Worth at least 3,000 words

Enjoy...I certainly did,
Stefanie

29 Mai 2007 continued

Paris is gorgeous. I absolutely love it! Tonight, Becky and I went to un fete des voisins, which is literally translated a party of neighbors for the apartment complex where Depesh lives. (In case I haven't mentioned Depesh in the journal - he works at the front desk at our Hotel. He's originally from Nepal and takes American business school classes.)

He invited us to the fete des voisins and we got to try homemade French food, quiche and tartes and several French wines, both rouge et blanc. Everything was fantastique.

We talked to real Parisians in both English and a little French. We met Justine who is 27, just purchased her own 35 sq. meter aparment for 35,000E and is a yoga professor. She was my kind of girl - fun, outgoing and had a great sense of humor.

She said she was a vegetarian and ate a little fish, but rarely flesh. She realized this was NOT the best English translation (my laughing may have helped) and then make a joke about only eating flesh (human) at Christmas. It was hilarious (maybe you had to be there...and had some wine) and nice to see that the French's reputation for not having a sense of humor is not always true.

We also met a French woman named Sophie who works for an interior design magazine as a photo editor. She was dressed quintessentially French and was just adorable. We talked to her and Depesh about the French's reputation of being guarded and of Americans being too aggressive.

Apparently the world sees Americans as being too direct. We tend to get right to the point, instead of being social. In Franc, being social is the top priority. In many work places, you can only work a maximum of 35 hours per week, which explains why they have time to take long lunches and dinners.

Also, the French cling to a few close friends that they get to know over years, whereas they see Americans as having more shallow relationships with lots of people.

After the Eiffel Tower, we walked to the Musee Rodin where we got to see the Thinker, the Kiss and the Gates of Hell by Rodin. His sculptures were beautiful and moving.

Thinking of Paris,
Stefanie

29 Mai 2007

12:10 a.m. Paris/ 5:10 p.m. home

I'm sitting in bed as Becky reviews her Italian (God help us!) It was a long, tiring, but good day.

Today is the day that accomplished my number one goal in life - I spit off the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was absolutely fabulous. It was worth walking up all 668 steps to the second floor, the crowds, the confusion, the rude tourists and the bitter wind. And the 28 years of waiting.

The moment of truth - the spit!

I still can't believe I actually made it to the top of the most beautiful sight in the most beautiful city in the whold world. My legs hurt and my feet stung, but it was more than worth it. Even as I was walking up the steps, I kept telling myself taht this was it - the moment I'd been dreaming of and waiting for my whole life. It finally came true and even now as I think back on it, I can hardly believe it.

As I read over this entry, even days after I wrote it, It struck me as negative. I think that's because I wrote it after three days of climbing hundreds of steps and walking miles and miles. I think I was just tired.

But honestly, this has to be the best day of my life. I turned my life's dream into an accomplished goal. And I did it with the love and support of my friends and family. I realize that this goal is not as lofty as walking on the moon, finding a cure for AIDS or even raising good kids, but it's been a dream for so very, very long. So long in fact, that I began to feel it was do or die time. And thanks to those I love, the sense of empowerment I've gained from running and my faith in God, I was able to make my dream a reality.

It's honestly just so surreal. Even now looking back at the pictures and typing in the journal entries.

And now I've got to dream bigger, better and broader. And I hope each of you that reads my blog does the same.

Dream a little dream,
Stefanie

28 Mai 2007...the end

As we got on the boat, it began to rain (are you sensing a theme here?) Rain or wind or chill was NOT about to stop us from enjoying the immense beauty of Paris...and the Heineken helped too!

So Becky took my camera since her's had died and I videotaped the trip. My focus was pretty much the Eiffel Tower since, well, that's what it was all about for me. But the river and city didn't disappoint and we got to see the Tower, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Hotel de Ville (Paris' City Hall), the Grand Palais, the Place de la Concorde where Marie Antoinette met the guillotine and several other famous Paris sites.

After the tour, we hopped the Metro over to the Centre Pompidou to see the famous building with its guts on the outside. All the building's pipes, wires, everything surrounds the exterior of the facility which houses cinemas, a library, sporting events and a modern art museum.

We jumped back on the Metro, grabbed at least one connecting train and headed back to Rue Cler, where we had dinner at Cafe du Marche. This place was infinitely better than dinner the night before. No cold duck for me! (To be explained in the next post.)

