Parisian Tales: Part III

So, when I last left off Corrie was returning to Dublin. Dom, Andre and I were all at the Louvre and had plenty of time left in Paris. Andre was very proactive and had several plans and ideas, so we were very willing to go along with his plans. There is a modern very of L'arc de triomphe which he wanted to see, so we jumped on the metro and popped up at this sky-scraper and sculpture littered area of Paris. Andre's reaction to the building was awesome-- he gasped and his entire face lit up. I was mostly happy because it was directly in front of our faces when we got off of the metro and we didn't have to wonder around searching for it, which undoubtedly would have ended with us having to ask for directions. At any such time I had a system.... sulk in the background and try not to make eye contact. It's the best way to avoid communicating with someone I've found. Anyway, we bopped around that area and snapped some photos.

Oh, the sun shines in Paris. And it's reasonably hot. So, Dom and Andre got to witness shadow hopping first hand. Also, I have airplane friendlychildren's sunscreen that fits cozily in a small pocket in my purse; however it's only SPF 30... yeah. Not impressive.

What's really cool about this new modern arc is that the original is directly parallel to it--- and you can see it! It was pretty cool. We walked around the area-- made a pit stop at a McDonald's and rode a nearby carousel. Just your average Paris adventures. My horse finished in front on the carousel, so naturally that makes me a winner.

At this point we parted ways. Andre was meeting up with his friends and Dominique was going to meet up with an old friend that is French, but went to school in the states for a while. I didn't know if I should bum around with Andre or just go back to the hotel with Dom, but I ended up going with Dom. It was very nice to relax in the hotel room and I got to watch an episode of Conan O'brian. It was quite enjoyable and was the only humorous option on the television in English. I watched the news a little bit, but it really was just depressing. I read for a little bit and then went to sleep--- I had to get rested for the following day's adventures.

Back in Ireland Dom and I decided we wanted to go to Euro Disney while we in Paris SO we set Monday aside for Disney adventures. Of course, we started the day with our delicious hotel breakfast and eventually made our way out to Disney. It was quite a long trek out there, but also worth it. The park was very busy and the day was hot, but we were so happy to be in Europe's happiest place on earth. Several elements are exactly the same as in the states--- like hot dogs and baseball and of course the characters! It made me feel powerful to know that Disney is so very American, but everyone there loved it. Of coures, Dom and I were a little bummed when some of the rides were in French. Ridiculous. Or even worse when they said everything in several different languages. It took a long time to get through everything. There was a wild west section and although it seemed to be a compilation of the western deserts and the ozarks it did make me miss home a little bit. Another one of those moments when I realized how different I was from everyone there--- I doubt hardly any of those people have ever been to Texas and they certainly don't have an old red house facing a pond and pioneering ancestors.

We wandered around the different sites and took pictures, until my camera died. Yeah... it was okay though. I just tried to use my memory.

Here's to French Disney movies:
Beauty and the Beast, Aristocats... um I can't remember them all. Oh, Ratatoille!

We got to watch the parade--- I don't think I've ever watched a Disney parade before. Of course in this one half of the characters spoke in English and half in French. Honestly, Peter Pan spoke to Wendy in English and she responded in French. I just don't get it.

There were too many kids around, but there was a cute Spanish boy in front of us in the Haunted Mansion line and we very much enjoyed making faces at him. There was another cute little boy on the train home who spoke French and English--- very impressive. We spoke to him a little bit. He was with a guy that is his Mom's best friend-- he had bought the little boy a picture of them on a roller coaster, but when he opened it the picture had scooted over so the little boy wasn't in the frame at all. The confusion and laughter was very entertaining to watch. The guy was laughing so hard that he cried.

When Dom and I got off of the metro at the stop near our hotel we were casually walking along when we heard POW!

We both froze and then quickly turned around and ran in the direction we had come. Both of us were fairly confident that we had just heard someone get shot. We were hugging a wall as other people were coming up an escalator and looking at us confusedly--- a few more pows went off and Dom and I remembered that it was a few hours until Bastille Day. We knew there were going to be fireworks at the Eiffel Tower, we just didn't bank on any at our metro stop. We continued to walk to our hotel and met a woman from the states currently living in Canada and she shared our view of hearing loud explosive noises and running. We had left Disney before their fireworks but it was totally fine because I could see 8 different sets off fireworks going off around the city from our hotel window. That was cool. And safe.

to be continued...