PERI & MITZI- Last Days in Dublin and Paris!

            Our second day in Dublin was better for us, we were much better tourists!  We found our way around the city and bus routes like we were natives J.  After sleeping in, we got our jet-lagged behinds out of the hotel and to the Dublinia exhibit, a historical museum about Dublin’s past.  It was interesting to see how far back their history goes compared to America’s.  After the museum, we found a bistro across from the Christchurch Cathedral where the exhibit is held.  We had a good time soaking in the scenery and getting teased by our waiter.  He suggested that we go to Temple Bar, a pedestrian area full of pubs, restaurants, shops, entertainers, and more.  A pub, Gogarty's, playing loud live Irish music attracted our attention first.  It was tough to find a seat, but eventually we sat down next to an older couple (picture below).  We found out that they are from Arizona and were taking a long vacation in Europe.  We ended up talking to them for hours, they even scared off a few drunk men trying to hit on us.  It felt good to be comfortable to talk to other tourists and hear their experiences and suggestions about Dublin.  After Gogarty's, we went to The Temple Bar/Pub.  It is a very popular place for both locals and tourists to hang out.  We were not there long, as we were ready to turn in for the night.  The next day, we knew that we had to be up very early the following morning, so we decided to take it easy.  After sleeping in (again) we had a quick lunch in the pub across the street (where we were the only women AND the only people under 45), walked through a small part of  Phoenix Park (one of the largest parks in the world, and home to the Irish president).  We had so much fun the night before that we went back to Temple Bar.  We had another good night listening to Irish music and meeting people from all walks of life.  We turned in early because we had to be up at 3:30am to meet our taxi to the airport, however, the jet lag was still an issue, so no sleep was actually gotten.

            We arrived at the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight (thank goodness).  There were some mix-ups with how much weight is allowed in our bags, which was very stressful.  The security checks in the airport were no where near as strict as they are in the States, so it went much faster than it does in the typical US airport.  Our experience on this flight was a lot different than any of our flights before: just one example is that we walked straight down to the tarmac where our plane, and several others, were getting fueled and serviced, and we walked up a large, rickety ladder to board the plane.  The plane ride was uneventful (except a little shaky).  We found the bus to take us into the heart of Paris with no troubles.  The bus ride was about an hour long, then we had to haul our stuff all over to get to the metro: up stairways, down stairways, over sidewalks, all while wearing our heavy coats and fighting crowds of people.  It was brutal to say the least… cardio!  We made it to the hostel without getting lost though, that’s all that matters!

            Since we did not get any sleep the night before, we were very tired but unable to check in to our room yet.  We dropped our stuff off in a luggage room at the hostel and decided to jump right into our sightseeing.  We went straight to the Eiffel Tower (naturally).  A short metro ride later, we walked up a flight of stairs and around a corner… and there it was… WOW!  It was breathtaking.  Literally.  The second we saw it, we both began to tear up; it was that beautiful.  We sat on a bench in awe of it, and began to get even more emotional.  Luckily a young Spanish girl made us snap out of it when she ate her sandwich an inch from Peri’s face.  Clearly the Spanish have no shame about staring, or sense of a personal bubble or as Mitzi says, a purple circle.  We spent a couple of hours walking around the Tower, getting hassled by the street merchants selling plastic Eiffel Towers and miscellaneous other touristy junk, (“I’m not going to buy any of your crap if you cat-call me!”-Mitzi).  It was a great time people watching in the shadow of the Tower—until it started to rain.  We made our way back to the hostel and called it a night.

            The next day (yesterday) we went to the Louvre Museum.  It was enormous!  We could have spent a whole week there and not seen everything, but we settled on 3 hours.  We saw the Mona Lisa (it was very small), and various other famous works of art.  In the basement of the Louvre there is randomly a mini mall full of expensive shops.  We found free wifi at the Apple Store and spent some time talking to our loved ones.  We went to lunch across from the museum and had delicious French brunch: Mitzi had a buckwheat crepe with ham and cheese in it, and Peri had a ham and cheese quiche.  We sipped our wine and people watched for over an hour.  As we made our way to Notre Dame we had to stop for gelato… it was so yummy!  Notre Dame was beautiful; we did not go in because the line was very long.  We window-shopped on our way back to the hostel.  The hostel is having all kinds of wifi problems so we have not been able to talk to our loved ones as much as we would like, hopefully we have better luck in Madrid. 

            Today we went to the Moulin Rouge (pretty disappointing), saw the Arc de Triomphe (pretty, but not breath taking), and had a lovely lunch on the third floor of a bistro.  We have one more day here in Paris, which we will spend taking a walking tour of the various sites, until we take off for Madrid.  We have loved soaking in these two different cultures, but we are ready to be in Spain and have a routine and a home.  Ciao for now!

***Random things about Paris:***

-Men wear capris all the time…. It’s the real deal! J

-Loud American women (like the one behind us right now) are what give Americans a bad rep.

-The fashion here is unbelievable!!!  We are constantly pointing people out; we totally belong here.  If people wore half the things that they wear here in Idaho, they would be laughed at for sure.

-There are a lot of gypsies and beggars around.

-A lot of people run here, but we are fairly sure that gyms do not exist.