I had roasted poulet (chicken) avec mashed potatoes and red wine; Becky had cooked duck with scalloped potatoes. We had finally experienced wonderful French cuisine.

After we finished the bottle of wine, we went to bed to rest for our climb to the second floor of the one and only Eiffel Tower.

All alone with the memory,
Stefanie

P.S. - If you want to see more pictures, click on the Flickr feature at the upper right corner of my blog.

28 Mai 2007...

The rain died quickly and we hoofed it over to the Ile de St. Louis. We got to the Notre Dame and walked right in since it was later in the afternoon. Other than when I first (and second and third) saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame was my first "wow" moment. I just wondered around with my mouth hanging open staring at the enormity and detail of the centuries old church. The stain glass windows were huge with vibrant colors.

In several areas, visitors could light a candle for a donation. Underneath a nearly life-size crucifix, I lit a candle and said a brief prayer for my parents.

I wandered around the dimly lit, spacious church snapping pictures of the windows and saints. Fortunately, there wasn't a mass going on at the time, but it looked like Mass was still said there regularly. An organist played continually as we toured.

We didn't stay in Notre Dame too long because we knew the bell tower climb closed at 6 p.lm. and it was getting close to that time. We hussled around to the side where gargoyles stuck out every few feet, spitting the remnants of the day's rain on our heads.

We jumped in line right in front of the "End of the line for the day" sign and hoped for the best. We got lucky - one of the many, many times on this trip. Sevearl more people got behind us and we waited to climb the hundreds of steps as the wind howled around us and the church bells marked the half hour.

We paid our 7.50E a piece and began our ascent. Yet another tiny, steep, spiral staircase. We had to stop fairly often to catch our breath and let our legs stop burning for a second. (I have NO idea what I would've done had I not started running last year.)

The views from the top of Notre Dame and every level in between were gorgeous. It started to rain pretty hard and the wind was blowing good, but we trudged one. It felt like being on top of the world. It was beautiful and even a bit romantic to overlook Paris on top of Notre Dame in the cold rain.

We climbed the bell tower where Quasimodo slept and then they ushered us down because we were the last people in the tower. We closed the place down!

Becky and I and Hazel and Andy from Miami made the day's final descent down the cathedral's well worn steps. We stopped at the bottom to let our legs rest and chat with Hazel and Andy. It had stopped raining during the time it took us to walk down all those steps.

Andy and Hazel

Hazel and Andy had been in France for about a week touring the Loire Valley and Burgandy. Turns out Andy was the planner in their friendship and Hazel was the laid back one.

We said goodbye and nice to meet yous to our Notre Dame friends ,took a couple of goofy pictures in the square in front of Notre Dame and took off in search of Sainte Chapelle. We figured it'd be closed, which it was, but we weren't able to take a look at it because it seems to be in the center of several buildings.

So we wandered around in search of a Bateaux Parisian stop, which is a boat that stops all along the Seine at Paris' most famous sites. We got kinda turned around and were completely exhausted, so we plopped down in a tiny square on Pont Neuf over the Seine. Right near us was a sign that said Vendette des Ponts or something like that. Vendette des Ponts turns out to be an even better boat tour than Bateaux Parisian, according to my guidebook, so we slowly made it down the flight of stairs and checked out the situation.

We had about 40 minutes to wait, so we bought the largest Heinekens I've ever seen and sat down on the dock to wait for the pain in our feet and legs to subside. It didn't take long. It turned out we were pretty thirsty.

A demain,
Stefanie

28 Mai 2007 continued

On the opposite side of the garders from teh Louvre is Musee L'Orangerie. The rain stopped and allowed us to dry off as we stood in the lengthy line for the museum. Then we got to see eight of Monet's most beautiful paintings - the Water Lillies. Two naturally-lit rooms held four paintings each. The paintings were at least 15-feet wide and were glued to curved walls. Monet intended for the rooms to allow people to reconnect with nature in an urban environment.

And they were so beautiful. He used such rich colors and the images were so serene.

The lower level of the museum contained some lesser known Renoirs and Cezanes, where were cool to see, but greatly overshadowed by the Water Lillies.

