update

ok. paris.
fraser and i planned to go so that we could see sigur ros (a band from iceland) in paris, and also see some of the sights there. here's a brief run-down:
-we stayed in a little hotel that was very much like a hostel only with private rooms. it was cheap.
-on friday after we arrived by train we went to the cathedrale notre dame, which was so beautiful. we decided that the strasbourg cathedral is more impressive on the outside, but has nothing on the inside of notre dame.
-after that we went to the louvre, which is free for students/young people on friday evenings. we saw the mona lisa, venus de milo, lady liberty leading the people, etc. we were there for about two hours and didn't even make a dent in the collection. i think it would take months.
-saturday we got up and went to the market to gather some food. we ate three large baguettes in one day.
-we walked a bit in the jardins de luxembourg, visited and climbed the arc de triomph, and went to the base of the eiffel tower.
-we went to the musee d'orsay, which had a bunch of monet, van goh, david, manet...and a great picasso/renoir exhibit. i really liked this museum. less overwhelming than the louvre, and very well organized.
-we went to the concert, which was amazing. absolutely. magical.
-sunday we tried to get up early and failed
-but then we went to the chateau versailles (think louis XIV, marie antoinette) which was very cool. lots of gold. the grounds are massive, we walked for a while and didn't begin to see them. it would be nice to visit in spring or summer, when the flowers in the gardens are out. by far the strangest thing about the trip was the fact that versailles was also hosting a jeff koons exhibit (google it.), so i'd walk into a gilded room with paintings and chandeliers and there would be a giant metallic red balloon dog in the middle of the room, or a porcelain statue of michael jackson and bubbles. very bizarre. but actually quite cool.
the hall of mirrors and the hall of battles were pretty amazing.
-we went back to the eiffel tower after versailles, at night, and it was lit up in blue, and just as we got there they had a bunch of white lights flashing on and off so it looked like it was glittering. i will eventually have pictures of this, too.
-the weather wasn't very nice. but it was paris, so who cares?
that's mostly all. very, very nice trip. i would love to go back.
more soon.
best.
anne