PARIS!!! Day 1

First, I'd like to start by explaining that this week is RAG week. It started in the forties as a charity week to "raise a grand," and it still is that, but it's also an occasion where everyone drinks all the time. Not just every night, but all day too. There are bands throughout the city, we saw a fire juggler/eater lasst night on Shop Street, and several f the clubs are having "foam parties," where people basically dance around in foam. We went out last night, and it was pretty crazy on the streets, but it was also a fun atmosphere. The people I was with weren't getting drunk, just having a couple drinks and listening to music - we found a really great traditional music band at the Quays - but everyone else in town seems to want to quaff as much as they can fit into their systems. Corrib Village has also stepped up security, hiring extra people and cracking down on checking CV IDs. Yesterday evening, around dinner time, Mike, Ethan, Kristen, and I were in the living room, Kristen and I on our computers, the boys watching soccer, when someone knocked violently on our door. We thought it was the boys downstairs, so Kristen went to get it. A second later, a very large man strides into our kitchen and looks around seriously at us for a minute as we stare back. "Did a boy in a brown jumper run through here?" Uh... no. He stares around again, then just walks out. It was hardcore. And weird. But anyway, Paris!

I took well over 400 pictures this weekend, because Paris is absolutely gorgeous, and because I think pictures are fun. Still, I managed to whittle them down to about 350 or so, which is what you'll eventually find on shutterfly (only Friday is up now). We were picked up Friday morning at 6am to get to Shannon airport. The beginning of our trip was rather uneventful. Once we got to France, we met up with the API groups from Limerick and Cork (who were just not as cool as us... not even kidding) and headed into the city, about an hour away by bus. The first thing we noticed: we were driving on the right again!! It was the strangest sensation, not knowing if it felt more right or wrong. We got into Paris and to our hotel, the Carlton, which is at the base of Montmartre and two blocks down from the red light district and the Moulin Rouge. Just to contextualize, my soundtrack for the weekend included "Foux De FaFa" by Flight of the Conchords, "Complaint de la Butte" by Rufus Wainwright, "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart" from Anastasia, "Via Con Me" by Paolo Conte (yes, it's Italian. Go watch French Kiss and you'll understand.), and "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast.

We settled into our hotel (I was rooming with one of the Cork girls) and had a little while to go eat before getting picked up for our trip to the Louvre. Jess, Jaye, Shaina, and I went to a nearby restaurant, "Au Rendez Vous," and got Croque Monsieur, which is grilled ham and cheese, but it's really more like a grilled hm sandwich with cheese melted on top. It was delicious, in any case. I only know a very little French, but enough to get by, so we were able to be pretty conversant once we all cobbled our French knowledge together. Well, we could order and ask for the check, ask where things were, say we don't understand or don't speak French, etc. We went to the Louvre, and it was breathtaking. Unfortunately, we only had a few hours, so we split up ino groups with tour guides and got the "highlights" version of the Louvre, which included the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo among other things. Apart from all of the incredible art, just the building itself is stunning, as you'll see from all of the ceiling pictures I took. I don't usually like to take pictures in museums, but I tried to capture as much of the feeling of it as I could so you could start to understand if you haven't been there. Trying to get to see the Mona Lisa was crazy, everyone pushing and shoving and crowding and putting their cameras in your way all while you're trying to just see it and keep from being pickpocketed.

After the Louvre, we all split off to do whatever we liked. I think it was about 9 pm at this point, so we wanted to go eat dinner. We walked through the vibrant streets of Paris, past the Opera House, past countless apartment buildings with the charming railings, and ended up at La Pharaon restaurant, where some people got dessert and I got a baguette and Brie - delicious!! We walked the rest of the way home and stopped at the grocery store (MUCH cheaper than in Ireland) for more baguettes and Brie, wine, and cookies and had an excellent night in the hotel. The next day we had a bus tour in the morning and free time for the rest of the day, so more to follow...