My first trip to France! I really loved it except for a little mishap that I will speak of later. I could be French, for sure. I wish I could learn that language.
Our hotel was near the beautiful Sacre Coeur, hallelujah for not being in a hostel. We spent an afternoon at the Louvre. The Mona Lisa was a lot smaller than I expected, but nevertheless magnificent. Of course we went shopping on the Champs Elysees, a prestigious avenue in Paris. {As if I have Euros to spend. Take a look at that exchange rate, people. I will clean all of your houses this summer for money.} Of course we went to the Notre Dame Cathedral. Loved it. We were treated to a fine dinner at a restaurant called Brasserie Mollard. I ate tenderloin steak, Sara ate duck, and Mary Susan ate lobster. Yum, yummm. Those Parisians know how to live. Not to mention I had plenty of cheese, crepes, wine, and french onion soup. Thanks to a recommendation from a friend, we went to a cool bar on the 33rd floor of a hotel that has a spectacular view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower.
After a nice afternoon walking along the banks of the Seine River we decided to go up in the tower. We were waiting in line to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower one night around 8:00. The line was so long so we decided to not go that night and make a reservation for the next day. So all three of us were walking out from underneath the Eiffel Tower without a care in the world. We stopped at one of the street venders selling souvenirs right under the tower. Just when I thought I lived an entire semester in Europe without some sort of crisis, dun dun dun: All of a sudden I heard a loud crash about 5 feet away from me and it was a man. Face down and dead on the pavement right next to me. Mary Susan took off running and brought me with her. Sara followed. The guards with guns started running in and within a minute tons of people had cleared out. After we ran away a second and got over the initial shock we walked back over to see. They had put up a little barrier around the man so that others couldn't see his dead body. Basically, this guy who appeared in his late twenties decided to commit suicide and jump off of this global icon. Right in front of our eyes. Needless to say I was a wee bit shaken up for the rest of the night and a while after. The combination of the noise of his body hitting the pavement and the sight of it sprawled out right next to me and my friends is traumatizing.
Needless to say, home-girls were ready to get out of Paris. Sara went back to the USA and we headed to Italy to meet the Cashio's! I feel like my right arm is missing without having Sara with me! Best foreign-study buddy I could have ever asked for. Roommates in Auburn and across the pond. My first born child will be graced with the name Sara.
We have been staying in Positano on the Amalfi Coast. I wouldn't mind retiring here. Everyone google Positano, Italy. That's where I am. Pure Bliss. Thank you to the Cashio family!We had a tour guide for the day who took us around Pompeii and the surrounding towns of Amalfi and Rivello. I learned so much. It is pretty fascinating to be able to see the excavated ruins of an ancient town! Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. and destroyed the city of Pompeii.We also went to the town of Amalfi and we saw some of the bones of the apostle Andrew! Today we took a boat over to the Isle of Capri! Then we took a rowboat inside the cave of the Blue Grotto. It was amazing. Tomorrow we go to Sicily! All that I know is our kinfolk have been warned of our arrival. Ciao!
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