Flight from Paris

On our last morning in France we went on a hunt for pastries and came up empty handed. It was not a good way to start the day but I was so glad to be going home to Chicago that it didn't dampen my mood.

We decided to take a taxi to the shuttle stop in order to get to Charles de Gaulle, which was the opposite of how we got to our hostel. Everything would have worked out perfectly if getting a cab didn't turn out to be the hassle it was.

We had the front desk call a cab for us like they said they would but then they told us they thought there was a cabbie strike. Then they told us the taxi was on its way. Then they told us that sometimes the cab doesn't come. Um, that would be a problem. And it never did come. Luckily for us a cab was driving by as Grace and I finally gave up on waiting for the cab and began to walk to the metro. We piled our suitcases into the cab and were on our way to the shuttle stop. Of course, while in the taxi we drove past a taxi line, which was about one block away. I wish the front desk had told us that but it all worked out and I was just happy to be on my way back to the US after months abroad.

At the airport we spent all our remaining euros on trashy US tabloids and waited for the boarding to begin. Did I mention I was excited to be going home?

Once we got on our American Airlines flight back to O'Hare International Airport in Chicago I got extremely excited. Even the fact that my bag didn't fit in the overhead bins didn't get me down (the flight attendant was very nice and put it in first class for me). On the flight it was also exciting to hear all the American dialects and I sat next to another woman who had been in France for about four months and was heading back to the US. I also listened to Miley Cyrus's "Party in the USA" to get even more pumped (and yet it also made me miss Laura because we used to sing it together while cooking).

When I got back on American soil it was a great feeling. We had to walk through the stained glass windows and many posters of Chicago and it was like O'Hare was welcoming me back to my home. And then we saw the our family, the people who were really welcoming us home. They even brought American flags and were the envy of every other family who didn't think to bring American flags.

And that's the end.

Paris with Grace: Day 3 (26/5)

Last full day in Europe

 The first stop, as usual, was getting some breakfast; we got quite accustomed to French baking. Second stop- Notre Dame (for the third time). This time, we actually stuck around and waited in line for the tour, which was one of my goals for my second trip to Paris. It was also a lot cooler today so the wait wasn't a health risk.

After a wait in line Grace and I finally got the chance to climb the hundreds of stairs and go into the towers of Notre Dame. It was five euro to go in but worth it just to see the gargoyles. Each gargoyle was so expressive and grotesque that I could literally stand up there for hours looking at them. Grace also snapped a lot of great photos of them.

After taking in the views of Paris, we descended into the city. Grace and I strolled along the Seine, doing some poster and souvenir shopping along the way. We eventually ended up at the Hotel des Invalides, which is apparently one of the 1000 places I need to see before I die. The building was actually very beautiful, which is not surprising considering it is in Paris. The Hotel des Invalides was originally a military hospital which has since been turned into a military museum and houses Napoleon's tomb. Grace and I didn't visit either, however, to save time and money.

Hotel des Invalides

Military detail around windows

And then it hit us- there was one thing missing from the perfect Parisian experience, and that thing was shopping, so we set off for the Galeries Lafayette. At this point in my 4.5 month long trip, I was feeling a little strapped for cash, but Grace is always ready to blow some money so she bought a dress and some shoes. While we were in such a beautiful store, we also bought some cappuccinos to enjoy. It turned out to be a lovely French afternoon.

What a beautiful store!

Grace had still not visited the Louvre while in Paris so that was next on our whirlwind last day in Paris. We found out that tickets were cheaper after 5 so once we arrived at the Louvre we took our time before going in. It worked out well because not only was Grace's ticket cheaper (mine was free due to my "European residency") but it was also not crowded at all, therefore giving us the perfect atmosphere to explore some of art's greatest accomplishments.

First stop: Mona Lisa (there was no doubt of that)

Next stop: Liberty Leading the People
I told Grace that there was a painting that I saw the last time I was at the Louvre and wanted to go back and spend more time examining it. When we got to the room of French paintings, Grace said, "I know which one you like." She said that between the revolutionaries and the tricolour French flag streaming she knew that Liberty Leading the People was the one I liked. What can I say? As I mentioned before, I'm a sucker for a great revolution (although the French Revolution is only my second, possibly third, favorite).

