Paris: The Musee d'Orsay

Sorry Mrs. Collins, I didn't go to the Louvre. It was too expensive, and I didn't want to go see art that I didn't know. So Mady and I chose this instead:

The Musée d'Orsay is in the centre of Paris on the banks of the Seine, and right across from the Tuileries Gardens (which I also visited.) It was originally built as a railway station and hotel. The building was also used as a mailing centre for sending packages to prisoners of war during World War II, and prisoners were welcomed there on their return home after the Liberation. It was used as a set for several films, but now displays collections of art from the period 1848 to 1914. The official decision to build the Musée d'Orsay was made in 1977; the building was classified a Historical Monument in 1978 and a civil commission was created to oversee the construction and organisation of the museum. The new museum was inaugurated on December 1st, 1986, and it opened to the public on December 9th.

The building is actually a work of art in itself. It's absolutely massive, at 617 feet long and 246 feet wide.

That's me, posing awkwardly in front of a sculpture of a naked man. 

As much as I love statues of naked people, that wasn't the best part. The Musée d'Orsay has a great collection of impressionist works, including several by Van Gogh, who is probably my favorite. But I only like his swirly ones.

One of his famous self-portraits. The swirly kind. 

Van Gogh's bedroom... I don't know why. 

I really loved this one also.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, "Julie Manet dit aussi L'Enfant au chat"

I said the sculptures of naked people weren't my thing, but they did have sculptures I did like, and of people with clothes on.

I liked this one, because the Alligator is all like "Rawwwwwww"
 and the woman's frantically trying to hold on to her babies, and I just
like the story that it seems to tell. Also, that little stick is not gonna
stop that gator... or is it a crocodile? 

A polar bear.. because why not? 

And this regal Mufasa.

It was amazing to see some of the artworks I had studied and learned about, by artists that were amazing at what they did. We spent almost two and a half hours in the Museum, if that gives any indication of how much we loved it, and how much there was to see. Two hours and we probably didn't even see half of the museum.

Paris: The Catacombs

       

The Catacombs were easily my favorite part of Paris. We waited in line for a good 45 minutes. In the rain. With shoes soaked through, because I was dumb. But we finally got to the ticket counter, and 10 euros and 130 steps later, Mady and I were entering the land of the dead.

The Catacombs were created in former limestone quarries, which were mined for centuries beforehand. They are twenty meters (about 5 stories) below ground, and they contain the remains of around six million Parisians in 11,000 m² of underground space (we only walked a fraction of the tunnels I think). Bodies were transferred here gradually, between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries because graveyards were being closed due to public health concerns. During the Revolution, people were buried directly in the Catacombs. When bodies were first transferred, bones were just thrown in piles and left there; in around 1810, the Catacombs were arranged in an orderly fashion with the skulls and long bones. Behind this, the remaining bones are still piled in a heap. 

"Halt, this is the Empire of Death"

The catacombs aren't all bones though. There are several carved-stone poems (which I couldn't read) and carved out facades. Several huge caverns are there. There are even a couple wells left over from the quarrymen. 

The Quarrymen’s Footbath
 A body of crystal-clear groundwater uncovered by the quarry workers. 
The water was used by workers mixing cement required in the Catacombs.

In some places, you can see obvious gaps in the wall, where disrespecting people have stolen skulls and other "souvenirs." You have to have your bags checked before and after the tour, so I don't know how, but people still manage.

"He who has learnt to despise life fears not death."

There is another archway sign on the way out, and then 83 spiraled stairs that almost killed me (they were much bigger than normal stairs though, so it was more like taking 166 stairs two at a time). I wish we could have exited the catacombs into a beautiful ray of sunshine and warmth to fully appreciate this life, but it was not to be. It was actually still miserable outside and was much warmer in the tunnels. 

I Did Make it to Paris!

This is going to be a really short post; I'll elaborate once I'm back to Manchester. 

So obviously, I did make it to Paris. And we were only two hours late! We went straight to bed as soon as we arrived. 

This morning, we got up and were out the door by 9:30. We had to check in to a new hostel (I'll explain later) and that, combined with our lack of knowledge on the Paris metro, made us late for our walking tour. So instead, we went to the Eiffel Tower, and got lunch in a nearby cafe. 

Notre Dame Cathedral was next. 

Then we attempted to visit the Louvre, but it was closed. We'll try again tomorrow. But, there was a place selling macaroons nearby, so we stopped there. It was my first ever, and it was sooooooo good. 

