Hello everyone!!

This weekend was great and although it was a long weekend, it was definitely not long enough (are they ever?!). I wish I could've spent more than 2 1/2 days in Paris but we were actually able to see quite a bit in that time. It was really nice to see Harriet and Peter, as I will not be seeing any familiar faces from home until October now. We had a fantastic time together!

I arrived in Paris late Thursday night by Eurostar (which is the train that goes under the English Channel, aka the "Chunnel"). Friday was museum day - we went to the Louvre in the morning and then crossed the Seine river to the Musee D'Orsay. So much beautiful art, I could've spent weeks there!! In the Louvre we of course saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo - the three most famous pieces there. We also saw many sights from "The Da Vinci Code" including the Grande Galerie where Jacques Sauniere is murdered, the Pyramid entrance, the Pyramide Inversees under which Mary Magdalene supposedly lies, Madonna of the Rocks, and outside L'Arc du Carousel, among others. Although the Louvre is one of the most visited tourist sights in the city, I would highly recommend if you go to Paris that you go to the Musee D'Orsay as well - it is amazing! It is a converted train station so the building itself is gorgeous, and it houses art by many famous artists, mostly impressionism - including Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh... and the list goes on! They also had a Rodin exhibit while we were there. It was so exciting to see so many famous works of art in person, much more impressive to see up close. Afterwards we wandered around the Latin Quarter for a while, Harriet and I did some shopping - I bought a shirt and a book (she convinced me to buy "Gone with the Wind" because it is a "classic"... we'll see if I enjoy it!). Oh also, after visiting the Louvre, I found a Virgin Megastore and bought a 3-vinyl Madonna set! Later that night, Harriet and I took the Metro to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night. At first it glitters and sparkles when they first light it up and then it is just fully lit up - a beautiful sight! I definitely recommend seeing it at night versus during the day, as during the day it is just a big tower of metal LOL.

The next day we woke up to pouring rain so our plans were slightly delayed. Eventually we caught the train out of the city to visit Versailles. The palace is breathtaking - it is so huge and the gardens behind it are even bigger!! We didn't go inside the palace itself but we wandered in the gardens for hours, they are massive and beautiful! Who knew they could grow palm trees in France?? Just in time we stopped at a cafe in the gardens for lunch because it started to pour again! I had the most expensive hot chocolate I've probably ever drank but I was mostly paying for the whipped cream on top haha. I took a photo of it because there was probably twice as much whipped cream as there was hot chocolate - by the time I reached the drink it was cold haha! After we got back to Paris, Harriet and I decided to do some shopping on the Champs Elysees and look at the Arc du Triomphe which is just at the end of the avenue. We mostly window shopped because most of the stores are way too expensive (think Dolce and Gabbana, Cartier, etc.). And in the Disney Store we took our pictures with Johnny Depp, although that day he was looking a little wooden ;o) haha. After getting back from shopping, later that night I had a screaming orgasm (LOL before you go into shock, I have to tell you that that is the name of a cocktail! Although it was good, I don't think it really lived up to the hype haha).

The following morning we decided to visit the Catacombs. I don't think it was Peter's favorite part of the city but I think it is definitely an interesting sight worth visiting because of the history behind it. The cemetaries were overflowing so they dug up millions of bodies and put them in the quarry tunnels under the city and arranged them in designs with various plaques engraved with words of warning and poetry about death. You can only wander through one small part of the vast network of tunnels, but it is still a long hike! I tried to read some of the signs but my French skills are pretty rusty haha. The sign above the entrance reads: "Stop! Here is the empire of the dead." Pretty creepy. After exiting the Catacombs we got a little lost because we came out quite far away from where we went in! Luckily my minimal French skills came in handy and I was able to ask someone where the nearest Metro station was. Hanging out with Harriet and Peter made me feel better about my horrible spoken French because they were worse haha (although I have taken lessons and they haven't...). Before I had to leave to catch the train back to London we decided to try the crepes down the street from our hotel because they claimed to have "le meilleur crepes à Paris" - they were okay but I doubt the best in the city!

I had a great time with Harriet and Peter in the City of Lights and it was sad to leave. And difficult to leave with all my stuff LOL - in addition to what I had packed for the weekend, I now had to carry my newly purchased items and a bag of food sent from my parents (thanks Mom and Dad!! Now I have Cheese Whiz and Lipton soup :o) It was a struggle to get it all back to my residence but I made it in one piece! I didn't end up going to the Notting Hill Carnival as planned though because it would've been too hard to meet up with Karyna and I was tired anyway, so instead I just had a lazy night which was nice. Here is the link for my photos from Paris: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IZuGzZm2asNs

Today was a Bank Holiday and I didn't have to work, so I decided to go on a couple walking tours I wouldn't normally be able to go on because they are on Mondays during the day. The first one I went on was a special walk for the anniversary of Princess Diana's death. We went past Buckingham Palace, the ancestral Spencer home, Clarence House (the former residence of the Queen Mum and now home to Charles and Camilla), St. James's Palace, Albany House, and The Ritz. It was a very interesting walk and really made you rethink the possibility that her death was not really an accident... Also during part of the walk, we went down Bond Street which seemed to me like the Rodeo Drive of London - you wouldn't believe all the designer stores on that street, including Jimmy Choo, Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, DKNY, Prada... it was crazy! I will have to go back some time to window shop and dream that I could afford to shop there one day haha. That walk ended up lasting 4o minutes longer than it was supposed to and I had to rush to make it in time for the next one! The second walk I did today was inside Westminster Abbey (which was a great idea because we got in for a discount and got to skip the queue entirely, plus we had a tour guide). I can't believe the sheer size of that building and the amount of people buried and memorialized there - it was amazing. Here is the link for the photos I took today: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IZuGzZm2asNO After the walking tours I decided to go to Covent Garden to do some shopping. After doing some window shopping, I went into H&M and went on a little spree! haha. I ended up buying 2 shirts, a sweater, 2 hairbands, a hairclip, and a tracksuit jacket (the same one that Madonna is wearing during her tour while not on stage) :o).

Now I have to work tomorrow.... bleh. I wish I could just be here without working LOL although that is the reason I am here! I don't really have any plans for this week except we are going out again on Thursday after work for karaoke, which should be fun! I hope you all had great weekends and I will talk to you soon - I miss and love you lots!!

Later days!

PS - does anyone have photos of Paige from Shauna's baby shower they can send me?? Thanks!