Last stop: Cupid and Psyche and sculptures

Sculptures are my new favorite form of art after traveling to Italy. I think Grace really liked seeing all the sculptures as well and because there was "perfect light" Grace and I stayed in the sculpture hall so Grace could snap a couple photos. Gracie also found a sculpture called The Three Graces so she loved that.

Since it was getting late our next stop was dinner, a nice French dinner. We went back to Ile St. Louis because we saw a lot of nice French restaurants while we were there yesterday. We ended up stopping at a nice, small restaurant with an affordable three course menu. For our first course, Grace tried the onion soup again (not as good as the first) and I had escargot. I had eaten escargot a few times before, mostly when my family traveled to Montreal. 

The French people sitting next to us were definitely mocking me in French for taking this picture.

Grace and I had duck and steak, which was decent. When it came to dessert, no one came around to give us it for a long time so we got concerned. Turns out that the somewhat creepy waiter wanted us to take our dessert in the special room downstairs. This is about when the red flag goes up that this could a bad situation. He lead us downstairs and it turned out that there was another seating area down there, so at least we were with other people. The waiter offered us drink on him and we told him that we didn't drink, so he offered us juice. Like we were going to drink anything he offered us.

When dessert came it was so good! It was a chocolate cake that was liquid on the inside and simply delicious. The waiter also insisted on taking pictures of us in this "special room," which was cool because it was likely hundreds of years old. 

After dinner I told the waiter that we had to get going because our parents were going to meet us at the Arc du Triomphe. This, of course, was a lie but I didn't want anything to go awry. 

I still wanted Grace to have a good look at the Arc du Triomphe but it was being cleaned or something because there was a tarp over parts of it. What a bummer, but I don't think Grace was that interested anyway.

We went back to our hostel and spent our last night in Europe. It's crazy how four months fly by!

Our Lady of Paris

Grace and I took a tour of Notre Dame. Here our some of our pictures along with quotes from Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

"The Church of Notre-Dame at Paris is doubtless still a sublime and majestic building."

"we are led to these conclusions,- that architecture was, up to the fifth century, the chief register of humanity; that during this space of time no idea of any elaboration appeared in the world without being built into masonry"

"[Quasimodo] seemed not only to inhabit it but to be its natural tenant."

"The other statues, those of monsters and demons, did not hate Quasimodo; he looked too much like them for that."

"The monsters were his friends, and protected him. Thus he had long conversations with them."

"And the cathedral was not only company for him, it was his universe; nay, more, it was Nature itself... 

...He never dreamed that there were other hedge-rows than the stained-glass windows in perpetual bloom; 

...other shade than that of the stone foliage always budding, loaded with birds in the thickets of Saxon capitals;

 ...other mountains that the colossal towers of the church; 

...or other ocean than Paris roaring at their feet."

Paris with Grace: Day 2 (25/5)

Je t'aime Paris

We started our day in the most appropriate way while in Paris and that was with a trip to the bakery. It was an extremely hot day but with such limited time in Paris we had to fight on.

Again we headed over to Notre Dame to see how long the line for the towers was and again it was unmanageable. While we were in that area, however, we heard a New Europe tour guide talk about Ile St. Louis, which is the island north of Notre Dame and its fantastic ice cream. Grace is very food oriented and so our goal for the day turned into getting Grace some delicious ice cream.

The Ile St. Louis is a really cute place and we had a great time exploring it. There are a lot of little restaurants there and we chose venture back for dinner. While we were walking in the Paris heat we stopped for some ice cream, which was nothing special, but then we found a small produce store. There was nothing really special about the store itself but there was a juicer inside that made the best orange juice (at least we suspect it was orange juice). Perfect beverage for such a hot day.

One of the things that I told Grace that she had to see while in Paris was the Louvre. It has so many great works of art and I knew that she might regret it if she didn't at least see the Mona Lisa. We started walking over to the Louvre but when we got there we discovered that is was closed. I guess we were just going to have to come back the next day.

