Hello Young Adventurers!

Locations Visited: Toulouse, France (again!), and Paris, France (again!)
Languages spoken: French
Words learned: Coiffure– Someone who cut’s hair

So much has happened since I last spoke with you guys, and I cannot wait to catch you up!  Although I was sad to leave Barcelona, I was definitely excited to take a day off before meeting Marie again back in Paris.  I was originally planning on stopping in Bordeaux on my way to Paris for a day, but one thing I’m slowly learning while traveling is that I have to be flexible.  I decided to end up going back to Toulouse so that I could have a quiet day in a city I already know how to navigate so that I could simply relax.  It was much needed, and it was a day that I could use to sleep in, do some errands, work on my blog, and eat at places I liked the last time.  

While here in Toulouse I overcame my biggest fear while traveling so far- getting a haircut in a foreign language.  Y’all… I hate getting my haircut. I always have.  Back home I go to the same woman every time I get my hair cut, and that’s it, but I knew this was going to be something I would have to face at some point or another while traveling.  I figured I should do it while in France since I can at least somewhat speak the language, and so I built my resolve and headed to the coiffure.  It was so much easier than I expected, and he did an amazing job (and it was only 10 euros!).  I won’t lie, I felt pretty proud walking out knowing that I could communicate well enough in French at this point to get a good haircut.  The rest of the day was sent eating pastries, walking through parks, and going to bed early so I could get back to Paris the next day.

I woke up and made my way to Paris the next day.  I’m really starting to enjoy these long train rides- I found a great Harry Potter podcast that my friend Michelle recommended to me that is making me so happy to listen to.  I get into Paris, and Marie wasn’t arriving for a few more hours, so I checked into the hostel and headed out to the Eiffel Tower to meet a friend named Angela that I met in Barcelona who also happened to be in town.  We sat and watched the Eiffel Tower while eating crepes for the rest of the night until I headed back home to meet Marie and go to bed- we had a big day planned the next day.

We woke up bright and early because we had to take an hour-long train ride where we were going, and we wanted to be there by 9.  Y’all… we went to DISNEY WORLD PARIS.  Oh my gosh, Marie and I had dreamed of one day going to Disney parks around the world together, and this was on the top of our list, and so we were basically children as we skipped and laughed the entire way into the park.  We rode all the rides, took a ton of pictures, ate all the food, and just in general had an amazing day.  It was nice to have a day devoted straight to play, rather than going to all these landmarks and museums.  I love learning, and it is also incredibly important to take the time to have some fun as well.  One thing I have to mention about Disneyland Paris- Their Space Mountain is called Hyperspace Mountain and is basically the same ride as the one in Florida, except it’s Star Wars themed and amazing!  We met Minnie and Mickey, and even saw all the princesses!  We got back pretty late (because we obviously had to stay for the firework show!), and had another early morning the next day, so we headed to bed as soon as we got back.

The next morning, Marie and I got up early, and we headed out to go explore the Catacombs deep beneath Paris.  You have to line up super early because they only let 200 people in at a time.  Catacombs, for those who may not know, are underground burial grounds.  Y’all… this place was crazy.  There were the remains of over 6,000,000 (yes that’s six MILLION) people here, with the history of Paris told throughout as well as monuments to honor their lives.  I’m not going to post a ton of pictures here, out of respect for the dead, but I do want to show you a bit. If you notice, the walls of bones are taller than me, and these walls continued on for over a mile underground that we could explore (and miles more that we couldn’t).  

Following the catacombs, Marie and I got a crepe to refuel, and then we walked across the city to Notre Dame to climb the towers again.  It was so nice to do this again since the view is so beautiful up at the top, and I was ready to look at things I knew I missed the first time!  

After Notre Dame, Marie and I headed to the Arc de Triumph across town.  This is where the French Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is with a flame that is always lit to honor soldiers who passed away at war throughout French history.  You can go inside and explore it, but we decided not to in order to save some money, and we were also incredibly tired.

