Paris

Finally, as promised, here is my blog on the trip to Paris.

This blog was a little delayed because I came back from Paris with food poisoning. On the last evening, I ate Salade Nicoise and the tuna (in my opinion) tasted funny. At first I thought: no, I am imagining things. Turned out that wasn´t the case. The next morning (a Sunday), I woke up, feeling not so well. Somehow, I managed to find the way back to Brussels. And after a sick day (Monday, no Parliament for me that day) and a diet (Monday, Tuesday chicken and rice), I recovered quite well. I was able to go to the gym again on Thursday and am now back on my regular sports schedule.

Back to Paris. (Apart from the bad tuna) I loved it there, it is a great city. On Wednesday morning, June 17, my travel companion Nicole and I left for Paris. We were there within 80 minutes (the Thalys is indeed incredibly quick). After finding our hotel, we decided to explore the city a little bit (after all, it was before noon when we arrived in our hotel). First, we went to the top of Tour Montparnasse (highest skyscraper in Paris). The view from there was stunning! And since the weather was great that day (the only day we had wonderful weather), we did a boat tour on the Seine. Very nice, we got a good first impression of the city that way. After dinner, and a short walk around the neighborhood, it was back to the hotel. Usually hotel rooms in Paris are small. This room was no exception. But (most importantly) the beds were very comfortable and -surprisingly- the bathroom was quite big. The hotel also offered free internet and it was centrally located (close to the metro and several restaurants).

Thursday was a day reserved for the tour with the hop-on hop-off bus. But I started of the day with jogging through Jardin Luxembourg. Lovely, ideal place for jogging (many people go jogging/running there during the entire day). Apart from a fountain, various statues, numerous trees and flowers, a very nice Palais is also located in the Jardin. For a while I was wondering why so many guards were wandering around this Palais Luxembourg. But apparently it is where the French Senate convenes. Nice to know.

Anyway, after running and a good breakfast, the hop-on hop-off took us to the Opera and the Galeries Lafayette (just for fun take a look inside, you are sure to be in awe of the interior style/architecture. then take the escalator to the top floor for a nice view of the city) Eventually we arrived at Montmatre. It is very funny, during my French class (of this past fall/winter), we spent a lot of time talking about this area of Paris. And now I was actually there! Montmatre is so nice very cosy and charming, and of course there is also the Sacre Coeur (which we reached after climbing quite a few stairs). We had lunch at Place du Tetre, which is located close to the Sacre Coeur (the Place is filled with painters, who all want to make portraits of the tourists, some tourists give in, but I was not so interested in having my portrait made). Still, there was a very nice atmosphere at the Place du Tetre.

Later that day, the bus took us to the Eiffel Tower. Could not resist taking a lot of pictures there of course! :) After dinner, I decided I would like to taste the best ice cream in Paris (at least a Dutch travel guide claimed that the best ice cream was available there). Soo, I took the metro, got out close to the Notre Dame (great at night, but also at day of course), walked a while along the Seine and found the ice cream shop. Indeed, the ice cream was absolutely delicious. Especially the raspberry (framboos) flavor. Hmmm!!!

Friday, last day with the hop-on hop-off bus. But again, I started with a nice run through Jardin Luxemburg (following by an equally nice breakfast). This time the bus took us to the Bastille, Place du Vosges (very cosy park, surrounded by small restaurants close to the Bastille)and eventually the Concorde. From the Concorde, we walked the entire Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. It is quite a walk of course, but still very enjoyable with all the nice shops and terraces on the way. Unfortunately, the Elysees Palace (where the French President lives) is carefully obstructed from view (by trees, bushes and security guards), so we didn´t get to see that.

In the evening, Nicole and I both wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower. Suprisingly, the line in front of the Tower was not too long, so we decided to take the elevator to the top. Oy, how I hated that elevator. It kept going and going and I had the crazy feeling that we were going to crash, which of course did not happen (in a sense I am afraid of heights haha). The weather was quite clear and the view from the top was beautiful (all the lights). So that made the scary journey to the top worthwhile :D (I have included a picture of me at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It is quite funny, let´s just say it was windy at the top haha)!

For Saturday, after my regular running route, a visit to the Palace of Versailles (and its gardens) was planned. A train took us to Versailles in a little over twenty minutes. We bought tickets at a shop close to the train station. And we were happy we did, because the line at the ticket center of the Palace itself was gigantic!!! Wow! The palace is huge and pompous (pompeus), but still very nice. Lots and lots of of different rooms, decorated with gold, statues, paintings (and other artifacts). It is interesting to know how the kings (in France) used to live. I loved the gardens, and we managed to see just a segment of these beautiful gardens (talk about a wonderful running route haha ;)). At one point, all the fountains in the gardens were turned on (and there are so many fountains...). Beautiful sight. I still wonder, how many French kings got lost in the gigantic palace and gardens??

When I got up on Sunday, I wasn´t feeling well. But still, I wanted to go to the Military Museum and see Napoleon´s Tomb (something I shouldn´t have done of course). I liked the Museum very much (I would love to go back when I am feeling better haha), covers military history from approximately 1200 to the Second World War). And Napoleon´s Tomb is ridicuously huge! (see picture, although you can really grasp the hugeness of this tomb when you see it with your own eyes) More than twenty Napoleons would fit in there! In contrast, I remember Thomas Jefferson, coincidently one of the first American ambassador to France and a great admirer of the country. These modest words were written on Jefferson´s grave stone: "HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA". Jefferson had also been (a well-respected) President of the United States, but -at his insistence- this was left out. What a difference! I might not be Jefferson´s greatest fan (he is not my favorite President, that´s Harry Truman, nor my favorite revolutionary, that´s John Adams), but I would take him over Napoleon any time. But that is just my opinion :D

Well, this was my report from Paris. I am really happy that I went there. Great experience. Now I have about a month left at the parliament. But this is actually my last full week here, I just realized that. In the next couple of weeks, I have at least one (or more) free days every week. Yay! That´s the advantage of saving some of your free days :)

Oh, before I forget, along with this message I have also posted a picture of President Pöttering and the trainees of the Communications Department.

Suzanne

PS. History last weekend in Assen, where "The Doctor" Valentino Rossi won his 100th (!!!) race in motorcycling (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3nt6lyrTic). Hope Roger Federer will make history next weekend, by winning his 15th Grand Slam Title.