Paris (Part Two)

So after leaving the Arc de Triomphe, I decided to go straight for La Defense, the "new" part of town. The interesting thing about La Defense is that all of the streets are underground. So you have all of the skyscrapers and tech-buildings connected only by walkways and plazas. Imagine a nicer Manhattan without the noise of cars. It gave a really eerie feeling though. Kinda similar to the feeling I got while walking around Brussels. The arc in the main plaza though was really interesting. It was more like a hollow cube than an arc though. But it was honeycombed with office windows. They said that the entire Arc de Triomphe would fit underneath the "Grande Arc" here, so it was a giant structure (look at the pics).

After I left there, I decided to walk along the river. After awhile, I glanced over my right shoulder, and I saw something AWESOME. LADY LIBERTY!!!! There she was, just chillin' on a mini Liberty Island in the middle of the river. I got really excited because I wasn't even looking for it. USA - 1, France - 0.

I walked through more parks, and along more rivers, and saw a few more unknown but totally awesome old buildings. And then I met up with my CouchSurfing friend for a picnic. He and a few friends set up camp right on an island behind Notre Dame. There were TONS of other people our age doing the same thing (I guess picnics are popular here). We ate bread and cheese and patee and wine and a bunch of other Frenchie food. I was laughing at the contrast between this and what we do at home to hang out. For some reason, things just feel classier in Paris.

The next day, I decided to explore the Louvre. It was HUUUGE. I went straight for the Mona Lisa. It's definitely smaller than it looks on tv, but it's still cool. I have no idea why it's considered such an awesome painting though. I glanced around the room where it was kept, and I saw tons of other works of art that were way more awe-inspiring. I went back to the lobby and found a Starbucks. It's prolly the most expensive one in the world, omfg. But I determined that I needed a treat, so I got my favorite mocha frapuccino.

The cool part of the Louvre is that the museum itself is a work of art. I remember thinking that if they just had blank walls and statue-less pedestals, the rooms and layouts and exterior of the Louvre would be cool by itself. There is too much to describe, and my camera died after a few pics, so I'll just give you my favorite: the Winged Victory of Samothrace. For some strange reason, I am now obsessed with this statue. Let me start with the positioning. It sits on a mezzanine at the top of a sweeping staircase. The pedestal looks similar to the bow of a ship, and the statue matches perfectly with it. The Winged Victory embodies pure action...almost like a snapshot of an angel charging victoriously into battle. Pictures really don't do it justice. I felt small standing in front of her...small, cowardly, almost reverent. It has a certain power to it. Maybe that's why it is so famous. Anyways, I could go on and on...

Another CouchSurfer showed up that night to stay with Freddy. So we toured around the next day while Freddy was working. We saw the Parthenon, more lovely parks and statues and monuments, and of course, Notre Dame (it's hard to be impressed by another cathedral after seeing so many on this trip, but it was amazing nonetheless). We also found the Moulin Rouge up on the hill. Soooooooooo expensive to see a show there.

We looked around a little more, and then I decided it was time for a nap. And what better place for a nap than beside the Eiffel Tower. I laid on the grass, gazing up at the tower against a bright blue and white backdrop. It was peaceful there...except for the throngs of tourists, the never-ending stream of beggars asking obviously sleeping people for money, and the continual onslaught of black crows flying way to close to the ground. But besides that, it was a nice nap.

That night I took an overnight bus to London. I sat in a broken seat...BUT it was broken in a good way. It reclined all the way down so I could lie flat. I was extremely happy with my good fortune. Until right as we were about to pull away, a large black man hopped on at the last minute. And guess where he decided to sit?!?!? Directly behind me. OMFG. And he wouldn't move to the adjacent seat so I could recline!!! His english wasn't very good, and he insisted on sitting behind me even when I tried to explain that I couldn't put my seat up. So the back of my chair was lying on top of his massive chest. How awkward. AND he snored like a fat bastard! I was infuriated. My perfect seat ruined. He kept subtlely trying to push my chair forward, but it kept falling back down. Eventually, I got tired of being pushed up and down by his monstrous, breathing chest, and I moved into an upright seat. Worst night of sleep EVER.