We took the metro (mastering public transportation was one of our skills) back to our hostel and napped before dinner. It was also necessary to shower before dinner because we were sticky from the Parisian sun.

As I mentioned we had decide to travel back to Ile St. Louis for dinner. One of my father's requests was that Grace and I have a nice authentic French dinner while in Paris so we found a very tiny restaurant (only six tables) that looked like it had not changed for about 150 years that seemed like it would fit the bill. 

We got as table and were the only ones in the restaurant (although eventually another party came) and the chef came over and took our orders. There was also a cat walking around the restaurant and I was overjoyed that we found such a great "hole in the wall" place, although I desperately hoped it didn't cough up a hair ball.

The highlights of dinner were definitely Grace's dishes. She got both French onion soup, which was the best that I've ever had, and duck confit, which was also very good. I got steak au poive and it wasn't much to write home about, mostly because the meat was just not great quality.

After dinner we went in search of dessert and ended up getting gelato, which was very good. It then started drizzling but I was determined to show Grace the Arc du Triomphe so we headed in that direction. Unfortunately, but the time we got there it was full on raining and after getting a glimpse we went back to the hostel.

One nice thing about where we were staying was that they had free internet and I had my computer with me. They also had computer available for use in the lobby so Grace and I could keep up on our emails and correspondence. We would upload pictures, write email, and check Facebook, then turn in for the night.

Paris with Grace: Day 1 (24/5)

Welcome to Paris!

Grace and I were staying at the Caulaincourt Square Hostel which was in the Montmarte area of Paris, one of my favorite places there. After dropping all our luggage (they starting to get very cumbersome considering I was literally carrying all my possessions from Ireland) at the hostel, which was very nice, we went out to explore a very hot Paris. We had the whole day in front of us because it was only 10:15 am when we arrived.

Since we were already in the Montmarte area I thought it was best to start there. Also, this is one of the best places in Paris to really get the Parisian feel so it is the perfect place to start. We walked up by Sacre-Couer and on the way Grace also stopped in a bakery and tried her first authentic French baking.

Grace made a habit of trying as many French baked goods as possible.

One of my other favorite places in Paris is Notre Dame so I decided to make that our second stop. One of my goals for my second trip to Paris was to got up in the towers of Notre Dame but the line was outrageous that day and we did not feel like waiting in the heat wearing the clothes that we traveled in (I had to wear abut four layers so my bags weren't overweight); passing out was not on our to do list. Instead we sat in the shade of Notre Dame and Grace took a little nap while I wrote in my journal.

Grace taking a little nap outside Notre Dame. It was a long day.

Notre Dame is so beautiful

After walking around Notre Dame we had to indulge in one of Paris's greatest treasures- crepes. After we both enjoyed a nutella and banana crepe, which was a little too hot for a very hot day, Grace and I took the metro back to our hostel.

When we got back we tried to check into the hostel and the man at the front desk would only speak French. Apparently he thought we could speak French but the truth is that neither Grace or I have ever taken any French, so we were completely lost, unless he by chance said a word that sounds like an English or Spanish word we knew. In other words, basically everything was lost in translation. When everything seemed to be in order, I say seemed because I had no idea what he was saying, we walked towards our room and the front desk clerk called after us, in an American accent, "By the way, I speak perfect English." Turns out he was from Washington DC and apparently just likes to frustrate American tourists.

The big gift that Grace and I wanted to get our parents while on our European vacation was a sketch of us drawn in Paris. After freshening up at the hostel and arranging to meet our cousin later on in the night we headed over to Montmarte and investigated the sketching scene. There are a lot of artists there and they all have samples of their work out so that you can choose your favorite. We choose the stereotypical French man in a red and white striped shirt. Stereotypes never lead you wrong.

One funny thing he said while drawing Grace was "You have a special eye." He didn't speak very good English and we still don't know what he meant by it but I'm guessing it was because she was wearing eye shadow. After drawing it he also said, "I make miracle for you." He is so modest, but I have to give him credit because he did give me a nose job in the sketch.

Our artist, Grace, me, and our sketched selves.

