day two...a.k.a. paris...city of little white bits of fluff

*seriously...i saw white bits of fluff floating all around that city.

today was supposed to be my EIFFEL TOWER DAY. i was going to go see the tower, take a balloon ride, and see the sites around the area.

instead i waited in line for 40 minutes before i realized two things.
1. i was in the wrong line.
2. the top floor was closed.

so i stepped out of line, took some pictures and traveled along the champs de mars (where i was thoroughly amused at how they protected their trees).







after that i walked over to check out napoleon's tomb tucked in the hôtel des invalides (which contains all the invalides museums, and where i was pleasantly surprised by the french resistance museum).





afterwards i strolled down the seine to check out the ever-popular musée d'orsay.





afterwards i continued my stroll down the seine on quai voltaire, where everyone who was anyone (read: 19th century artists) used to live. then i popped over to a few more churches, and called it a day.

day one...a.k.a. french women got fat

*i seriously did not see any more or any less thin women than i would have seen in LA or new york.

ahhh...i arrive in paris and the french child next to me survived. there was some doubts when he leaned up against me to nap.

getting through passport control was the easiest thing ever (though crossing the border into mexico as a child was pretty damn easy as well). they didn't ask me any questions. simply took my passport and stamped it. plus, the non-eu line was totally shorter and moved faster. i thought "i'm totally digging france."

manage to navigate the train system to arrive at the stop for my hotel. i get out and see the parisian streets and finally feel like i'm there. i turn around and i'm immediately confronted with a mcdonald's. (hmmm...it's just like home).

my hotel was totally cute and quaint...until i'm told my shower is on the floor below me (which they failed to mention when i got the room). then i noticed that my door can only open so much (not enough room for myself and my luggage to go through at the same time).





but whatever, i'm in paris!

even if my view is that of someone storing vegetables and shoes outside their window.




in an attempt to beat jet lag i immediately set out to see the sites...starting with père lachaise cemetery.

where i got to see oscar wilde's tomb (and the many, MANY people who have kissed it).



streets and streets of eerie tombs...



then i got lost and the crows (ravens?) came. i decided it was time to leave.




after that i jetted over to parc de villette. while some of the architecture around was interesting, their "walk of childhood fears" was a totally let down. then over to see eglise st-germain-des-prés.

at this point i'm starting to get tired, but i push on to see the jardin du luxembourg and it's beautiful medici fountain.






it was then that i decided i need food, english, and a bed.