Afterwards, we walked down the Champs d’Elysee, a big street known for its shopping, food, and for being pretty fancy.  We had a lot of fun exploring, and found a grocery store to buy some food for a picnic because Marie and I wanted to go have one by the Eiffel Tower.  We were also excited because an old friend of mine from college, Katie, also happened to be in Paris and was going to meet us there!  We got some baguettes, some fruit, some cheese, and headed out to my favorite spot by the Eiffel Tower to watch it light up one last time before going to bed.

So, years ago Marie and I had a dream of us one day going to Paris together and having a picnic by the Eiffel Tower, and it was incredible to see it finally happen.  Friends, surround yourself with people who make you better.  Find friends who inspire you, who keep their promises, and who make you better.  Marie is that kind of friend to me.  She is someone who when we say “One day we’re going to…” we always end up doing it.  She helps me follow my dreams, she has my back when things get hard, and she inspires me to dream bigger than I would otherwise, and then more importantly, pursue that dream with my whole heart.  I challenge you to to let yourselves dream big, friends.  But dreams alone won’t make it happen.  Dream big, and then surround yourself with people who will support you in that pursuit, who help you achieve them, and then go do the work you must to make it happen.  It won’t alway be easy, but I can promise you it’s worth every second.

The next day, Sunday, was our last day in Paris before Marie headed back home to the Netherlands and I moved on to my next destination.  We spent the day in Versailles, France and at the Palace of Versailles where the King of France used to live.  I cannot begin to tell you how stunning this place is- and it is FILLED with gold.  It almost hurt to look directly at the gates and parts of the castle when the sun was shining right on it.

We started our day exploring the gigantic gardens that surround the palace.  On Sundays, the fountains are running at certain times, and we wanted to be there when they went off and we somehow made it!  These gardens are so beautiful.  We kept wondering what it must have been like for the royal family to wander through them.  They’re just so extravagant that it’s hard to imagine this actually being someone’s private property at some point.

My favorite part of the gardens, though, was when Marie and I decided to rent bikes to ride around the property!  But… we didn’t just rent any bike.  Sure we could have each had our own bikes, and that probably would have been a lot easier, but we decided to rent a tandem bike to share just because we knew it would be so much more fun. And it was!  The first bike we rented almost immediately broke, though, so we made our way back to get another one that would work.  When we got back to the bike stand, we noticed that the fountains were going off!  We had forgotten to wait for them and we would have missed them completely (they go off at 11AM-12PM only!) had we not had to return back!  We quickly made our way back to see them in their full glory before returning to our tandem bike to finish our now, not broken, ride.

After the gardens, we made our way into the Palace to explore!  Now, I had been here almost 10 years ago, so I thought I had remembered it pretty well.  Turns out I completely forgot almost all of it!  We got to wander through a small portion of this palace, that I challenge you to read more about online.  I could go on for days about the history here, and I hope you check more into it!  If you would like me to make a post more about it, please let me know!  One thing I did learn, though, was that having mirrors was a sign of extreme wealth back when the palace was built.  They were extremely difficult to make, and only the richest of the rich had them.  Which is why King Louis XIV made an entire HALLWAY filled with them, just so everyone knew how rich he really was when they visited his palace.  It was absolutely beautiful.  Many rooms in the palace were also inspired by different Greek and Roman gods and goddess from their mythologies, and it was fun to see each character come to life in the decoration- particularly the ceilings!

One of my favorite things, though, is the private chapel inside the palace that has a beautiful organ in it!  There is also a large concert hall we were unable to see that I hope to one day see a performance in…

After touring the palace, feet worn out and exhausted, Marie and I bought some Macarons and made our way back to Paris to prepare for our next adventures.  Marie is heading back to Leiden in the Netherlands, and I’m heading to a country buried within the mountains to the east of Paris, known for it’s chocolate, the United Nations, and for sharing a name with a type of cheese.  After that I’m heading to a country known for its ancient history, its delicious foods, and is shaped like a boot!  Do you know where we’re going next?  I can’t wait to share it with you then!  Until then…

Have Courage, & Be Kind,

Mr. Weavil