We left the Musee L'Orangerie in search of food. And since Notre Dame was next on the list, we headed to the fourth arrondisment. We pretty much would've eaten anything we were so hungry by this time. So we stopped at this wacky place in the tourist area and overpaid for bland food, but we weren't about to eat our shoes anymore, so it was OK. This short little Middle Eastern guy come out as we were looking at the sandwiches in the deli case. He shook our hands and told us how much he liked Americans.

(Pretty much everywhere we went, people knew we were Americans even before we opened our mouths to speak. )

He easily talked us into two Croque Monsieurs (an odd ham and cheese sandwich with the cheese on the outside of one side), french fries and cokes. It was the first Coke we'd had since leaving the States.

We were going to eat while walking to Notre Dame, but it began to pour down rain as we were leaving, so we sat outside under a small awning and scarfed our food down and watched it rain.

*Sorry, tonight there will be no pictures since I need to catch up on my beauty sleep. But check back tomorrow in this post for pics.

Stefanie

A brief, nostalgic interruption

This is a Meme about Your Senior Year of High School and I just couldn't resist!

1. Who was your best friend? My boyfriend.
2.What sports did you play? Not a one.
3. What kind of car did you drive? 1995 Red Saturn SC-1 that was given to me for Christmas when I was 15 with a big red bow on the showroom floor.
4. It's Friday night, where were you? With my boyfriend.
5. Were you a party animal? Goodness NO!
6. Were you considered a flirt? Not even a little.
7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Uh uh.
8. Were you a nerd? I was not a nerd. I was THE nerd.
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? Please refer to #9.
10. Can you sing the fight song? Sadly no, but I do remember the tune.
11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Gaines, my 11th grade Honors English teacher. She helped me fall in love with American Literature.
12. What was your relationship status? See #1 and #9. Very together.
13. School mascot? The Mighty, Mighty Panther!
14. Did you go to Prom? Junior year? Yes and yes.
15. If you could go back and do it over, would you? That would be a big H-E-double hockey sticks NO!
16. What do you remember most about graduation? Wishing I were Valedictorian, instead of lowly number 9.
17. Where were you on senior skip day? Most likely at good ole Bartlett High.
18. Did you have a job your senior year? My job was being a student, which is why my license plate was 4POINT0.
19. Where did you go most often for lunch? the senior portable to eat with aforementioned boyfriend.
20. Have you gained weight since then? Yes, thankfully. I was crazy skinny in high school.
21. What did you do after graduation? Went to dinner with my parents and said boyfriend. Then I attended Christian Brothers University for four of the best years of my life.
22. When did you graduate? May 22, 1997
23. Who was your Senior prom date? Neil Weaver, THE boyfriend
24. Are you going to your 10 year reunion? Yes Sir! I've even bought a dress and shoes, already.
25. Who was your home room teacher? I have NO idea.
26. Who will repost this after you? Probably no one since all my BFFs have done this already.

Important note: Previously mentioned boyfriend has been gone for YEARS and life has greatly improved since 1997.

28 Mai 2007

This entry was written days after the actual events, on a train somewhere in Italy.

I have yet to write about our busiest day in Paris, probably because we were so absolutely exhausted afterward. We started the morning off at the Louvre. The line was long, but went pretty quickly after we got through security, thanks to the automated ticket machines.

The Louvre is the largest museum ever! There is no way you could see all the art there. It would take a week to so just to look at everything they had. So, since it was jampacked with people from all over the world, we decided to hit the highlights and move on. So we headed straight for the Mona Lisa and on the way saw the Winged Victory of Samothrace. The Mona Lisa wasn't as small as I've heard it was, only in comparison to the mammoth Italian paintings surrounding it. The Mona Lisa is about the same size as a painting you'd hang in your house and it's hung on a huge wall all to itself. It was so amazing to be able to stand in front of it and just stare at the painting that has been talked about and studied for centuries.

As we left the room the Mona Lisa hangs in, Becky overheard an Italian father say to his son in English, "that is Mister Jesus in the middle," referring to this 50-foot tall painting of the Last Supper hanging on the wall. (Not the Last Supper by Da Vinci)

After the Louvre, we had to figure out how to exit. With hundreds upon hundreds of people buying tickets, entering the building and finding their way into the museum, it was quite a task. Finally, we walked up the stairs under I.M. Pei's famous glass pyramid and walked out its doors into the rain.

