December 1
I got up early to shower and finish packing. Sarah, Courtney, and I got our luggage down all 74 stairs and headed out. It was an adventure trying to take our luggage from our flat to the Tube. Sarah had one of Jason’s bags too, so there were 4 big suitcases, plus our backpacks and some smaller bags for us to carry around. Thankfully many times some nice people helped us carry stuff, but usually we would take a round up the stairs, then I would wait with the bags and they would bring up the rest. Europe really needs to get some elevators.
We got checked into our coach. I slept for a lot of it. The coach drove into what looked like a cattle car for coaches and it took us across the English Channel.
Once we got to Paris we had an adventure of trying to figure out what Metro line to take to our hotel...or even where the hotel was. We figured out what line we had to take and thankfully we didn’t have to change lines, but we did have to ride for 21 stops to get there. Then we had to drag our bags to our hotel. The room was very small, with one full sized bed, but we had our own bathroom. We relaxed there for a bit before heading off to the Eiffel Tower. It is beautiful at night when it is all lit up. It even sparkles, but only for 10 minutes on the hour. The line was too long to climb it.
Back at the hotel Law and Order: SVU was on dubbed over in French. I had seen the episode before so that was really funny.
Sun Dec 2
We got up and got some really good croissants at the bakery across the street. Then we helped Sarah get her bags down to another hotel where the shuttle picked her up to take her to the airport. Courtney and I headed to Notre Dame to meet Chris and Dave. After sitting in mass and walking around for an hour, we still could not find them, so we did some shopping and headed to the Louvre. The weather was so cold and rainy.
At the Louvre the line was so long that it was wrapped around the glass pyramid. We checked our phone and the boys had called and were really lost, so we went to go get them at Notre Dame.
We were all starving so we ate some lunch and then took Dave to catch his train. Chris, Courtney, and I went to the Moulin Rouge to take pictures outside. Then we went to the Eiffel Tower again so Chris could see it. The line was short so we got to go up to the second viewing level. The weather was so rainy and windy that we could not go up further. The view of the city was beautiful!
When we came down it was a torrential downpour! We were soaked. I came back to the hotel and took a hot shower and went to bed.
Mon Dec 3
Courtney and I got up and checked out of the hotel, stored our bags, and headed to the Louvre. There was no line, so we got right in and walked around for a few hours. I saw the Mona Lisa, but was not very impressed. I don’t know why it is such a famous painting.
We still had a lot of time to kill before our night train, so we walked from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe. It was funny to see so many Asian tourists there. I tried to get in as many pictures as possible so that when people go back and look at their pictures and say, “Who’s that girl in the background?” it will be me.
The weather was sunny and beautiful so we decided to go back to the Eiffel Tower to get some pictures during the day. We still had a lot of time so we went back to the hotel to get our stuff and upload our pictures online.
We took the long Metro ride to the train station. While we were waiting for our train, we changed the time of our train to London so that we would not miss that one. I feel much better knowing that I have more time to catch that one. God has truly been answering prayers and been with us every step of the way.
On the night train Courtney and I were in the same car but in different rooms. I was with two nice older ladies who spoke French, Spanish, and English. I could understand a lot of what they said in Spanish, but I kept getting tired and I would stop focusing on translating and then I would get lost. They translated to English for me sometimes. It is strange to me how comfortable European women are with getting naked in front of strangers. I don’t know if I will ever really get used to that.
All my Paris pictures:
The Louvre: http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058819&l=cc87a&id=71005171
The Eiffel Tower: http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058629&l=d81ba&id=71005171
Around Paris: http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058820&l=a57fd&id=71005171
Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, Moulin Rouge: http://harding.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058824&l=3b703&id=71005171
Tue Dec 4
We were woken up at 730 to say that we would be arriving in Barcelona soon. Once we got there we had a long walk to try and find the port to book our ticket to Civitavecchia. Dragging suitcases around lost for an hour is no fun. We knew we were close, but every building we went to kept pointing us further down the road. We finally found the building but their computer was down, so we waited for a while, but it was still down. So we got directions to the Metro and thankfully it was a straight shot to our hostel.
We checked in and showered and then headed out to take a bus tour of the city. We got a 2 day pass, which was great because we could get on and off at any stop and then get back on the next bus and see some more when we were ready. We went to the beach and took some pictures. It was great to have warm weather and not have to wear a jacket. I loved it!
We got some dinner and walked around the city for a bit, got our tickets for our boat the next day, and then came back and went to bed. Our room was for 12 people, but there were only 7 of us; 3 girls and 4 guys. I only met one of the guys, Collin, who was from Canada. He was nice. The others were asleep and I never met them. I met the other girl in the bathroom the next morning. She was very interesting. She gave me her card because she is a musician....She told me to drop her a line, but I’m not sure that I wil.
Wed Dec 5
We woke up, got breakfast, checked out, stored our luggage, and took the Metro to the Picasso Museum. A lot of his earlier portrait works were really good. Then there were some gross nudie drawings. So basically he was really talented, turned perverted, and then went crazy and invented Cubism.
We took our bus to Sagrada Familia. I loved this church! I can’t believe that it is taking so long to build it, but the carvings are so intricate and detailed. The stained glass was gorgeous as well. This was one of the coolest churches I have ever seen.
We ate lunch and then went to the Park Guell. This architect does some crazy things, but I really like them. The park was beautiful and had a great view of the city. We walked around some more and then got our luggage and headed back to the port.
We waited to catch our boat. We just bought tickets for a chair, not for a cabin, because it was cheaper. The room with the chairs was huge and there were only 8 of us in there. We met two nice American boys, Shaun and Nate, and we played Uno with them. They are from Oregon and doing a study abroad tour in Spain for a year, but this is their Christmas break. They are headed to Rome as well. 19 hours on a boat is a long time! But thankfully I slept a lot. Since the room was empty, I just stretched out over 4 chairs to sleep.
This trip has taught me so much about relying on God. It is only by His grace and help that I am safe and making my way around. I am so thankful that He is here. It’s like a family vacation with God. It’s great to see other parts of the world and what He created. I’ve learned to be more assertive and self-sufficient, but also to worry less. That is hard for me, but God has been taking care of us, so worrying is pointless. Earlier I was worried about not getting our boat and the song that came into my head was “Living by Faith.” As I sung the lyrics I kind of laughed and was like “Okay, God, I get it.”
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