Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris

Wow, I really don't want to write another entry. This will not be nearly as detailed as the previous entry.

Monday morning we leave via bus for Luxembourg. I briefly thought I forgot my ipod, but it turns out I did have it. Along the ride, we stop at the largest WWII cemetery in Europe, St. Avold Cemetery in France. It's really pretty. It's also quite peaceful. I look for Big Nick, as I don't know whatever happened to him, but no success. The unknown tombs are the worst to look at.

After some more driving we arrive in Luxembourg. It's adorable. I love it. It's quite small, 37% the size of Freiburg. I visit the cathedral and feel really bad about not going to Mass since the first week. I resolve to go on Wednesday. There's also a Chi Chi's here, but we only have one free hour, not leaving enough time to explore and sit and eat. I save the Mexican food for a later date.

After our free hour, we get a quick city tour in our bus. We learn about the architecture of each of the 167 banks in Brussels as well as about how much our tour guide hates modern art. IT's a terrible tour and we make fun of the tour guide for the rest of the trip. After the tour we leave for Brussels. Several hours in a bus later, we arrive. Turns out I really like Brussels too. It's absolutely gorgeous downtown. We try to get a Belgian waffle that night, but by the time we find one, I'm not hungry, so I steal a bite of someone else's. I don't really like it. [No worries. I have one later and it's REALLY GOOD.] My friend Aparna and I go out for ice cream later and gossip and complain about people in our program. It's wonderful to vent.

Other highlights of Brussels include our city tour, including the statue of the little boy peeing, which is the national symbol of Belgium. Go figure. I have an "academic lunch" with a group of students and one of my professors, Arndt. I eat rabbit. It's not bad but I don't think it's something I'd order again. This is also the day that I have the wonderful Belgian waffle. SO DELICIOUS. Thursday night I get mussels in Brussels for dinner. Both funny and delicious. (We go out to a bar afterwards. It's a good time.) I've decided that Brussels is my favorite legitimate city so far.

And then we go to Paris. No lies, I didn't expect to like Paris. I don't love cities, and Paris is big in close to the same way that New York and Istanbul are big. But I really like it. The Musee d'Orsay is open late on Thursdays, the day we arrive, so I decide to try to take the Metro to the museum on my own. It's still light out and they say it's safe enough. I end up going in the wrong direction, but I eventually find a metro stop and make it to the museum. On my way from the Metro stop to the museum, I see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. It's so cool. It was definitely worth going on my own. There's something about discovering these things on your own. At the museum I run into a bunch of people from my program but continue to explore the museum on my own. It's awesome. The highlight for me downstairs was the genie lift I see in the corner, but I think that Emily and others might be able to understand the homesickness that might stir. But once you get up to the fifth floor, it's one masterpiece after another. As soon as you enter, you see Whistler's Mother. The next room is Degas [and you better believe there's a picture of me posing in front of it], the room after that is Monet, Renoir, and Pissaro, then more Degas and Renoir, then a room just of Monet, then VAN GOGH, and the last room was Cezanne. It's amazing, especially because it's such a manageable size. I really liked it.

Afterwards we go out to eat (expensive!) and we walk over the Eiffel Tower. We don't go up, and we're searching for a metro stop when Kris goes to ask some drunk high schoolers directions. Always a poor decision. Living in a tourist town, I can spot BS directions from a mile away. We ask a passing Parisian and go the correct way.

The next day I walk to Notre Dame on my lunch break. It's a real disappointment, honestly. After being so amazed at the Hagia Sophia, I was looking forward to architectural wonder WITH religious significance. But Notre Dame is a tourist trap to the max. It's really sad. I don't spend much time there and I head back via the regional train. When I ask a Parisian if he speaks English so I can confirm I'm going the right way, he replies that he speaks Spanish. Using my high school Spanish skills I navigate my way back in time. Go me.

That evening I go to the Louvre. It's free because it's a Friday night. Paris rocks. This museum is not as enjoyable as the Musee d'Orsay because it's so big, but it's still amazing. After I get a map, it's a lot better. The highlights of the Louvre are the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Code of Hammurabi. It's just so cool to see these famous works. It's a lot of work, though, traipsing through the Louvre. I also fall down the stairs. Well done, Christy. That night we go to Moulin Rouge (weird. and touristy.) and Sacre Coeur.

The next day we have free (Go IES!!) I head to Versailles with John. This is a John you haven't yet been introduced to. He's a UVA student, so we chat about that on the train. It's awesome. We get the audio guide, which really talks about rooms for the perfect amount of time, and then we wander the gardens on our own. After we return I chill out in my room until dinner.

Dinner, which is AWESOME. IES pays for a really nice dinner for us in Paris, and I order the asparagus with crab dip for appetizer (which I split with Andrew for his escargot), the duck for entree, and the sorbet for dessert. I also try other people's food, so I try raw salmon, escargot, foie gras, and steak tartare. I enjoyed all of them, especially the escargot and the foie gras. I haven't found a seafood I don't like. I count snails as seafood. It makes it easier to stomach. But seriously. I love seafood. So much. And Mexican food. But that's another story.

That night we go up to the second story of the Eiffel Tower. It's pretty awesome, even if we couldn't make it to the top. The next day we embark upon our epicly long bus ride back to Freiburg.

The end.