We stayed, thanks to his timeshare points, at the Mariott Marketplace which is a RESORT!! We had our own little villa complete with a kitchen, dining/living room, 5 beds, 2 1/2 baths, and a great view of the golf course! It is a bit outside of Paris by EuroDisney so it took a while to get into the city but it was totally worth it! On Friday we didn't leave until 10:25 am which kind of bummed me out because we had so much to see but oh well. Then it took us while to figure out how the metro worked but we finally made it to Versailles.
The thing about the metro is that it is a bajillion times more complicated than Madrid's with tons of branches and 2 different systems, the metro and the RER. It's terrifying! And because there are so many branches, you have to make sure you catch the right train. Nightmare. So we ended up going back and forth a couple times before we figured it out...But we finally got to the Palace of Versailles that Louis XIV built and it is magnificent! It's huge and expansive and old. We took the tour and looked at the gardens but it was too cold to walk all the way through them.
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And, the Hall of Mirrors was under construction part way so that was sad and disappointing. But Chapel's organ was huge and being tuned so we got to here it being played. But my favorite part I think was the Opera House that still functions and was being set up for a performance. But you can't take pictures so the only memory is in my mind...que pena. 
Here's me in the Hall of Mirrors. As we were leaving we decided to take a picture in front of Versailles which kind of turned into a rediculous photo shoot and being silly. Here's one of those fun shots. .JPG)
After Versailles, we headed back into the city (because it's a bit out of Paris also, just on the exact opposite side of Paris from the hotel...never fails) and I split off from the group to see the Musee d'Orsay while they ate dinner. The Orsay is in a renovated train station and has all the Degas dancer paintings. Since I got there at 5 pm and it closed at 6pm it was free. I rushed through and saw all the amazing Degas and alot of the Monet that was there. I loved seeing the dancer paintings live...I love them. Then I went and met the girls at the Louvre...and it is absolutely, overwhelmingly HUGE! 
It's incomprehensible until you see it in person. We were there for about 2 hours which is basically nothing. We did see the Mona Lisa which, though smaller than expected, is impressive. I kept waiting for her to break into a smile. :) What's great about the Mona Lisa is all the people looking at her. She's kept in a glass secure wall with a sensor and a rope in front of her so you can't get to close. There are three guards standing around her watching all the people. This is the headless Venus, though I'm sure she had a head at one time or another.
Obviously, you can't take pictures of the painting but there were defintely people trying to take pictures, not only with cameras, but with their cell phones. The guards would shout at you "no pictures, no cameras, no phones" etc and if you didn't stop they would come at you...literally. This one guy tried to play it off like he was talking on his phone but he totally failed and the lady made him leave. What was really funny was the guard telling everyone "no phones" while he played games on his phone...what?
Anyway, then we went in search of a market but had no luck. We did get a nice walking tour of Paris though and that was fun. Then we headed home to sleep. The next mronign I took the 8:40 am shuttle and the girls followed on the 10:25 am shuttle again. I went alone to the Opera de la Bastille which is the largest opera house in the world and very modern. 
I also walked over and saw the Place de los Vosges that my senora wanted me to go see. It is enchanting and different from any other plaza I've seen. Victor Hugo (author of Les Mis) lived there and there were lots of people around and lots of little shops and cafes opening up. On the way out I bought a pear and an apple at a small store and then a crossiont at a bakery (the crossoints are delectable in Paris). I also asked for a can of orange juice, well, I thought I asked for a can of orange juice but instead I got Orangina which is like orange soda but I didn't want to try to switch it out and cause a scene so I ate my crossiont and Oragina for breakfast. Nothing like a healthy breakfast in Paris! Then I went to meet the girls at Notre Dame but of course they were late. While waiting, I took a picture of a guy for him. But not of him with Notre Dame in the background like a normal person. No, I took a picture of him sitting on a bench, smoking a cigarette and writing in a notebook...so wierd. Finally the girls came and we went inside. 
Notre Dame, which is beautiful, looks kind of alot like all the other churches I've seen in Europe but I did like the Christmas tree outside. And no Esmerelda swinging from the bell towers...que triste.
Then we walked over to Berthillon, the best ice cream place in Paris, or so says my guide book. It was so good and I had a dark chocolate cake with orange rinds and gingerbread ice cream...mmmm! We also met the founder of the place but he didn't speak English so that made it a bit difficult.
After that we went to the Eiffel Tower!!! It's amazing and I loved it! We got there before the sun would have set (it was cloudy) and got some pictures before it lit up and then got in line to go to the top. Only Odalis, Lauren and I wanted to go to the top so the other two walked around while we waited in line forever. While in line, we met a couple from Houston that I knew were from Texas as soon as the husband spoke. They were really nice and we talked to them for a long time and took pictures for each other at the top.
The view from the top was fantastic because Paris was all lit up for the night and it totally made up for the freezing cold wind blowing. One side it was fine but then when you walked around to the other side, you almost got knocked over the wind was blowing so hard. It was freezing but for the sake of good pictures, we suffered. Then on the way down, we had to throw some bows (a Jean phrase) because Europeans don't seem to believe in lines so we had to fight to get on the elevator to descend. Also, since it is December, there were lights that twinkled every hour on the hour. And yes, my friend Kali did take this picture...she should be a professional. 
It was so fun! After the Eiffel Tower, we went to a open-air market (my book saves the day again) and bought lots of food to cook for dinner. The market went all the way down this street and there were just people talking and shouting and it was chaos! So fun! Then we took it all home and cooked an amazing meal in our kitchen. We had chicken, pasta, broccli, green beans, potatoes, shrimp bread and tartas for dessert. It was so fresh and the shrimp was so fresh that if it had been in water it would have been swimming I think. 
We set the table beautifullly and played Christmas music while we ate. It was a grand affair. But really, I didn't do any of the cooking. I cut the broccli and the onion (because I can cut onions without crying...one of my many talents) and then I de-headed the shrimp. Then I help set the table and recorded the goings-on for posterity. After the grand affair, we sat around and took pictures with the timers on our cameras so we could all be in them. .JPG)
It was fun and relaxing. We ended up eating the leftovers the next morning for breakfast/lunch and took some with us to the airport...such scavengers. We left the hotel at 11am on Sunday and travelled 9 hours getting home at 8pm. so tired! But I did get to watch FRIENDS in English on the plane which was hysterical. That show makes me laugh so hard and I was trying with all my might not to laugh outloud because I was on a plane and the people around me were sleeping and they would have had no idea what I was laughing about because I was listening to it on my earphones...So that was fun trying to contain my laughter. But Paris was a great success and I fell in love with the city and definitely want to go back!
On another note, Tuesday was the last day of classes and the 2 week marker until I go home for Christmas! HOORAY!! I can't wait to get me some tortillas and queso...and see my family of course! :)
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