We rain jacketed up and proceeded to stroll through le Jardin du Tullieries.

How DO I manage to look SO sexy in Paris?
That lump on my back is not a souvenir from Notre Dame, but my backpack.

It was quite a soggy walk, but it did help to alleviate the crowding we'd experienced in the Louvre. By the time we go to the end of the gardens, our pants were soaked, but our spirits were not dampened.

That's my "I'm making love to the camera" face. Please notice the top left of the picture.

I wrote at least four pages about this day, so I'll have to stop for now and pick up tomorrow.

27 Mai 2007

9:13 a.m. home/4:13 p.m. Paris

I feel like I've shaken the jetlag and am fitting into Paris nicely. My French is coming back to me enough to get us by.

So far today we've gone to Sacre Coeur, where we climbed the dome and got to see a view of the whole city. It was windy, cold and rainey, but it was absolutely fabulous in all ways. We could see the Eiffel Tower shooting towards the sky as a cloud hung over Paris.


We got to go in Sacre Coeur, but we're asked not to take pictures, which sucked because it was absolutely beautiful and I wanted to show my mama.

While we were inside, a mass was going on. The choir was singing in French and Nuns were intermittently speaking in English. It was beautiful and moving to be there during mass, but odd that they would allow hoards of people to run literally around the core of the church during a holy ceremony.

The stain glass windows told stories and I got a picture of one of them behind a statue of the Virgin Mary holding Baby Jesus.

Candles were lit all through the church. For 10 Euro (E) you could light a large candle and for 2E you could light a teeny one.

We climbed the smallest, tallest staircase I've ever seen to get to the dome of Sacre Coeur. It spiraled up and up. My thighs began burning way before we got to the top.

After Sacre Coeur, it started to rain and we ran to a nearby patisserie and got cafe au lait and pain du chocalat. It was amazing. We stood in a bus stop in Montmartre to take shelter from the wind and rain and ate and drank and watched the Parisians go by. A man sat there with us and ate two cups of chocolate pudding with a camping spoon. He had just bought groceries, which he carried in his own floweredy bag.

This morning, we went to an open fruit store and bought an orange and banana. Then we went to a tiny grocery store and bought 0.5 litres of water for 0.18E.

We also saw the two remaining windmills in Montmartre, drank Muscadine wine standing at a French bar, Le Refuge, and then rode the Metro back to the hotel to put on shoes and socks and make another plan for the evening.

Dreaming of my fairyland,
Stefanie

26 Mai 2007...later that day

2:53 p.m. home/9:53 p.m. Paris

We've officially arrived in Paris. I've seen the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the top of Sacre Coeur et Le Seine. (Arc de Triomphe and Sacre Coeur from a distance)


We are currently sitting at our second sidewalk cafe of the day. We chose to have coffee and dessert for dinner. We're jettlagged and in Paris. Why not indulge?

I'm loving listening to people speak French and try to catch a word or two I recognize. Earlier today I went into a newspaper store and carried on the whole (small) transaction en Francais! I was so very, very proud of myself. Im working hard to use the French I remember and it's really paying off. No one has been rude so far. In fact, I think they are impressed that I've even trying... and maybe cute with my American accent.

Right now, couples are on all sides of us, drinking beer (Stella Artois) and ordering dinner and enjoying their Saturday evening in Paris.

I had an cafe au creme, mousse au chocolate et crepe au sucre pour dinner. The chocolate mousse was the best thing ever. It was absolutely heavenly.

Paris has the world's best coffee!

Paris looks just like it does in pictures. There's no mistaking we're in Paris, France!

*It's 10 o'clock here and it's not quite dark yet.

Dreams really do come true!

Eternally grateful,
Stefanie

26 Mai 2007

Throughout the trip, I tried to jot down my thoughts and memories of the day or days events. Some of it I captured; some of it I'll have to fill in as I go. What I wrote while on the trip will appear in italics.

2:50 a.m. home/9:5o a.m. Paris

It's half an hour until we land in Paris. I woke up somewhere over Ireland after a shaky four or so hours of sleep. Fortunately I slept most of the flight over the Atlantic Ocean.

At one point the plane felt like it just dropped. It took me a few minutes to mentally recover from that.

I've gotten to see Ireland and England out of my window. I know it's cliche, but England really does look like a patchwork quilt of colors and shapes.

