Sightseeing

Andrea and I went to Versailles on Friday I think it was. It's amazing how easy it is to lose track of what day it is when you don't have to go to work! It was so beautiful and huge. We walked for hours through Marie Antoinette's bedroom and the Hall of Mirrors and the massive gardens. The area of Versailles is actually closer to Paris than I thought it would be and it was such a quaint little town. Andrea left on Saturday and I cruised around our area for a while and took a tour of Notre Dame. I am amazed that so many things here are free. Both Notre Dame and Sacre Coure were free. Sacre Coure is this amazing church at the top of the hill here in Montmarte. If you have ever seen a panoramic picture of Paris you will see the Eiffel Tower and then a hill with a white church on top. That hill is the area of Montmarte and the church Sacre Coure. I walked up there and sat on the steps overlooking all of Paris. It was such an awesome view and I had no idea it was even there. There were a few guys playing guitars and singing. I thuroughly enjoyed the renditions of Hotel California and La Bamba. I still find it funny that most of the bars/restaurants/cover bands here tend to play american music, yet most of the people here claim to not speak any english. Yesterday I went to the Louvre. I can't even get over how huge it was. I was there for about 5 hours and saw maybe 30 percent of the museum. And everything is really old and really important. It just makes me a little nervous that all those important artifacts are in one spot. I saw the Mona Lisa. I mean what can you say. It was cool to see it but I'm still not too sure what the big deal is, but I guess now I can say I saw it. Things are starting to get a little pricey. I bought some stamps for postcards and it was about $20. It honestly wouldn't be too expensive though if the exchange rate wasn't sooo awful right now. For the train to and from Versailles and the entrance fee to the palace, it was only 15 euro, which I didn't think was bad at all.
There are definite differences though aside from the prices. I was on the subway yesterday and there were these three little kids all definitely under the age of 9, just riding the subway - alone. I had to switch trains and noticed they got off and switched to another one. AND I saw to probably 12 year old boys smoking!!! IN PUBLIC! I know you probably think I am naive for thinking that's a big deal, but it was just too weird. Where are these kids parents??
My tour starts tomorrow so I am staying in a hotel tonight to get a good nights sleep. I will also be hand washing all of my clothes in the bathtub since it's about $20 to wash one load here and since I don't speak any french I would most likely screw it up and ruin all of my clothes so I would rather do it myself than pay money to ruin my own clothes. Wish me luck!