September 26

Alex and I went to Versailles 2 weeks ago I believe and it was incredible. I didn't think that I could find a better garden then Luxembourg but I think I did at Versailles. We started in the morning at the Chateau and saw all of the Louis XIV paraphernalia and was very disappointed to find giant, bright colored anime pieces of "art" blocking the original art. I think Louis XIV thought very highly of himself after seeing dozens and dozens of portraits and statues of himself. The palace was beautiful and I couldn't imagine that it was built for a single man. I wouldn't mind having a palace with a gold fenced entrance and just shy of 800 hectares of gardens. But after the stuffed palace visit we went to the place I really came for, the gardens of Versailles. The gardens were incredible to say the least. The manicured cones to the alles of hedged trees in perfect grids to the parterres of flowers to the canal lined with statues was truly amazing to experience. André Le Nôtre definitely knew how to design. It must have been nice to have the king of France's budget and endless amounts of space to work with. I am actually going back again tomorrow to see the fountains actually running so I'm very excited for that. While strolling through the gardens Alex and I ran into a kitten, Louis XIV, of course, and had lunch with him. We actually saw many cats in the gardens. I wonder if they're there to keep the rats away because apparently after Louis XIV died Versailles became a horrible place that was filthy and filled with rats. Way to go Marie Antoinette, way to go...  We also saw Marie Antoinette's shack compared to Louis' palace and saw her gardens which were incredible as well.



Sunday of that week I went to Le Louvre for the first time and it was enormous. I had to look at a few paintings for a class so I didn't spend too much time looking at other areas of Le Louvre but it was very nice. I have been told that if I saw 4 paintings a day for 4 months straight that I'd be able to see the entire museum so I think I'm gonna go back. The architecture of the Louvre is very cool and the Tuileries Gardens to the west of it I still have to explore.


Thursday, Alex and I left for Oktoberfest! We managed to find the right train at the train station and got to our seats while deciphering our German train ticket. Six and a half hours later we were in Munich. We got in around midnight so we checked out the area around our hostel which seemed like the hostel/casino/brothel district and got some pizza and called it a night. While we were eating pizza we overheard German people speaking German to one another and then they ordered drinks in English to the German waiter. That was very strange to see.

Friday, we ended up doing a tour of Munich from an independent tour guide, Ozzie, that was really awesome. Munich is a really cool city and is quite smaller than Paris but throughout the tour I learned a lot of history about Munich and how new they are as a city. Everything there dates from the 1960's and newer except for four monuments: The Glockenspiel, The bell towers of their church, and sorry Ozzie, I forgot the other two. But regardless, it's a very new city filled with meat eating, beer drinking, very friendly Bavarian's. Now not all of them drink and eat meat and are friendly but I learned that the average Bavarian drinks 1.5 liters of beer a day and that average includes children and non drinkers...So the ones that drink, drink. Midway through the tour we all stopped to have lunch at the beer gardens/food market which was quite fun. After seeing the Hofbräuhaus where Hitler gave his speeches and learning about the Nazi party and all the history on 9/11 not September, but November we went over and explored the tip of the 1000 hectare Englischer garten. After walking through the Japanese garden and looking at the peaceful lines left by a rake in the zen garden we managed to see people surfing, in Munich, in September, in a river. Yes, it's true and it was awesome. Here are some pictures to prove it. I want to go back to Munich to continue exploring the vastness of the garden because I was very impressed. After the garden walk we went back to a local beer hall to meet up with Ozzie and people from the tour to have a beer. I managed to have a darker beer then the dominating blondes there and it was delightful. Throughout that one day and night we manged to meet a some Germans, a couple English people, a couple Norwegians, a Brazilian, some Americans, and an Australian. It was really incredible that there were people from all over the world at one place. Everyone was very friendly and it was interesting to hear what everyone had to say about their experiences.

Saturday, Oktoberfest opening weekend began. Alarm didn't go off but we managed to get to the grounds at 9:00 am just an hour before the tents opened. We got in line at a hall that looked like it would be a fun time so we went to the Armbrustschützen tent and waited for the doors to open at 10am. We got in and were finally in the famous beer tents of Oktoberfest, very magical. We looked for the first open seats and found some seats next to two Italian guys. We couldn't drink beer until the mayor tapped the first keg, at 12, so we got a giant pretzel and took in the scenery. Before noon we also ordered from their food menu that actually had a vegetarian section, who would of thought in Bavaria?, and had some veggie strudel that was very good. But alas, the band came in followed by the proprietor of the beer tent and his wife and the mayor took the first sip of beer and it was time to drink some Bavarian beer! Our table was actually one of the first to be served which was awesome and our table joined in a very deep German sounding "Prost" (cheers). The beer was the biggest beer I've ever drank from and it was very tasty. The Oktoberfest Paulaner beer's went fast when you're surrounded by two Italians and four Germans at the table. But we shared many Prosts and laughs and it was a very memorable experience.

The following day Alex and I decided to take it easy and explore Oktoberfest outside of a beer tent and see the grounds. We even saw Resident Evil After Life, in 3d, in German, which was interesting to kill some time before our 3 am train ride back to Paris, which wasn't the best planning that I've done. Alex, unfortunately, had pinkeye throughout the weekend but she pushed through it and we had a great time. 

Now I can cross Oktoberfest off of my bucket list!

School went through until thursday like always and then friday night Alex and I saw Medeski, Martin, and Wood at Le Bateclan which was really cool. I knew that they were playing in Paris before I even got here so I was very excited to finally see them. I actually had champagne for the first time in Paris at the concert, which is a little strange, but it was really good. When we entered the concert there was a cultural difference in which everyone was sitting in seats rather then standing as they do in the United States. I liked that. Apparently people stand or sit at concerts depending on the music in Paris. The concert was amazing and had a double encore that was outstanding. If you have never listened to Medeski, Martin, and Wood, you can check them out here if you want. 

On Satuday, the 25th of September, Alex and I decided to explore Montemarte, the 18th arrondesment of Paris. After walking by THE Moulin Rouge and dozens of sex shops we landed in Cafe du 2 Moulins which is the cafe that Amelie worked at in the movie, Amelie. Unfortunately, the cafe is quite touristy now but it looked mostly like the movies set did which was fun to experience. I had the best crème brûlée I've ever had there and I want to go back already for more... After the cafe we decided to explore more of the Montemarte area and took a petite train ride zooming by Picasso's apartment, vineyards on the hill, and got dropped off at the Sacre Coeur. The views from this point of Paris were great and the architecture of the church was very cool. I'm kind of getting sick of churches but this one in particular has the biggest bell in the world weighing 26 tons and can be heard 25 miles away!!! Unfortunately, it only rings once a year, on Easter.

Sunday was another glorious day at Versailles! This time the fountains were on, for two hours...I feel like I have a good understanding of where everything is there now and have seen just about everything, which is a lot! Not kitty spottings this time but we did see some fantastic fountain displays. It rained on and off but I had an umbrella and was a very happy camper. I found the orange groves at Versailles which I didn't see last time which were really cool. Another area that I also missed from last time was the arena like garden where Alex and I were surrounded with fountains and noise from them. The day ended with a fountain display show at the Neptune fountains which was pretty exciting except the fountains didn't move like they did at the Fountain of Mirrors display. 

pictures and links coming soon...sorry