Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Merci Beaucoup, Monsieur

After a sea day, we arrived in Le Havre. We were told that crew and guest on board would be earlier than usual in this port because a strike would be starting up at night. I was able to get my Windjammer shift switched so that I could go on the crew tour again to Paris. I slept a bit on the two-hour bus ride there; then Dymmy, Oscar, Roberta, Olivia and I all headed up to the building opposite the Eiffel Tower. We grabbed some baguettes and crepes from a vendor there and ate a quick lunch with a gorgeous view of the tower and the bustling city beneath its feet. Then we walked to the train station and purchased tickets. We were heading to the Louvre. We got off at the stop and walked for along time, soaking in everything of Paris. We popped into a few stores to compare clothing prices of Gap and Adidas. These things are super expensive in Brazil and they wanted to see how it was in Europe. Of course, it is more than in the states so I didn’t bother shopping for myself.

The walk was long to get to the Louvre, but that is just something you have to do in Paris. Just walking along the streets makes it a perfect day. We made it to the gardens, and looked at the statues and surrounding buildings. It was nice because I had come the other direction when I was here last, so I had missed this side of the museum. Roberta, Dymmy and I stood in line to take a peek inside the museum; there was not enough time to see anything except the entrances of the exhibits. I tried to look for the upside down pyramid that I had seen in the movies, but we couldn’t see it. It must be in one of the other millions of rooms. LOL.

I did see one room because there was a large window in one of the buildings that previewed the statues it held. And just from what I saw, I’m sold. My sister was right, you need at least two days to discover the Louvre, and France in general needs so much time! To be continued then!!!! We hit a few souvenir shops as we headed down the streets. I bought one guy from the ship a magnet, because he asked me for a Paris magnet as I was heading off the ship. I feel so bad; he never gets off the ship. But they are able to save a lot of money by working so hard and not having lodging bills or paying for food. Still, not a life I want!

Time was running out, we only had three hours again and it was getting close to 4, which is when we needed to leave. Taxi drivers have such issues with taking five passengers, so we decided to split up. That was fine, except after the group of three left, no empty taxis came for Dymmy and me. I started stressing a bit, we still had twenty minutes and we weren’t that far from the tower, but there were no taxis! Finally, one picked us up and we relaxed and enjoyed our scenic trip along the Seine river, back to our shuttle. We made it on time, and even early because they waited for the doctor to board. A short nap followed by watching France outside my window was the perfect end to the day. I was in a great mood when I served the guests, I was dancing and chatting it up. They always love me; some of them even dance along! :D

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