Our second cousin Andy just happened to be in Paris too so, in order to be as dramatic as possible, we decided to meet under the Eiffel Tower. He was climbing in Europe this summer and was with his other two friends so the first order of business was finding a restaurant to feed the hungry masses. We had a pleasant dinner and then went back to the Eiffel Tower to take the quintessential Eiffel Tower picture with our cousin. It was a once in a lifetime photo opportunity.

Grace and Andy just had to climb a French lamppost too.

London to Paris

It was the penultimate leg of travel!

Grace and I woke up at 2:30 am after very little sleep to get our taxi before the 6 am flight to Paris. Our bus was at 3:30 and I was getting worried that we wouldn't have enough time to get through security and get on the plane by the time the gate closed. Anyway, we woke up and woke up our hostel owner, David, so that we could check out. I had arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 3 so we pulled all our luggage out to the curb to wait for it. While on the corner I got a call that the taxi company didn't have an available taxi to lick Grace and I up. Wasn't that the point of a reservation? Anyway, I started to get even more worried when the taxi wasn't coming and the two of us were standing with all our possessions on the corner of a London street at 3 in the morning. Eventually two police officers walked by and asked us if everything was ok. Naturally, I started talking very quickly in a high-pitched voice and they knew I was distressed. As they were trying to find us a taxi our reserved taxi pulled up and we were on our way to the bus stop.

We pulled up to the bus stop just as the bus was pulling up so I was relieved that we would at least make it to the airport. We got on the bus and were on our way.

As soon as we pulled into the airport I was on my feet ready to sprint down the length of the terminal. It didn't come to that because Grace and I got through bag check and security in twenty-five minutes. The gate wasn't even open by the time we were through. Talk about being a travel warrior.

When we got on the plane Grace and I immediately fell asleep as per usual but it was only an hour long flight so we didn't get too much rest. When we got to Charles de Gaulle I had to switch shoes because my boots were hurting my blisters and then we were off!

I asked someone at the airport the best way to get to our hostel and she suggested taking a bus to Paris and then taking a cab directly up to Montmarte where our place was so that is what we did. The only problem we encountered was getting on the bus with our massive luggage but we did get to our hostel and when we arrived our room wasn't ready so we invaded Paris!

London with Grace: Day 3 (23/5)

Grace and I had already been in London two days and not gone to Harrod's so I had to change that. After breakfast we too the Tube over to Harrod's. It was just opening as we arrived there and once we got inside the first thing we checked out were the food halls. The food halls are just so cool and have so many delicacies, including Krispy Kreme, which is a favorite of Grace's, so naturally we had to pick up a couple doughnuts. They did not disappoint and tasted just like Krispy Kreme does in the US.

After having some doughnuts we looked around the Toy Kingdom and the Pet Kingdom (apparently Harrod's likes monarchy's). I think Grace enjoyed seeing Harrod's and we each got a souvenir. I bought myself a bottle of Burberry London perfume for special occassions (I thought that it doesn't get more legitimate than buying Burberry London while at Harrod's in London) and Grace bought a Cuban cigar, something that she can't get in the US. My perfume was also somewhat special to me because it was a pre-flight ritual of mine to spray on Burberry London from the tester at a store in the airport (as I've mentioned, airports are like malls in Europe) before flying out of Dublin. And the men working the perfume section were so cute in a stereotypical British way.

After we had our stylish green bags from Harrod's we headed over to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Once we got there Grace could not resist her Cuban any longer and had to light it up. Here is photo evidence:

A video recap of Grace's London experience:

I had to see the sights that my guidebook suggested (as always) so we headed over to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain (not that great) and the Peter Pan statue. It was a cute statue and we got a cute sister picture in front of it.

Next stop: Baker Street. Yes, we did see 221b Baker Street from the outside but the reason that we traveled there was to go to a Beatles store. Grace got some socks for her friend Nancy that were purple with yellow submarines on them. We then got some coffee drinks and went back to the hostel to start re-packing for our trip to Paris. After getting back to the hostel we also called our mom to update her on our British adventures. Nothing too exciting.