My favorite part was the Catacombs. It was very creepy, but also really amazing. It seemed like we were walking forever! There are around 6 million skeletons down there, but I bet we only saw half, if that. 

And that was the quick rundown of my day in Paris. 

Maybe I'm Not Going to Paris...

Mady and I got up around 7, half an hour before our alarms were set to alarm. We got up and were ready in record time, wanting to be out of there. It was really hard to say goodbye to our crappy hotel room (not). We almost just left the keys in the door because no one was there to take them, but lucky for them they showed up at the last minute. 

It was just a short walk to the coach station, after a brief but intense stop in the nearest Sainsbury's. The bus left the station at 10:30 on the dot, just as it was supposed to. Things were going smoothly; I had a nap, read a couple chapters of the book I bought yesterday (Peter Pan), ate a snack. Then we got to the EuroTunnel.

Where things were delayed for almost two hours. There was a train stuck in the middle of the tunnel, and they had to fix it before anything else could happen. 

So as of right now, we won't arrive to check in to our hostel until ten. Or even later. Thank you EuroTunnel. 

My First Trip to London

This place is amazing! So far, I've been to  King's Cross Station, and Platform 9 3/4, been on the London Underground (mind the gap!!), and seen Big Ben. 

Right now I'm sitting in a McDonald's, mostly for the wifi, but also for the Cadbury creme egg Mcflurry. 

We've also visited the National Gallery, which is huge and seems never ending.

 

More pictures will be posted after I get back home to Manchester, as I don't have access to my computer right now. But I promise I'll take lots!! 

I'm on a Bus and...

It has wifi! So thank you megabus, for allowing me to blog on the go. 

Mady and I woke up at 5:30 today, we're out the door by 6:15, and at a bus stop at 6:30. Then we realized that this bus wouldn't arrive until after our megabus left. So we had to hail a cab, and I rode in my first ever taxi. 

And now we're on the megabus to London. It's my first ever megabus ride. And my first ever trip to London. And I don't think I've ever been awake that early before. And it'll be my first night in a hostel (I hope I don't get murdered...) It's going to be a whole day of firsts! 

I'm going to Paris?!?

Yesterday afternoon, my friend Mady frantically burst in to my room. She half yelled, "Do you wanna go to Paris with me?!" To which the answer was obviously yes. You just don't pass up a trip to Paris when it falls into your lap.

What happened was the girl that Mady was going to go with called and bailed out at the last minute. Mady had already had most things booked though, so that's when she ran into my room and scared me half to death. 

I was very frazzled at first though. I had just emailed my cousin Susan to pick me up for Easter break. She and Ray were going to take me around the local area and then North Wales as well.  So I had a momentary crisis. I called my mom in the middle of work to talk it over, but I decided that I couldn't pass up Paris. I told Susan right away, and I hope they understand. 

The plan is to take a bus from Manchester to London. We'll be in London for a day, and spend the night there. From there we'll catch another bus to Paris, and have three nights there. 

We know we have to see the Eiffel Tower. We plan on going all the way to the top, even though it's kind of pricey. We also want to see the Cathedral of Notre Dame. And of course, the Catacombs are high on my list. We want to eat macaroons and have a coffee in a little street cafe. 

I just can't believe I'm going to Paris! It was the one place I really wanted to see that wasn't in the UK, and now I'm going to see it! Four days in Paris... I can't believe I'm not dreaming!!

Easter is Upon Us...

Easter break begins this Friday, the 20th, and ends on April 13th. Yep, three whole weeks to not worry about classes at all. Three weeks to relax, travel, get to know my family... It's going to be great.
I have some wonderful plans, and I'm excited to get to travel and see more of what the U.K. has to offer.

I know my family is going to take me to Wales, so I can see some castles!! I'm going to Snowdonia, a national park in Wales. I can't wait to actually get out there and explore (but first I'll need to buy some decent walking shoes)!

I hope to maybe make it to Scotland at some point as well... but I probably won't.

I've also made plans with my friend Amy, who is in my Medieval history class, to go see a movie and maybe stay with her a couple days. She also lives in Stockport, so she'll be really close. I'm so excited to get to know her better.

Hopefully, Francine and I will spend a couple days in Wales with Gerald and Holly. There is an abandoned mental asylum that we might go poke around in (I wonder if it has ghosts...)

A trip to London is also in order for me and Francine. Fran's grandma lives there, and we may be able to stay with her for a couple days. Francine knows London really well, so it will be nice to experience it with an insider's point of view! Hopefully we'll book our tickets by the end of the week!

I'm feeling very optimistic for the weeks ahead, and can't wait to add to my adventures!

