France part 2: City of Lights

Oct 22, 2006 2:52 PM

Wow. What an awesome adventure! Sorry about my last email being so short, I didn't have much time left and the keyboard I was using wasn't so great. But now you all get to hear about what I wonderful place Europe is and add France to your list of places you have to go before you think anywhere else is more important.
It's truly amazing here. I was walking around Versailles yesterday and I thought to myself "How odd and incomplete would it have been if never, not once in my life, did I ever visit this amazing place. And how odd is it going to be when I ask someone the question 'have you ever been to Versailles?' and the answer comes out a regrettable 'no'." Constantly I am confronted by people travelling who's very soul seems to be set on the fact that the places they go and the people they meet are more than simply "travelling companions" or "vacations". Travelling musicians in particular are very nice and the most genuine people I've ever met. I don't' remember if I told you all about the Hungarians Jack and I met in Holyhead before we caught our ferry to Dublin. They were so kind, and so warm.
There's a lot out there, and it's all part of the world we live in.
Gosh, my last email before last seems like it was forever and a country ago. I'm pretty sure I left off in Killarney.
Jack and I stayed in Killarney that night and then caught the bus slightly north up to Dingle. Dingle Town is very nice and quaint. We stayed the night in a very hip hippy hostel called the "Rainbow Hostel". The next day Jack and I climbed the hill behind the hostel. The day after that we hung out and started to plan our trip on the continent. It was good we took a day off because that night we met Bjorne from the Netherlands. What a great guy! We got to talking and the subject of cards came up and he mentioned that he was a veteran of Texas Hold 'em. So we got up a game, and had a good time. Even though I felt like I robbed him blind when I beat both he and Jack. A four euro victory for the books. woohoo! Then we got to talking even more and Bjorne mentioned that he was driving to Cork the next morning to pick up a friend from the airport. Jack and I didn't realise it at first but we soon came to our senses and remembered that we were going to Cork tomorrow too! So Bjorne, Jack and I all set off to Cork on one of the most beautiful and scenic drive yet. On the way the Netherlander told us all about his homeland and the do's and don't's of Holland.
Jack and I stayed one night in Cork, didn't do much sight seeing, tried to catch a bus to Rosslare to take the ferry, the bus station caught on fire so we had to take the train, and ended up spending the night in Dublin. I'm not sure how we missed Isaac's hostel the first time we went to Dublin. It was far better than the eastern Bloc'ish hostel we stayed in the first time. Jack and I got up in the morning and caught the train to Rosslare. Jack got off the train in Wexford to find us a hostel for the night and I continued on to the harbour to buy our ferry tickets. It's a good thing too because the ferry sailed the next day and prices on tickets almost double for the day of sail! The hostel in Wexford had nice rooms, and a smallish kitchen.
Wednesday we sailed for France!
Like many Irish before myself I couldn't help but feel the rush of going to a new land, with new adventures. And new adventures did we find! The ferry was nice enough and took only a modest 19 hours. It was the size of a small cruise ship, and the trip brought back memories of my cruise with my grand parents and family in my eighth grad year. Ah nostalgia.
And then, France! I wasn't sure before I came here if I would be able to tell the difference between France and anywhere else I have travelled (as far as houses and plant life and whatnot are concerned) but I can. With all the WW2 video games that I have played, the names of French towns suddenly come back to me Carentan and many more. As Jack and I rode the train to Bayeux I began to recall the way the farmhouses are laid out as well as the undulation? of the ground and hills. I could almost see Axis and Ally troops sneaking through the forests, thousands of miles away from the countries they were defending, not even a mile away from the country they were trying to liberate. It was touching to say the least. There is so much history every where I look.
Jack and I spent the night in Bayeux and would have taken a bus tour of the Normandy beaches had it not been outrageously expensive. Another day I'll come back and see them. It's the past of it all that gets me. The next morning we met Katy and found out she was headed to Paris as well.
That night Jack, Katy and I saw the sights of Paris! And what sights they were! The Eiffel tower is amazing, as well as the Arc 'de Triumf, the Louvre (which we didn't actually go into until today) and Notre Dame(which rocks). I think Paris is the kind of place that is visited once in passing and then a second time with one's significant other. If only to share the splendor of the City of Lights. But I can't say for sure.
As I said earlier, yesterday we went to Versaille. A place of grandeur and excess, and the epitomy of wealth. I was most impressed by the Grand Canal and all the crew teams that practice on it.
This morning Jack, Katy and I went to the Louvre(which is a necessity for every good tourist as I may be) I haven't seen Jack or Katy since because I got lost in it(the Louvre) but I hope to meet them back at the hostel soon. Our hostel is ok, btw, but has no kitchen :( oh well. And now I take my leave for Brussels. I hope :).
Love,
Tad

Today I would like to thank Katy for Interpreting for us and making Jack and my French language barrier not big at all.