Since it was so good the first time and we don't have a good Thai restaurant at home we couldn't resist going to the Thai restaurant we went to the first night before Les Miz. It was named Thai Square and it was just as good the second time as the first. Grace got a virgin pina colada and we also got a this great chicken dish that tastes just like Tommy's* Thai basil leaves. If you closed your eyes they tasted the same and Grace and I were just shocked. Too bad this place is all the way in London or we would go there all the time.

After dinner Grace and I walked over to Piccadilly Circus to look around and then headed back to the hostel to get ready for our 3:30 am bus to the airport. I had to finished packing and also arrange a taxi to pick us up to take us to the bus that would take us to the airport outside of London. I'm sure you won't be surprised by this, but I freaked out about getting to the airport on time to catch our flight and could barely sleep that night because I was so worried. I also had to call my mother and stress about it to her.

You'll have to tune in next time to see if the Fisher Sisters make it on the plane to Paris!

*Tommy was the owner of Bahn Thai, the Fisher's favorite Thai restaurant. He moved back to Thailand and is very greatly missed, especially his basil leaves and the pork dish #49.

London with Grace: Billy Elliot

Livin' the Dream

Billy Elliot was so amazing the first time that I saw it that Grace decided that she wanted to see it while in London and our neighbors were generous enough to buy us tickets. It was really a dream come true.

After napping we got ready in our hostel to hit the town that night. After getting ready we went to the general area of the theatre and found a restaurant which happened to be Italian. It was good food and we got in with plenty of time to get to the theatre.

Grace and I had tickets for the first row in the Grand Circle which were great seats, although sometimes the rail would get in the way. Also, here was a sign that was in the theatre:

I think it's pretty funny considering the whole show is about embracing dance but apparently Westminster doesn't want any of that happening  in their theatre. Another funny thing is that I've seen 3 different Billies after seeing the show only twice. That is because about halfway through this show one of the Billies went offstage and never came back. Instead the production manager came on stage and told us that he was unable to finish the show and a new Billy would take over. I had my concerns that this Billy would be subpar compared to the other one who I liked, but it was the opposite. This Billy was amazing! And you could tell that he was loving every minute on stage (you can always tell who is really having fun out there).

Here are some other points about the show:

• I had the same Michael and Mrs. Wilkinson (no complaints) but a different Dad and Debbie.
• I frequently shouted "Billy Elliot" during it because I loved it so much.
• Grace loved it too, so much so that she got a t-shirt that matches the one that I got in February.
• Grace and I waited outside the stage door and saw many of the little girls come out, as well as the actor who played the brother (which I thought did a great job!)

After a great show the two of us took the Tube to the hostel, talking about how fantastic it was all the way back.

London with Grace: Day 2 (22/5)

London is so magical

Our second day in London started off uneventful- we woke up at 9:30 and ate breakfast in our hostel before hitting the town. Our hostel was fairly close to Westminster so we started there. As many of you know, having photo shoots with my sister is one of my favorite things to do so we climbed on a lamppost on Westminster bridge and shot some pictures...

...actually I was kinda chicken so Grace climbed on the lamppost first.

And we posed while people stared at us.

Precious

And while we were shooting photos....

...we took the necessary London snapshot.

Grace on Millenium Bridge

After taking a bunch of pictures we began a stroll down the Thames, crossing it at Millennium Bridge. Grace saw Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on one of our maps (I usually carry around mulitple) and said she wanted to check it out so that was our destination.

Here are some facts we learned while on the Globe Theatre tour:

• Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was made with all the original materials, including a thatched roof. The original Globe's thatched roof lead to its downfall when a flaming ball of rags used as a cannonball during a performance of Henry VIII got lodged in it and set the roof on fire. Thatched roofs are banned in London (because they are a fire hazard)but this replica is allowed to have one.
• The Globe Theatre's season is from April to October. Shows are not longer performed in the winter because the actors and the audience are exposed to the elements, which brings me to my next point...
• The actors perform during the rain. The Globe is somewhat doughnut shaped and therefore the stage can get rained on, but the show must go on.
• Actors who perform in the Globe have to learn to "play the building." Because they do not use mics the thespians must learn where the dead spots are and how to make sure they are heard throughout the entire house.
• We also got to watch some actors rehearse (Henry VIII)

After the tour we got matching bags that say "All the World's a Stage" in the gift shop.

