European Odyssey - Journal Day 1 - Paris

on Sunday, July 13, 2008

After a couple of hours of travel on some English highways,we made it to Dover (where the famous white cliffs of England are). I'd like to visit England one day and go to the castle at the top - it looked quite beautiful! The ferry ride took another two hours before we reached France. The ride was fun, but the constant rocking of the ferry can make you feel like a drunk man. I began to think about the physiology of the inner ear that we learned in neurology. I then reminded myself that the next two weeks, I shouldn't think about school at all - I have a lifetime of that! During the ferry ride, I chatted with the other tourists that I would be spending two weeks with - there were a lot of Australians! During the ferry ride, I got to people watch, which is always fun. Old couples are fun to observe - they don't seem to chat much, they sit there, eat and people watch too. Either they've run out of things to say, or it's some sort of comfort to know you don't have to say anything to fill the silence.
Calais, France was beautiful, especially the bus ride on our way to Paris! During the bus ride, I discovered why the lemonade drink my brother and I bought tasted so strong and detergent like, it turns out it's concentrated so that you dilute it in 9x the amount of water!! No wonder our throats burned!
When we arrived in Paris, one of the first things I noticed was the amount of graffiti and garbage thrown everywhere! If this is a city of romance, then I better start throwing trash in my room! During the bus ride, we drove past many of the famous buildings in Paris, such as the Eifel tower, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, National Music Hall, Arc de Triomphe, etc.. Those buildings were beautiful and clean, such a huge contrast from the rest of the city! Our night ended with a get together at a local pub beside our hotels. Day 2 here we go!

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