Sunday in Paris

2-1-2009

Today is our last full day in Paris. We did not get to sleep until 4 a.m. We slept late today and woke around noon. Caitlin is usually the first to wake up and Romina the last. We got dressed and Eline fed us a wonderful breakfast again. We ate quickly because we wanted to get to Paris as soon as possible. We took the train into the city. Romina and Caitlin both wanted to eat at Subway. There are no Subways in Rome and they were excited to see them in Paris. So, Subway was our first stop. They were both disappointed in their sandwiches. Not the same as Subway back home. I was not interested in Subway, but I definitely understand the homesick part.

After lunch, Romina and I were headed to Versailles. Caitlin had already been to Versailles so she decided she would part from us to see some new sights. Romina and I headed to the metro to take a train to Versailles. It took about 30 or 45 minutes to get there. We stopped and had coffee at Starbucks. There are no Starbucks in Rome. We walked from the metro to the palace and bought tickets. It was magnificent. So beautiful. I was amazed. I can't believe I am here. It takes my breath away.

We toured Versailles and took lots of photos. It was incredible. I saw the most magnificent paintings! The gardens were beautiful and it's winter for heaven sake. We did not get to stay as long as we wanted because the palace closed at 5 p.m. and the gardens closed a 6. It's Sunday, so everything is closing early, I guess. We saw all the highlights. Romina is fun to travel with. We talked a lot on the train to Versailles. She told me about Argentina and her trip to New York City.

We headed back to Paris to meet Caitlin. We met at a metro station. It was a little confusing. Romina said to meet at the platform, but when we got there we didn't see Cate so we decided to wait at the entrance to the platform. She finally came to the entrance and said she had been waiting at the platform. Confusing, but everything was okay.

We were meeting Eline outside of The Moulin Rouge for dinner. We took the metro in that direction. It was so cool to be outside of the Moulin Rouge. We wanted to see a show, but it was really expensive, so we opted out. We met Eline and decided we would look for a French restaurant. We found a place and sat down for dinner. The piano player at the restaurant was fantastic. He was playing the best songs. I had duck pate and roasted pork with french fries, of course. It was good to eat some French food. Better than Subway.

We finished dinner and decided to call it a night. We headed for Eline's place. We arrived at Eline's and got ready for bed. Caitlin is taking online classes through The University of Oklahoma and needed to get some homework done. I don't know how she is managing to go to school and live in Rome. Pretty incredible, especially with the time difference and everything. She was unable to complete her homework on Eline's computer. We decided we would try to look for an internet cafe the next day so she could post her assignments.

We talked a little and went to bed. Romina was leaving at 5 a.m. Caitlin and I had a half day left in Paris. She was leaving for a week vacation from Paris. She's headed to Lyon, Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Amsterdam. I think Prague too. How wonderful?!? She leaves at 5:45 p.m. from the train station and I need to be at the shuttle to the airport at 5:30 p.m.