Paris! my goal is to get caught up on keeping you in the loop! paris was amazing! everything i hoped it would be! We got in from the train ride from hell and figured out the metro system, my reservation confirm had the metro stop we needed to get off at. French Metro is crowded ALL THE TIME not just at rush hour, sweaty people crammed in to a small space that is constantly throwing you around, fantastical! ;) We were the silly american girls that push our way on with our luggage and look exhausted. Getting off the metro we had no idea where to go, so i used my horrible french and asked a new paper vendor if he knew where our hotel was, and success! it was a 1\2 block away! YAY! I felt accomplished! it was WAY too hot to stay in our hotel so we ventured out onto the metro to go see the arch and walk around. All the stores were closed, but we passed Jimmy Choo, lots of diamond stores and Gucci, the plaza hotel had lamborgini's, ferreri's and other insanly expensive cars in line to get valet, i have decided i need to marry rich. Evann and i were starving and happened upon a cute french place to eat with a terrece view of the eiffel tower. it was beautiful! we splurged and felt full which was nice because eating is expensive so we havent been doing a lot of it! ;) sleeping that night was not happening because it was 100 humidity and NO breeze. We tried, but it didnt really happen. The next day we got up and went to the eiffel tower, which was magnificant, huge, and impressive! i loved everymoment of it, there was an awesome breeze and good ice creame i culd have spent all day there. Shopping in the cham de lo zeh (thats how you say it not spell it) a coutiere shopping area by the arch, where i got an pretty necklace and loved a coke from mcdonalds WITH ICE!!!!!!! ice is a precious thing here! We circled around the arch trying to figure out how in the world people were getting there, until finally we noticed that you have to go under ground (doh). the arch is really impressive, but not the same as the eiffel tower. Metro back to our hotel and take a cold shower to clean up and go to a french wine cafe. Our days are really long, we usually dont end up back at our hotel getting ready till 10pm, it is weird! We wandered down to the Rèbuplic and had a bottle of wine on thier outside terrace, then called it a night when it started raining. By the time we made it back to our hotel it was POURING and then the lightening and thunder started, it was awesome, the whole sky lights up and we were able to leave the balcony window open and sleep. The next day we ventured out to Notre Dam. Huge does not even begin to describe it. The gargoyles are scarey looking and the inside has amazing stained glass windows. I gave up 2 euros for a cheesey memorbilia coin. :) Ev and I split up because I really wanted to make it to the top of the Eiffel tower and she went to another church. The wait to get to the top is insane but worth it when you get there, no matter how hot it is, it is so unbeliveably high and impresive. I loved it. You can see (what seems like) all of france from up there. We ate at the "lets go" suggested ice cream shop that had good cheap food we descovered the night before and went back to change to go out. You would think from the last horrid train trip we wouldnt go out the night before we have to get on a train, but no, and we did. got mojitos from the best mojito bar in the Latin quarter at Le bar sans nomé and then we wandered to another bar where I ordered beer and made friends with the bar tender, met some french guys there that spoke english and they were trying to help me and my horrible accent, but it didnt work. We closed that bqr and the bar tender comped Evann and I's drinks for us (score! i had a lot of beer!) headed out to a french dance club where i got hit on by guys i couldnt understand and said things like "i could see your smile from across the room and fell in love" seriously! crazy! I took a cab back to the hotel, the cheesy french lines was wearing on me; and it was about 5am, the next day was hell we had to check out by 12pm. shower, pack and try to figure out eurail to get to reims! I didnt make it to the Louve, but thats okay, Dana is loving there so I can go back with her. 3 days is not enough time in Paris, but I might go back before I leave! whew!