you may say that i'm a dreamer...

I'm planning for Paris this coming weekend...and I'm doing things I probably shouldn't be doing financially and you may say that I'm overly ambitious, but I make my dreams come true despite the costs. After all, I'm going tens of thousands of dollars into debt for Meredith - so why can't I pull out all stops on my even bigger dream of Paris? Exactly. I have it worked out - no worries. I'll be "home" in June. Okie dokie? Okie dokie.

Paris: This is my list of things to do by day. It's, like I said, overly ambitious and maybe a little time-crunched, but I have some free time at the end. I do whatever I can.

I arrive in Paris Thursday morning around 11h30 in Paris Montparnasse 1 et 2. After I arrive in Paris, the first thing I plan on doing is heading to Cimetière Montparnasse, since it's right near the station. After the cemetery, I plan on heading to Sainte-Chapelle, since it'll be covered in the Paris Museum Pass I'll be buying (60+ museums and sites, 4 day ticket, less than 50 euros, plus a bonus of skipping the queues). After Sainte-Chapelle comes Pont-Neuf, the oldest bridge in Paris, which is right next to it. Musée d'Orsay, by super chance, is open on Thursdays until 21h45 instead of 17h30 or so. Then I'm checking into my hotel north of Montmartre - a Hotel Formule 1. Yes, I'm chancing it again - but I'm sticking to France, remember?

Friday, I plan to head in the morning to Arc de Triomphe, make my way down the Champs-Elysées, browse through the Jardin des Tuileries, and browse the Louvre for hours on end. On Friday evenings, the Louvre is open until 22h00 - again a lucky shot. Then I'm heading back to my hotel, of course.

Saturday, I'm starting directly near my hotel at Cimetière Montmartre. After there, I'm walking by the Moulin Rouge (we know it's not all it's chocked up to be) and on to the Sacré Coeur. The cemetery opens at 9am on Saturdays, I think, so I should be through all three by just after lunch (lunch is always cheap and on the go in Paris - that's all I'll have time for). After I visit the Sacré Coeur, I'm heading wayyyyyyyyy out to the east of Paris to Cimetière du Père Lachaise. The cemetery closes around 18h00 or so, thus after I still have time for anything open later, right? Right. Then I'm over to Centre Pompidou (because it's open till something like 21h30 or little later) for some more art and modern architecture, I guess. Ha ha. After I finish at Centre Pompidou, it's back to my hotel in the north of Paris (not in the banlieues, however) for some much deserved Zzzzzz's.

Sunday morning and early afternoon is relatively open in case I run into a little trouble with the above itinerary. I only have the Parc du Champ du Mars (the huge park in front of the Tour Eiffel) to visit. Included in my Paris Museum Pass is the archaeological crypts at Notre-Dame, so I could go there, but I really, really, really don't care to see tons of skeletons and stuff. It's gross. I really have no interest in it, even if it's included in the cost! I could take a guided tour of Notre-Dame, though, as it, too, is included in my Pass. I know I've already been to Notre-Dame, but I didn't get a guided tour, so, eh, why not?

Packed, packed, packed schedule, no? That's why Sunday has a lot more open time. My train back to Angers doesn't leave Gare de Montparnasse until 16h00 and something, so I have all morning and, like I said, early afternoon. I would start making my way over to the train station around 3pm, depending on where I was in the city. Trains leave on time in France and you can board all the way up until 2 minutes prior-departure. I've traveled by train in France enough to realize this nifty little bit. :)

Yesterday I went to the Cathédrale de Chartres and the Château de Versailles, entirely alone. It was magnificent. I love my friends, but traveling alone at my own pace is liberating. I don't have to wait on anyone and no one has to wait on me. I climbed the 297 steps of the North Tower of the Cathédrale to witness probably one of the most beautiful views ever. Yes, 297 steps. Don't believe me? I'm sure you can google the number. I counted them on the way down. While at the tip-top of the Cathédrale and in awe of the scenic view, I started crying.

Crying? On top of the Cathédrale du Chartres? Afraid of heights? No. I started crying because it really hit me all that I have done while abroad and all that I have left to do. I leave France in something around 3 weeks - I won't count officially. I've been to 4 different countries in under 4 months. I've achieved more of my life dreams in 20 years than most people do in 50. The utter magnificence of all I have experienced, everywhere I have been, all that I have tried, hit me. I am very lucky to be me right now. And I'm about to get luckier with my trip to Paris.

I've walked the same halls, the same rooms, the same stairways as some of the most famous people in the history of France and the entire world. Marie-Antoinette (I visited Petit Trianon yesterday in Versailles, as well). Hundreds of years worth of French kings and queens. The Romans, the Ancient Greeks. I've been to 2 French cathedrals that people in history have taken pilgrimages to. I can speak more French than I ever thought possible for myself.

I found sunflower seeds (for human consumption) in France! A feat I thought entirely impossible in and of itself.

Very lucky girl. Very lucky "jeune femme" indeed.
♥,
jh