europe: swiss miss to ah pari

[written jan. 30th]

sunday, jan. 25th
we had a modest goal for switzerland -hot chocolate. so during our 40 minute break between trains in zurich, we quickly found a cafe and got to work. the hot chocolate wasn't like you normally get at starbucks or somewhere, but came with a glass of hot milk and a package of cocoa you stirred in yourself. it mixed in without a lump and was the smooth like syrup. we sat there in our window seat acting like we always paid 4.70 for gourmet hot chocolate during our train breaks. ha.

we got our train at 5pm and slept a bit, but mostly did sukoku until we got to milan about 7:30pm. so there we were sitting in the milan train station when 2 boys, about 16 or 17, came up and asked us for money. after a minute or so they finally left, and i turned around and something was not right. "elizabeth, where's my bag?" i asked in total disbelief. i was ready to laugh or cry at the empty spot where my bag had been right beside me, and since crying was too messy, i laughed. it was, and still is, the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard of. my GIGANTIC pack which weighs about 2.7 tons, had been sitting next to me on the bench, touching me -and it was gone, just like that. we were flabbergasted (i hardly ever get to use that word. fun.). We soon realized the boys were just a distraction while a third guy took my pack and hurried out of there. i walked all over in search of anything to do with it, but of course, found nothing. i filed a police report and lizzie and i raced to catch our train to milan, only to find out it would be 25 pounds to ride the night train to paris.

so there we were in the milan train station (my least favorite station in the world as i know it), just robbed and with nowhere to go. we sat on a bench, mad at the world ready to go home and just be done. after freezing for awhile, we found the waiting room which was a bit warmer and camped out on a piece of bench for the next 6 hours with our bags practically tied to us and lizzie's blanket snuggled around us. now we can relate to homeless people a little better.

monday, jan. 26th
6:40am finally came and we got the train the paris and spent the next 6 hours sleeping and trying to get good pictures of the alps out the window (more difficult than you might think). we got into paris at 2:20pm, got a baguette and free wifi at a street cafe (my first attempt at french failed miserably), and found our home for the next 3 days -the peace and love hostel. by that time it was too late to go out and we were exhausted, so we relaxed that evening and went to bed at 8:30pm.

tuesday, jan. 27th
we slept hard until 9:30am (that's 13 hours of sleep -wow) and showed up sparkling clean, our tummies filled with nutella sandwiches and yogurt, for a walking tour of paris at 11:30am. we walked all over the city -starting at st. michel's, going through notre dame cathedral , shakespeare and co. (bookstore where hemingway and james joyce hung out back in the day! if you buy a book there, they stamp it with "ground zero" because it's just across from notre dame where napoleon crowned himself, thereby the area became the center of the world, according to him). karen, our tour guide, took us all over and told tons of fun stories about the city and its history. we went by the louvre, the palais royale, the victory arch, a couple of churches (of which i can't remember the name), and much more. the tour ended at the big palace and the little palace (english translation, i can't remember the french names) where we learned that hitler had hated paris and when he thought he might lose the war, he sent one of his men to make sure it was destroyed before the allies got there. but this guy (deitrich ________) fell in love with the city and couldn't bear to see it destroyed so he lied to hitler and bought time until the allies came and freed the city. thank you deitrich -without you we may have missed out on beautiful paris. after the tour lizzie and i went off with 2 girls (ali from seattle and hillary from london, ontario, there were 5 of us from WA staying at the hostel!) to walk the beautiful boulevard toward the arc de triomphe. after seeing it up close and personal we went on to the eiffel tower and got there just in time to see it sparkle (which it only does on the hour at night)! it was gorgeous. we went up to the 3rd floor and were there to see it sparkle again -up close this time. it was magical. we headed back to the hostel after that and had pasta and went to bed early, again.

wednesday, jan. 28th
wednesday morning we went to the catacombs with ali and hillary. we climbed down down down and walked through hall after hall after hall of bones -just right there lining the walls. 6 million people were moved from various cemeteries around paris in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and buried there in the catacombs. it was quite an experience, one that i wouldn't want to do alone. afterwards we walked to sacre' coure (church of the sacred heart) which is built on the highest point in paris. after touring the beautiful church, we walked around in search of moulin rouge, which we knew was somewhere nearby. we passed many street artists and eccentric shops and eventually found what we were looking for -windmill and all. we went back to the hostel for a quick dinner (we've decided kitchens make the hostel) and lots of coffee in preparation for tackling the louvre. wednesday night is "cheap late night" (remember that for your trip) -just perfect for us. we started with a visit to ms. lisa, of course, then wandered through hall after hall admiring raphaels, botticellis, da vincis, etc. etc. we went through the roman sculpture rooms and had fun identifying all the greek myths we could and learning new hair styles inspired by the goddesses. i think our favorite was eros and psyche -a gorgeous limestone that stretches across with cupid holding psyche back against him, her hair falling on his knees. lizzie decided such an inspired work of art would be perfect for her future home's entryway. we continued through the european sculpture halls and were about to venture through a picasso exhibit when the clock ticked 9 and we were suddenly surrounded by herds of men and women in navy blue uniforms herding us out of the museum. we took the metro back to the hostel and feasted on carrots and peppers with hummus and baguette with fondue. yum! to break the pattern, this was a late night and we paid for it the next morning. goodbye paris!!