It's hard to believe that we have left Paris. Scratting the surface by going to all the main attractions, and walking the streets as much as we could despite the rain. I would say that the the rain didn't put a damper on the city, which is definitely a good thing considering the sheer elegance and beauty it has to offer.
Reflecting on Paris is crazy as it almost seems to be a blur. Long days with late nights but great days wandering and exploring the city. I know I have repeated it multiple times but the city is amazing. They also have free public toilette so, which is awesome! Funny how even when they have an attendant sitting there you can be deterred from going to the washroom but it is actually free. Paris seems to be a very clean place. All the areas that we walked we didn't see garbage on the ground, aside from cigarettes, and there really didn't seem to be any funny smells. Another interesting thing is that even the Parisians like to people watch. The reason I say this is that all the restaurants seem to have you sitting beside eachother and facing outward toward the people. This makes sense at a restaurant that is close to the Eiffel Tower and you can see, but for many of the other cafes along the way it could only mean that they enjoy watching people as well. Crazy how many cafes they have, stacked on top of eachother, all wth varying price ranges and types of food. Which I guess is why they all work so well, there is something for everyone. We felt very safe in Paris, not matter what time of day it was or how dark the sky was we always felt safe. Of course we weren't walking down back streets, but there was never a feeling a fear.
France as a whole has had great tap water. Both drinkable and tasty. I am a filtered water type of person, and in France the tap water tastes like I would want water to taste. This has been both great for filling water bottles up, and at restaurants they usually bring you tap water, or you can ask for some. Spain this wasn't the case, they didn't like giving you tap water, and apparently Belgium doesn't either.
On our journey there have been a few nights where we have picked up food from a super market and had a night in. On these nights we usually grab at least one bag of lettuce, and dressing amongst the assorted dinner choices. Cesar has been the dressing of choice, but all their cesar dressings se to very very water and more like a vingearette, which is definitely fine but I was really wanting a cesar tasting cesar salad. Well for lunch today I managed to get it, and it was quite delicious. There is definitely come thing to be said about 'order what you want and eat what you get' as even though many places are more then happy to translate, or they have an English menu, everything is not at it is at home. Especially when it comes to be celiac. Many places know seem to understand what I am saying, even when I show them the fancy little card in their language laying out what it is, but sometimes there is a hint of this many come back to haunt me. Luckily nothing yet has.
We made our way after lunch to the train, and found out that. Our actual train was cancelled, but there was another one that left at the exact same time going to the same place that we could jump on. It is a weird feeling when you have bought a ticket and then all a of the sudden feel as though you have done some wrong and trouble is around the corner. Especially when they come around asking for your tickets and you hope they don't deny you because of some miscommunication, even though you have had your ticket checked ample times before entering the train. But we made it and all is well.
Because we are crossing a boarder the police come around and check your passport after the ticket guys. For this train going into Belgium it wasn't nearly as intimidationg, But going into France, when the train randomly stops and you have police on all the sudden and they don't say in English what they are doing, it gives quite a fright. Again that feeling of you have done something wrong even though you haven't. They seem to look at its lot longer as well, and then find your visa. Granted Iam such a people pleaser and worry wort that I know this all sounds silly. But oh well. This trains is more direct and seems to go much faster, even though I am not sure that is true due to the fact t he others were going 300km/h at times, but the lack of stopping is great. But because of this a little bit of unwearable stomach has set in. A mixture between everything flying by, the speed, and sitting backwards. But nothing crazy as I would expect so that is a good thing.
The main thing is we made with no problems. At least not yet, as I am writing this first part from the train. Now is when we get to cities where there is zero hope of us figuring any of the words out. So this shall be interesting in a new way,
I am a coin collector, if you didn't already know. And what is awesome is that they have souvenir coins all over. We didn't see these in Ireland or in London, if they are there I will be a little sad, but we are great at finding them so I believe we would have seen them. So this oils my souvenir of choice. Hopefully it continues to keep up that they are other places, otherwise I will just have to deal with not always have souvenirs. I am constantly resisting the urge to buy post cards and magnets as souvenirs, because magnets are heavy, and post cards will bend. Yes I know, coins are heavy as well, but I have a collection so how can I not. Although I will admit, I got a Paris hoodie. Again, comfortable is what I love, due to the fact that I would live in Lululemons if I could, I have a weakness for sweaters :)
So we walk out of the train station and turn the corner, and before us stands a peculiar sight. Three urinals. You stand facing eachother and there is a slight 'u' shape so you have some privacy. Free urinals. Hash it was quite the sight to see, especially as there was a gentleman walking up to. Quickly going the opposite direction we made our way to our home.
There was definitely high security at the station. Inside they were many security personal walking around and out front there were two military men standing at the doors. We are certainly not bothered by extra security, but it just makes m=what happened all feel a little more real. The rest of the city so far seems to be at what I imagine to be its normal pace.
This is a smaller place, and we are happy to have a few days of lower key not so go go go and catching up on sleep, before we meet up with mom and dad Havinga on Sunday. YAY! Our room has a great view, and nice big windows to look out.
Not sure if I mentioned it before, but Europe loves shared bathrooms. This can mean a few things. Sometimes you only get a sink in your room, others you get a sink and a shower, but usually always means the toilet is what is being shared. Both in the hostels, and the hotels.
They have a statue here that is called Manneken Pis, it is of a little child peeing. Naturally we have to see it. But Luke tells me that they like to dress the statue up, and last time he was here he wasn't dressed up, and is really hoping he will have a costume on. They apparently put him in many different types of costumes. We shall keep you posted on this.
Today in Paris we also purchased a comb and scissors and are going to cut Luke's hair tonight! Make sure my skills haven't been lost and clean him up a bit. Stay tuned!
This evening we made our way to find food. As a lot of places still hadn't opened yet we decided to have dessert first. We sat and ate our ice cream bars while watching a crazy intersection. It is bizarre because they don't have signs, and when watching you realize that would be to their detriment as somehow everything use works. Still hilarious to watch it. When someone makes a wrong move how much it backs up and how many people from so far back start to honk their horns, and going a around, it is crazy but certainly entertaining.
After this we food some goooood food. At our table they had two games that were for you to use and play while your food was being made. Even though it was tic tac toe and some random thing it was great. Also I think there is a certain age that you get to and you can't play tic tac toe anymore because you are to smart. Until you play like 10 rounds all cats games and ten you start to branch out and play places you wouldn't normally then you end up missing something, and somehow the other person wins. Or at least this was our experience.
And now for some much need sleep. We shall see tomorrow what Brussels has to offer us.
And so the adventure continues...
No comments:
Post a Comment