in must have been to lived there back then. I think I day dreamed the entire time.
That night, the festivities for Bastille Day started. We started the night at our favorite bar off Rude de Canettes. In Paris, on the night before Bastille Day all the firehouses throw huge parties to raise money for their firehouse. We however, got there late and were not about to stand in line for 2 hours to get inside. So, it was off to an Irish Pub for more drinks! Then it was off to another bar, before getting home around 3am. We had to be up around 8 in order to get ready for the Grand Army March on the Champs Elysees.
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