La Tour Eiffel

After being in Paris for almost six full days without having seen more than one third of the Eiffel Tower, I decided to make the trek over after I took my daily nap (a result of the persistent little bugger known as jet lag, which is still messing around with my sleeping schedule).  It was dusk, and the tower’s lights were shining brightly when I emerged from the RER station.  It was an absolutely breathtaking sight; even though I have seen it before, there is still something so striking about this modern architectural marvel.  It was just beautiful, basking in its majestic, golden grandeur, tourists swarming around and capturing photographs of loved ones.  I walked around it and took some pictures myself (check them out on  Facebook!), trying to capture it at all angles.  It was also a pleasant surprise to see the tower sparkling around 5 o’clock, and I loved hearing everyone ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ at it in their own languages.

I walked through the Champs de Mars towards another Metro station and checked out a Carrefour, which is one of the nicer grocery stores in Paris.  I love walking up and down the aisles and discovering the differences between American and French food products.  There is much less processed food here, which is nice, although the shelves of these marchés are still littered with American products here and there (Special K, M&Ms, Pepperidge Farms Chocolate Chunk Cookies, etc.).  After thinking about all the incredible meals I should (and will eventually) be cooking, I hopped on the subway and got off at Notre Dame, which happens to be a couple minutes from my apartment.  I took a few pictures of the cathedral as well, which still has a beautiful Christmas tree up in front of it.  I can’t wait to go inside and check it out; I remember it being very beautiful when I went in high school.  I also want to go up top and take some cool photos of the gargoyles and of the city; it should be great since it’s centrally located.

I got some news about the apartment situation last night, too.  Rita called me and informed that I would be switching apartments in order to have more suitable living conditions (read: real bed, higher ceiling, more storage!).  Although I’m pretty bummed that I won’t be living with Kelsey and Simone anymore, at least I won’t be sustaining injuries when trying to get in and out of bed, nor will I have to live out of my suitcase any longer.  Myriam is going to be working on finding a new apartment this week, and I’m most likely going to be living with my friend Jill and her two current roommates, as they are being moved as well.  I hope we have a good location and a beautiful kitchen, not to mention real beds and WiFi, which apparently not everyone has.

Anyways, I’m going to a bar called The Princess and the Frog tonight, which should be hoppin’ and (perhaps unfortunately…?) full of American students.  I had better get ready and pop open another bottle of wine…