Grand Finale Chapter 2: Venice

After Paris we flew to Venice and slept at the airport again. We actually got lucky though because it was a really small airport and they shut down at night but since there were a lot of flights canceled in Spain (because there was a strike) they were letting people sleep there for the night. We actually even had security come up to us and ask us for our passports. Anyways, once morning came around we got up bright and early to take the bus to actual Venice which was only 40 minutes away.
From the bus stop we took a water bus to the area where our hostel was. It was so cool that the city was all on water, no cars, no bikes, just boats. Actually the day before we got there the city had been flooded a whole meter and we could actually see some of the water still pretty high. After getting to our hostel we walked around to explore a bit. We went to a little cafe and had cappuccino and pastries. (So yummy!) My pastry was more like a cookie with a blackberry type jelly inside, sooo good! After the cafe we walked around some more to find Piazza San Marco. It had a big cathedral in it and lots of little shops and it was still kind of flooded in spots too. We continued walking around, semi shopping. It was kind of hard since all of the stores were designer, Prada, Channel, Burberry, etc. It really sucked because I was trying to find a dress for New Years but I was not about to even go in any of those stores. Since we still had our backpacks on (we couldn't check in yet) we started heading back to the hostel and went through Piazza San Marco again and saw the weirdest thing. Well I didn't mention that the first time we were in the plaza we saw a dead pigeon, like torn up, DEAD. So on the way back we saw a seagull pick up a pigeon and fly away with it, set it down a few feet away and just started pecking at it and swinging it around with it's beak. It was crazy! (and really gross!) I guess the pigeons really make the seagulls mad in Venice.

After checking into our hostel (which was so cute like a little Italian home) we headed out for lunch/dinner. We were so hungry we stopped at the first place we saw. It was crowded so we figured that was a good sign. We all decided to get our own dishes and then share them all. It was great! I just had spaghetti and meatballs to keep it safe for my first meal in Italy but Margarite got Gnocchi with a four cheese sauce and Michelle got a pizza. Also, as an appetizer I got brochette which was so yummy!
 After dinner we walked around some more. I really wanted to go on a Gondola so we asked around for prices. Well stopped looking around after the first one who told us it was 120 euro for a 35-40 minutes ride. HA! So we didn't go on a gondola ride, instead we shopped around for some souvenirs instead. It started getting dark at like 5 so we decided to head in since we had homework to do and it was getting even colder than it already was. (It was freeeezing in Venice!) Also, Michelle and I had to get up early to catch our train to Florence.
There wasn't a ton to do in Venice but I'm really glad I got to see the city on water. It was really pretty and a great way to start our visit to Italy.

Grand Finale Chapter 1: Paris

Me, my roommate Michelle, and a friend from school, Margarite all went to Paris together. We got there really late the first night so we just slept in the airport. The next morning we got up really early...well we didn't really even sleep so we had a little breakfast early and headed to our hostel. We couldn't check in that early so we just put our bags down and caught up with a free tour. The first thing we saw was St. Micheal's fountain, I don't really know what that is so I can't even explain but it was pretty. There was some god on it and he was stomping on another man supposed to be like pushing him into hell or something. Pretty neat. The next thing we saw was the Notre Dame but only from a distance because we were standing by the Justice Building. The only thing that was really cool about the Justice Building was there were still bullet marks from World War 2. I haven't mentioned yet that it was extremely cold that day so we were basically miserable and freezing the whole time, I just kept having to tell my self that I was in PARIS! (to pump me up and forget about the cold)
Some other things we saw were a University building that is on the side of this really cool bridge. I don't know what the bridge is called but I call it the love bridge because couples put padlocks on it and write their names on it. It's really cute and I really wish I had my love with me to do that but oh well... This bridge was also seen in the movie Taken, and in the series of Sex in the City when Big proposes to Carrie. The part in Taken is at the end when he jumps on the boat that his daughter is on from the bridge, you can see the bridge obviously and the University building.
After that we went and saw the Louvre. This is a palace and a museum. The palace is pretty huge and then on one side of it is a pyramid of glass (also seen in The Di Vinci Code) which is the museum which has the actual Mona Lisa on display. I didn't get a chance to go inside and see it but I heard it was pretty disappointing because it was so small. Also, behind the Louvre is the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. You can see the peak of the Eiffel Tower from there in the distance. I was SO excited to see it.
After we saw the Louvre we ditched the tour because we were too cold so we went to a cafe to have some French Onion Soup! It was sooooo good, and a perfect for the weather! After the soup we headed back to the hostel to check in and take a nap since we hadn't gotten any sleep the night before in the airport.
After resting up we got ready to go walk around in the cold some more. We planned on doing some shopping so we went toward Champs Elysees and on the way we saw the Louvre, again, lit up this time, the arc, and the Eiffel Tower. Also, on the way was the Christmas Market. The first thing we did was get something to eat. We had these sausages that were like ginormous hot dogs. They were really good. We continued down the Christmas market and passed a few Crepes kiosks so we had to stop and get one of those. It was sooo yummy! Another perfect food for the weather and place :) It was all so pretty, decorated for Christmas and...Santa even came! There was this thing like a ski lift but it was Santa and his sleigh and reindeer. It stopped and there was a recording and the Santa acted out whatever was being said (in French) and the kids around all screamed OUUII!! It was so cute!
We headed toward the Eiffel Tower after the Christmas market to see it lit up. The street that we took was like all the high end designer stores, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, etc. Once we got to the end of that street we finally saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up. It was soo amazing! We took a bunch of pictures and then waited for the light show that happens every hour on the hour. It looks like it is sparkling, it's really cool. After taking at least a billion pictures of it we headed back to the hostel to get a good night sleep.
In the morning we got up early to check out and meet up with my roommate (from home) Vicki. I was so anxious and excited to see her! We planned on meeting under the Eiffel Tower of course. That day it was snowing like crazy, which made for some great pictures! Once we met Vicki we headed to Notre Dame to get closer and go inside. After that we went to have lunch but first me and Vicki had a glass of vin chaud which is this hot French wine. It is all spiced and sooo yummy! I didn't think I would like it so much but it was really good! Later, for lunch I had croque monsieur which is like a grilled cheese but with ham inside and cheese melted on the outside. (SO good!) We were running out of time by then so we had to head back to the hostel to pick up our bags and head to the airport. It was really sad leaving Paris and Vicki but I was really excited to go to Venice, Italy!