Tentative Plans...

My friends and I have been making plans to do so many different things. Francine, Gerald, and I have been talking about going to London for weeks now. I'm planning a second trip to London with Mady and Amy. Victoria and I have just talked about going to Loch Ness today. Holly and Gerald and I were talking about doing a "haunted tour" of Wales.

The problem is, I'm so bad at planning things, and I never know what to do or when to do it. If we're going to go to London, we have to buy tickets several weeks in advance to get cheap ones. But we've just talked and talked and haven't done anything. We need to get train or bus tickets, book a hotel, decide on what we're going to do there and buy tickets if we'll need them. I'm just such a go-with-the-flow kind of person that I just can't be bothered. 

But I'm also really worried that I'm going to run out of time. I've already been here almost 2 months. It's going so quickly and I'm starting to panic. I don't want to go home yet. I haven't done everything I want to do. I'm just starting to freak out, no big deal. 

An Eventful Weekend: Liverpool

Earlier in the week, I decided I needed to get out and go somewhere new. I talked to my friends and decided Liverpool would make a nice day out, as it's close enough that we could just go for the day and then be home by dinner. So it was set; we bought bus tickets for only £8 for round trip and set out  early in the morning for a day of sightseeing.

The bus ride was uneventful on the way there. I caught a short nap and woke up just as we were entering Liverpool. Then Holly, Gerald, Katia, Francine, and I walked to Albert Docks. We walked around there for quite a while, and everyone grabbed a bite to eat for lunch in a small cafe right there on the docks. I didn't; I wasn't hungry because I had eaten five doughnuts for breakfast (don't judge me, they were small doughnuts...)

Francine and Katia. It was very windy.

But anyway, the views were amazing and so were the buildings. Seb, Holly's boyfriend, told me a lovely story about the birds atop this building, the Liver Building:

The birds face away from each other, one looking out to sea, and one looking inland. The one looking toward the sea represents the wives looking out for their sailor men to come back safely, while the one looking inland represents the men looking out for their loved ones at home. Legends say that if they ever look toward each other, they would fly away together and the city would cease to exist.

Here's a close up of the Liver Bird. Obviously, I didn't
take this photo; I stole it from the wikipedia site. 

There were quite a few statues laying around:

Francine unintentionally photo-bombed Queen Victoria's statue :) 

I really liked this one, the little family. 

After walking around Albert Dock, we had a quick look around the Museums in the area. The International Slavery Museum was first. It was a very eye-opening experience. It was also really interesting. Since America and Great Britain were in the slave trade together, I also got to see my country's history through another set of eyes:

A set of Ku Klux Klan robes. These really gave me the creeps. 

Explaining racism and discrimination and how they are,
sadly, still very relevant in Great Britain and the US today. 

The Museum of Liverpool was also on the list. Liverpool, being a major port, was very heavily damaged during the World Wars, so the wars were a very prominent part of the museum. It was very heartbreaking and somber, and hit quite close to home for me because my Great Grandfather was stationed near here during the war. He met Granny Norah here and without that I wouldn't be here today.

An exhibit of World War I in Liverpool. 

Mass produced Toy Soldiers, a favorite for little boys at the time. 

After the Museums, we sat in front of the water for a while. It was a beautiful day and it was great to just sit in the sun and listen to the seagulls. I also had my first proper taste of Fish and Chips, complete with salt and vinegar. IT WAS DELICIOUS!! So good, but the fish was the size of my forearm, so I couldn't eat it all (sadly.)

The view from my bench. If you look closely at the barrier, you'll see a bunch of padlocks. 

These were put here by couples who threw the locks into the water, similar to the 

fence in Rome.Many of them are engraved with names and dates. and was so sweet to see. 

Probably my favorite part of the day was riding the Superlambananas. If you were wondering what a Superlambanana is (and we all know you were), it's exactly what it sounds like. It's a giant cross between a lamb and a banana. The original is bigger than these ones and bright banana yellow. But now they are all over the city, each one painted completely different. Why? I don't know, and I probably never will. But they were a lot of fun.

The sign told us NOT to ride the Superlambananas.
But we're all rebels and so we all did anyway. 

It was relatively difficult to get up on them. But I managed by myself.
It's easier than Riding the Tiger at Mizzou, as they are smaller. 

I loved my Lambanana. I want to buy one (a small one.)

Liverpool is best known as the birthplace of the Beatles. Sadly, we didn't do anything Beatles related, as everything was very expensive. But I plan on going back at some point to do a Beatles tour.

And here's a bonus picture, just for DeAnne :D