Paris

I ended up going to Paris for 3 days after the Tours disaster. Paris is an incredibly gorgeous city. There's just this feeling when you step out on the streets...it's arty, it's posh, it's naturally gorgeous, every building takes your breath away....it is a truly incredible city. I'll give it that. But, on the other hand, I dealt with a lot of Parisian people on this trip that were blatantly hostile. And yes, of course if you speak french they're nicer to you. I don't speak any. I met some guys in the room in my hostel who were from Australia, and we were all just chatting about traveling and stuff, and 2 of the people we were sharing the room with came in, and we said hi, and they said (in french)..."do you speak french?" and we all said sheepishly..."no, sorry", and the guy just gave us this look of disgust and said "You're in France and you DON'T SPEAK FRENCH???" We were all taken aback, and embarassed...but there's no need for such rudeness. My feelings were really hurt. I speak some spanish, but most people I meet don't speak any languages other than english. But everyone wants to learn about different people and different culture. Most people wouldn't travel anywhere if they had to speak the language to do it.
While I was there, I did learn how to say (I don't know how it's spelled, because I just said it) "Ou ay (where is) _____". Because I was lost. Constantly. One day, I walked around for almost 2 hours trying to re-find my hostel. In the freezing cold rain. Here's an idea: don't travel by yourself when you're notorious for being the worst person at directions in the whole world. Cause that's me. Ah well...
I've been to Paris before, so thankfully I didn't have to do the rushed sightseeing circuit (louvre, musee de orsay, arch de triomphe, eiffel tour, notre dame), so I was free to see some things I missed last time I was here.
I went to the catacombes, which I really liked. 6 million people were excavated from a giant cemetery and placed in a giant hall underground, with the bones arranged in a "aesthetically pleasing arrangement". It was kind of creepy, kind of cool...but an amazing experience.
On my last day I went to Versailles (I had actually been before), and it was phenomenal. Last time my sister and I went there, the hall of mirrors (which is the grandest thing about the palace) was under construction, so it was quite underwhelming. This time, it was so opulent, it took my breath away. I really wanted to see Versailles again because I love love love the movie Marie Antoinette, and when I saw Versailles this time, I saw it through the eyes of the movie...the grand state it used to be in. It was great.
The last thing I did in Paris was paint Pont Neuf. My favorite bridge in Paris, it has a bunch of individually carved, different faces carved into it. I just love it. And while I was painting, I ended up meeting the nicest Parisian I ever have. He came up to talk about my painting, then we chatted for a bit. He was just so friendly, and he really warmed my heart back up for Parisian people. Because I don't want to stereotype any group of people, but the majority of people I met this trip to Paris were really mean. So it was nice to meet someone that didn't scoff when I said I didn't speak french, and who took an actual friendly interest in me.
So that was Paris, and last night I took an overnight train to Barcelona. I'm here now, waiting for Katie Schalk, who i'm SO EXCITED TO SEE! It'll just be so nice to see a friendly face in this foreign land. Cheers!
Melinda