I woke up with the 3 Doors Down song "Landing in London" in my head. Although as I write this I'm actually over Europe, it's still so very, very had to believe that I'm really here. That I'm actually going to see the Iron Lady today. That my life's dream will be realized in minutes. No longer a lifetime's wait.

As I glance up at the map of the plane as it hones in on Paris, my heart is beginning to beat faster and harder....

3:39 a.m. home/10:39 a.m. Paris

It's official. I'm in Paris, France. But it's still surreal. We flew right out of a cloud and landed at Charles de Gaulle airport which is several miles north of the city center.

Of course, they are giving all the directions in French, so that should clue me in.

So after some confusion and frustration in figuring out the under construction airport, NOT going through French customs, nearly NOT getting my passport stamped and tracking down our hotel shuttle, we were on our way to Grand Hotel Leveque on Rue Cler.

Arc de Trimophe at the end of the Champs Elysees

As we hurled through the streets of Paris, packed into a Mercedes Benz shuttle van, this was my first glance of Paris. Of what I've always known of Paris. Of the Paris I've seen in the dozens upon dozens of books I've dreamed over. Of the Paris I had come to fall in love with.

Moments later I caught a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. My eyes instantly filled with water. In fact, as I type this now, the tears are returning.

Grand Hotel Leveque, 29 Rue Cler, Paris, France

We arrived at 29 Rue Cler exhausted and exhilarated. We checked in with ease and then took turns taking what we later referred to as the Wonka-vator up to the third floor. The hotel's sole elevator is made of glass and is just large enough for one American and her oh-so-large luggage.

Cheese shop right outside out hotel, as in steps from the front door

I've got some cheese stories for later, but the bottom line is the French like their cheese STRONG. And there is no way to capture that in words or pictures. But suffice it to say, our stuff took on the smell of French cheese after five days of it wafting into our room overlooking this lovely cobblestoned pedestrian market street.

Although I journaled more than once on May 26, you'll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about the remainder of my first day in the City of Light.

Dreamily yours,
Stefanie

Stats on Europe

Two girls

15 days

Three countries (Vatican City is its own country)

Six cities

1,000 works of art

1,613 pictures

Yes, folks. I, alone, took 1,613 pictures. And the moral of the story is, don't hold your breath to see them all any time soon.

But here's what I've come up with. I've decided to share my journal on the same day of the week it's about over the next two weeks. Hopefully, this works out for all of us.

So Saturday, you'll get the first installment of my trip to Europe.

But since I know you are all waiting on pictures, I'll leave you with three random ones to whet your appetite.

Brief update from America

Hello from Bartlett, Tennessee! Home sweet home.

While I absolutely LOVED France and Italy, I've loved coming home just as much. There are just certain comforts of home, like knowing how the toliet works and eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in your clean pjs that no amount of culture or perspective can replace.

In the coming days and weeks, I'll be updating the blog with excerpts from my travel journal and photos of my trip.

As of today, I'm tired from wacky sleep patterns and worrying over my mom's hernia surgery, which I'm overjoyed to say went well and she's at home recovering as I type. God is good!

It's possible I'll update again about 4 or 5 this morning, which is when I've been waking up since I've been home. Not sure if that's jet lag or just the residue of excitement from both the trip and being home.

I've spit off some of Europe's tallest, most famous structures. I've bought some high fashion items. I've drank some of the world's best wine. And I've dined on some amazing cuisine.

And I'll share it all soon.

But for now, I'll just wish you all a Buona Sera, as I am heading to bed before 21:30.

Officially a world traveler,
Stefanie

Buongiourno from Roma!!!

So I had a moment out of my European Holiday to say hello to my faithful readers, IF I have any left since it's been forever since I last posted. But forgive me! I've been in Europe for a week and a half and have been SO busy, I've barely eaten and showered less - although I've had my fair share of vino!

We went to the Papal audience in St. Peter's Square this morning. I got to Pope Benedict XVI up close and got some amazing pictures. Yesterday, we toured the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, which was just unbelievably amazing.

I could go on and on, but I'll reserve that for when I'm clean, well rested and in America.

This afternoon we are headed to Venice and then Milan Friday. We'll wake up in Paris on Saturday on the train and then fly back to the States.

Life is good, no?

Ciao,
Stefanie