Crepes and Haggis!

I know you all have been eagerly awaiting another blog entry...(harhar) so here you go. All about my adventures in Paris and Scotland!

I had a full week to spend in Paris and absolutely loved every minute of it. I had been a little worried since I had heard mixed reviews of the city from many traveller's I've met along the way, but I ended up having nothing to worry about.

On my first day I took a walking tour of the city and saw most of the big sites. Although they are very spread out so I didn't get to see most of them from up close, and I had to go back to most of them later on anyway. But some of the information on the tour was great, and I got a few inside tips on things to do in the city.

I took advantage of the free Friday nights at the Louvre, and headed there the next day after spending that day updating my blog (last time) and walking around the Luxembourg gardens. I thought that the four hours wasn't going to be enough, but I had seen enough after about three. The place is freakin huge, but I didn't look at the Egyptian stuff since that doesn't interest me, and I blew past tons of paintings that just aren't my style. In fact, most of the stuff in the Louvre isn't my kind of art. But the sculpture gardens and galleries were amazing, and I really enjoyed those.



Of course I went and found the big things like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. Those were cool to see if only just because they are super famous. The Mona Lisa was actually BIGGER than I expected, because of always hearing that it is smaller, I expected it to be the size of a piece of paper or something, but it was about the size of a poster I guess, if you include the frame. Not that small really. I don't really see the big deal about it to be honest. Sure, she's got a bit of a smirk on her face, but it's really only so famous because for some reason Da Vinci called it his greatest work and carried it around everywhere with him for a long time. Weird. The Venus de Milo was very cool though, and I didn't realise that actually had legs! For some reason I thought it stopped about the thighs or something. I don't know.



Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo

I spent the next day fulfilling another of my life dreams, having a picnic on the lawn in front of the Eiffel tower. I spent about 4 hours there just taking it in, people watching and relaxing, and reading my book. I didn't want to leave, but the weather had started to take a turn so I did. Even after travelling for this long it still almost feels like it's not real sometimes, and it's all a dream. That was one of those times. It was hard to believe I was actually in Paris. I didn't really feel like I was until I was there at the tower. I had a great day there.



The next day was the first Sunday of the month, and lucky me, that means that all the museums in Paris were free that day. I took full advantage of that and went to the Musee D'Orsay, which is so much more my type of place than the Louvre. It was full of Monets, Manets, Signac, Picasso, Degas, van Goghs and so much more. I spent so long in there and looked at every single thing they had! Absolutely stunning pieces of art. Next I walked to another museum near the Louvre that holds all of Monet's Water Lily series. Those completely surprised me because I had no clue that those were all massive, long murals. I guess you only ever see bits of them in books and stuff, so to see them being 20-35 feet long was a surprise. Breathtaking pieces though, and really interesting to look at, because close up they don't look like much at all, kind of a mess really. But standing back to take in the whole thing is when they take shape. Amazing.


Sample section of one of the Water Lily series by Monet

I spent a day doing the church circuit, and went up Notre Dame. Unfortunately it started raining while I was waiting, so my pictures from up there are kind of gloomy. A common misconception about Notre Dame is that the creatures at the top are called gargoyles, when in fact the gargoyles are the gutter heads, used to drain water. The carved creatures at the top are mythical creatures called chimeras. I thought they were great and took loads of pictures of them. There were some stunning views from the top as well, a full 360 view of Paris.




Chimeras at the top of Notre Dame

Did you know that if you get in an accident inside the roundabout that goes around the Arch de Triomphe, the insurance company won't cover it? That's how insane you'd have to be to drive in that thing. I stood there for a while just watching the cars because it was like a gory car wreck scene where you just can't look away. It was pure madness!!! Wide enough for 6 or 7 cars side by side, but no lanes or markings on the road. Just one giant free for all, with about 8 different streets entering into it. Luckily there are underground walkways to give a safe passage to the island in the middle where the Arch is. Too bad Napoleon didn't live to see it finished, because it really is pretty nice.



And of course, I dedicated one of my days in Paris to visit the ultimate place to feed your inner child. Disneyland!! I mean really, how often are you only one hour away from a Disneyland? I had a great time, although it was smaller than the one in LA and not as many attractions. Some of the rides were different too, but most of my favourites were still there. The weather was kind of overcast and cloudy, but that meant that the park wasn't overflowing with people, so the lines for the rides were very very short. Perfect! I had to wait in line for about 45 minutes to get my picture with Mickey, but I stumbled upon Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Baloo, Chip & Dale, and Woody around the park and had no trouble getting to see them. I took my journal with me and they all signed it too. I'm such a kid! I think I might finally be outgrowing Disneyland though, since I did get a bit bored of it by the end of the day. I think I would have had more fun if I wasn't alone, but I still enjoyed myself.





The next day I said goodbye to Paris and hopped on my plane to Glasgow, Scotland. Welcome to the land of bagpipes and Haggis! And a whole bunch of rain...

Actually, it poured the first night I got there, but after that I had some pretty excellent weather, especially for Scotland! I actually liked Haggis (it tastes like spicy meatloaf), but was disappointed that I couldn't find deep fried pizza anywhere. I know it exists, I swear! I went Nessie hunting on Loch Ness, but had no luck finding her. I explored a few castles, and did some hiking around the Highlands. I went on a ghost tour in Edinburgh and learned about it's creepy past, but found no ghosts myself unfortunately. I found the cafe where JK Rowling brought Harry Potter to life, and was amused to find a sign advertising that they now serve draught beer...

I loved Scotland! It's a beautiful country, and and awesome accent! Everywhere you go there's people in kilts and some sort of shop playing celtic music. I wish Canada had such a cool heritage we could flaunt everywhere. I would love to come back someday and spend more time in the Highlands.


Some building in Glasgow


Two pictures of the Scottish Highlands

Urqhart Castle overlooking Loch Ness

Haha


Bagpiper and Edinburgh Castle.

So, I'm almost a week into Ireland now and I'm having a great time! But I'll save that for my next (and possibly last!) blog entry in a few weeks. I'm almost home! Ireland is my last stop. I'm definitely ending my trip on a high note, and I can't wait to get home. I hope it hasn't changed to much, cause I'm really missing it! And I can't wait to see everyone again too of course. I'm home the first week of July, so get in touch and we can meet up!

Talk to you all soon!
Julie