Thursday, June 30, 2016
Getting Acquainted
June 30, 2016--Day 3
Hooray for jet-lag! Because of this phenomenon, two sleep-loving teenage girls naturally woke up at 6:30 am, fully rested! Wow! And since this occurrence was so strange, we decided to have a lazy morning, Maddie enjoying her tea, and Ali enjoying her coffee. After going over some options, we decided to start exploring destinations nearby. First, we walked to the Notre Dame. It was absolutely breathtaking. Ali was having flashbacks to learning about Gothic architecture in Art History class. Walking around inside was interesting because of the hoards of people. Obviously, tourism is not how this building was meant to be experienced, but you could imagine how peaceful and serene this cathedral would have been. Then we went back outside and waited in line for around 45 minutes to go to the top. We definitely got in quite the workout trekking up and down the winding staircases, as anyone could see from our trembling calves. But no worries, Maddie had her inhaler (though she didn't need to use it)! From the top of the Notre Dame, we saw our first glance of the Eiffel Tower since arriving in Paris. Also from the top, we got to get up close and personal with some of the gargoyles (FUN FACT: gargoyles got their name from the "gargling" sound they make from water pouring off of them). After waiting in line for what felt like hours and climbing step after endless step, we had worked up quite an appetite so we headed to lunch at Le Comptoir du Panthéon where we had our first croque monsieur. Très delicieux! Our server was very nice and spoke English to us as we made our first attempts at ordering food in French. From our lunch spot, we had a beautiful view of the Pantheon and the Eiffel Tower. After a very filling meal, we walked back to the apartment and took a nap. Then we met up with Robert and he took us to shop at Picard, a store dedicated to gourmet frozen meals. There we picked up a few dinners and got cute free balloons that say "Coucou L'été" which translates to something like "Woohoo Summer!" Afterward, we took a nice stroll through Luxembourg Garden and got delicious sorbet, perfect for the sunny summer evening. This park is much different than ones back home as it's filled with statues, perfectly manicured lawns you're not allowed to step on, and a large water feature that Maddie almost pushed Ali into (jokingly, but Ali was genuinely scared). After the gardens, we continued our stroll to Shakespeare and Company. We couldn't actually go in, though, because there was a private event going on, but we'll make plans to visit later on. On our walk back to the apartment, we wandered new streets. As Paris night life started up, many shops began to close and restaurants began to boom with activity. We stopped in at a tourist shop and each got Paris keychains to hold our apartment keys. Once we arrived at home, we prepared our microwave dinners from Picard, which were amazing. Day 3, check! Now we are sitting in bed planning our day out for tomorrow. À demain!
Hooray for jet-lag! Because of this phenomenon, two sleep-loving teenage girls naturally woke up at 6:30 am, fully rested! Wow! And since this occurrence was so strange, we decided to have a lazy morning, Maddie enjoying her tea, and Ali enjoying her coffee. After going over some options, we decided to start exploring destinations nearby. First, we walked to the Notre Dame. It was absolutely breathtaking. Ali was having flashbacks to learning about Gothic architecture in Art History class. Walking around inside was interesting because of the hoards of people. Obviously, tourism is not how this building was meant to be experienced, but you could imagine how peaceful and serene this cathedral would have been. Then we went back outside and waited in line for around 45 minutes to go to the top. We definitely got in quite the workout trekking up and down the winding staircases, as anyone could see from our trembling calves. But no worries, Maddie had her inhaler (though she didn't need to use it)! From the top of the Notre Dame, we saw our first glance of the Eiffel Tower since arriving in Paris. Also from the top, we got to get up close and personal with some of the gargoyles (FUN FACT: gargoyles got their name from the "gargling" sound they make from water pouring off of them). After waiting in line for what felt like hours and climbing step after endless step, we had worked up quite an appetite so we headed to lunch at Le Comptoir du Panthéon where we had our first croque monsieur. Très delicieux! Our server was very nice and spoke English to us as we made our first attempts at ordering food in French. From our lunch spot, we had a beautiful view of the Pantheon and the Eiffel Tower. After a very filling meal, we walked back to the apartment and took a nap. Then we met up with Robert and he took us to shop at Picard, a store dedicated to gourmet frozen meals. There we picked up a few dinners and got cute free balloons that say "Coucou L'été" which translates to something like "Woohoo Summer!" Afterward, we took a nice stroll through Luxembourg Garden and got delicious sorbet, perfect for the sunny summer evening. This park is much different than ones back home as it's filled with statues, perfectly manicured lawns you're not allowed to step on, and a large water feature that Maddie almost pushed Ali into (jokingly, but Ali was genuinely scared). After the gardens, we continued our stroll to Shakespeare and Company. We couldn't actually go in, though, because there was a private event going on, but we'll make plans to visit later on. On our walk back to the apartment, we wandered new streets. As Paris night life started up, many shops began to close and restaurants began to boom with activity. We stopped in at a tourist shop and each got Paris keychains to hold our apartment keys. Once we arrived at home, we prepared our microwave dinners from Picard, which were amazing. Day 3, check! Now we are sitting in bed planning our day out for tomorrow. À demain!
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Bon Voyage and Bonjour
June 28th, Day 1: We left from PDX at 3:40pm for our connection flight in Iceland with warm hugs from family and friends (see Anne Kerzel's facebook post). It was a looooooong flight, 7 1/2 hours to be exact. We both watched a lot of movies and found ways to keep ourselves entertained.
June 29th, Day 2: We arrived in Iceland at about 6:30 am Iceland time. We were ushered off the plane onto the runway and got on a bus which took us to Iceland's cute little airport. It was very quaint and cute and we both got our first stamps in our new passports. Although, Maddie almost didn't get let in for being under 18 and without a parental note. We both made it through though and waited for about an hour until boarding out flight to the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. On this flight Maddie was passed out the entire time and Ali failed to sleep whatsoever for both flights. She's going to sleep well tonight! Once arriving in Paris, it took about three hours to finally make it to Roberts, with some difficulties navigating both the airport and Paris. But now we're here in our cute, quaint, and adorable apartment. We were warmly welcomed by uncle Robert who showed us around the neighborhood and took us grocery shopping! We then came back, cleaned up, made some dinner, wrote this blog, and are now ready for bed after the long but amazing start to our 5 week adventure.
June 29th, Day 2: We arrived in Iceland at about 6:30 am Iceland time. We were ushered off the plane onto the runway and got on a bus which took us to Iceland's cute little airport. It was very quaint and cute and we both got our first stamps in our new passports. Although, Maddie almost didn't get let in for being under 18 and without a parental note. We both made it through though and waited for about an hour until boarding out flight to the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. On this flight Maddie was passed out the entire time and Ali failed to sleep whatsoever for both flights. She's going to sleep well tonight! Once arriving in Paris, it took about three hours to finally make it to Roberts, with some difficulties navigating both the airport and Paris. But now we're here in our cute, quaint, and adorable apartment. We were warmly welcomed by uncle Robert who showed us around the neighborhood and took us grocery shopping! We then came back, cleaned up, made some dinner, wrote this blog, and are now ready for bed after the long but amazing start to our 5 week adventure.
Leaving PDX
Beautiful Views
At the Reykjavik Airport
Silly Iceland Drinks
Our Adorable Apartment
Saturday, June 18, 2016
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