We had already accomplished one "must" in London (taking pictures in a phonebooth) so up next was mastering riding the Tube. Grace and I bought a day pass for the Tube, got a map, and descended into the bowels of London. Our first destination...

Abbey Road

Our second destination...

Platform 9 3/4

We worked up an appetite visiting all these tourist attractions so Grace and I bought a ham and cheese sandwich to split at King's Cross. After that we were pretty tired so we decided to head back to the hostel so that we could nap before seeing Billy Elliot.

London: Les Miserables

(Written the night of the show, May 21, 2010, from my hostel in London)

Tonight Gracie and I went to go fulfill another lifelong dream of mine: seeing Les Miserables in the West End and it did not disappoint.

We had a long day getting to London and doing some sightseeing, so before going to the three hour long show Grace and I snuck in a little nap. After resting we got all dolled up to go to the theatre, Grace wearing her cute little coral coloured dress and me in my black Ann Taylor dress. After all, going to the theatre is all about the experience and dressing up is part of that.

Another part of that is getting dinner beforehand. While walking over to Piccadilly Circus we saw a Thai restaurant that had a deal for a three course "Pre-Theatre" meal for 15 GBP so we stopped in there. The food was very good (amazing Pad Thai) and we got a lot of it too. I, of course, was very stressed* that we would not get to the show in time but my fears proved to be unfounded.

We got to the theatre and I squealed a lot, as I do when I get excited. When people asked me what I wanted to do when I went abroad I told them that the only thing that I had to do was see Les Miz in the West End and here I was standing in front of the Queen's Theatre with my ticket in hand.

A very excited me

Fulfilling dreams is fun!

We got in a took our seats in the upper circle, row J, which was not necessarily close to the action but also not a bad view. And the the show started.

• I loved the set and how it rotated around and the way that it was used. Very cool. I'm sure it would have been even cooler seeing it from more of a ground level. Being up so high we did see a couple of characters that should have been dead come back to life, drink some water, fix their hair, and then die again.
• "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" was a tearjerker, as was Fantine's death scene and the ending.
• The actors had amazing voices (I would expect no less). The actors playing Eponine, Jean Valjean, and Enjolras were especially talented.
• Little Cosette was adorable!
• I thought I would cry a lot more. Maybe it was because I was already familiar with the story.

Afterwards we took a black cab home which just added to the phenominal London experience. Seriously, my life could not get any better when I was riding in a black cab coming home from Les Miserables in the West End wearing a cocktail dress with my little sister.

*Throughout the entire trip I was stressed but luckily I had Grace there to calm me down and remind me that sometimes you just need to take it easy.

London with Grace: Day 1 (21/5)

Welcome to London!

(I don't feel like I'm in London until I see Big Ben)

Here is the last couple hours in Dublin and our first couple hours in London with a few bullets:

1. Left Roebuck Hall for the last time at 4:45 am after packing and cleaning that night.
2. Took cab to airport.
3. Tried desperately to rearrange things in order to avoid fees.
4. The flight was scheduled to leave at 7:55 am but was delayed but we didn't care because as soon as we sat down in the plane we fell asleep.
5. Took train to Victoria Station and took black cab to hostel.
6. Nice hostel worker named David at the Walrus Waterloo Hostel (I would recommend it).
7. Went out to explore London!
8. First went past Westminster to Trafalgar Square, stopping for lunch.
9. Went to see Buckingham Palace and took some pictures of it. A nice lady offered to give us directions.
10. Walked over to Piccadilly Circus.
11. Grace bought a purse made of candy wrappers near Piccadilly Circus.
12. Bought Billy Elliot tickets for tomorrow night (35 GBP each) which was a generous gift from the Wittenberg family who are our neighbors.
13. Headed back to hostel for short nap and to get ready to see Les Miserables (and fulfill a dream of mine).