Paris...Je T'aime?

Hello to the few who actually would read this!
And greetings from Paris :)

Overall, I believe Chrystalle and I had a balanced experience of the city.
We were able to do the major sight-seeing of the Eiffel Tower (mindblowingly gorgeous, fantastic views, but crazy line - about 1-2 hrs of waiting in line), The Louvre (totally exhausting! It should be against international law to house that much art, especially by such famous artists, in one place), and Notre Dame (also a long wait, but like the Eiffel Tower, definitely worth it), but also do more low key things like sit in the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Parc André-Citroen, the Jardin des Tuileries outside of the Louvre, and wander the streets of Montmartre.

The film,Paris, Je T'aime had a huge influence on my ideal itinerary for the city, as well as the classic, Amélie. I even chose our hostel based on the incomparable district of Montmartre, which was featured widely in Amelie.

We visited le Cimitière de Père Lachaise where I kissed the tombstone of Oscar Wilde (and kept an eye out for him as well); I ordered profiteroles, just like the husband who subconsciously ordered them for his wife while he questioned if he really wanted it to begin with; We wandered around the Quartier Latin and ate dinner at an outdoor cafe (I can't remember the specific short film that was featured in, but it's a famous area); and we saw the light show of the Eiffel Tower, like the mime couple. (I'm sure there are other things, I'm just blanking on them in relation to the movie).

And Amélie --- what can I say, our whole temporary neighborhood reminded me of the movie, and the cafe she worked at in the movie was right by our hostel (I didn't even realize it until our roommates told us on the 3rd day). I think the métro nearby our 2nd Parisien hostel is also featured in the movie.

During and after our time at the Eiffel Tower (especially the ridiculously gorgeous Jardin du Trocadero with all the lovely fountains and couples canoodling around), and the Louvre, I really fell head over heels for Paris. I was infatuated with the whole culture and lifestyle and the architecture of the city is amazing and well kept.....but, just like with all infatuations, the reality sinks in pretty fast. Yesterday (or maybe starting Sunday), I already started to get jaded with the city. I'm not quite sure why exactly, but since it's such a huge city filled with so many people, maybe I felt isolated or something...especially with the language barrier. What's even sadder is the fact that I've been studying French for six years, but kind of slacked off for most of it so I can get by and speak basic sentences and phrases, but still...I'm nowhere near fluent, nor was I raised in this culture, so there's just a lot of isolation in that sense. Plus, Parisiens don't exactly have the best reputation for friendliness. We actually had some outstanding waiters, and came across some friendly faces in the travel industry...there were also some impatient ones who didn't give us the time of day, but I shouldn't judge them all by a few people.

At any rate, I felt resuscitated from the jaded ness, and today we wandered our new location still in Montmartre, and it was also a day of rest so it was very healing for me. Even though I no longer want to live in Paris (I always dreamed of living here, if only for a short period of time), I still would love to study abroad in the small town of Annecy, France (close to Switzerland).

I already typed a lot, and would love to type more, but I must get to bed soon. Gotta catch an early train to Madrid!