Day 15: or The Day I Went Ice Skating

The Shopping Mall, au Printemps. It means Spring.

I took the morning train to Paris. The other au pairs and I decided we would spend the day, but we didn't have a plan as to what we would do. We started by walking to a currency exchange place, because my American dollars weren't exactly welcome. I of course knew this, but hadn't yet had time to make the switch. After the one chore was complete, they girls wanted to shop. In France, they have sales twice a year, each time for 6 weeks. There are the winter sales and the fall sales, where they clean the store for the upcoming fashion seasons. Needless to say, Paris is 
crazy this time of year. I'm not that into shopping. Don't get me wrong, I do love it, but at this time in my life, I would rather save my money for weekend excursions. Also, the lines for the dressing rooms were about an hour wait, so it was quite easy to not be tempted. 

Sacré Cœur, I'm there on the steps.

After the shopping, we went to the Sacré Cœur, which is situated on a hill above the city. A very nice part of town, almost ruined by all the people catering to tourists. I'm not sure what it is about me, but my goal in life is to never look like a tourist. I don't wear my tennis shoes around Paris, and I don't order ketchup at restaurants. But that's just me. The Basilica is very nice, very beautiful. No pictures were allowed of the inside, which is a bummer, but I really loved the fresco and the stained glass. We walked around some more and saw the artists that gather in the Montmarte district. I loved some of their paintings, but decided to wait until the end of trip to decide which one will come home with me.


We stopped at a very little Italian restaurant for a late lunch. It was delicious but I really love going to restaurants that you might never find again. It was a little off the beaten path, and I doubt it gets very many tourists. The man spoke no English, so it was another chance for me to practice. After eating, we made our way by Metro to the Hôtel de Ville, which is Paris' city hall, for some ice skating. We hadn't planned on doing it but we found out about it while in Paris and so off we went. 

The ice skating at the Hôtel de Ville

I had a great time skating. My Grandpa Jim taught me how to skate when the lake froze, so I greatly prefer skating outside. But being from Texas, indoor shopping mall rinks are the only thing available. But I love skating outside, like when I learned, so I was ready. Granted I hadn't done it in a good 10 years, but it's just like riding a bike. Sort of. I was a little wobbly, but it got easier. What didn't get easier was dealing with the crazy people skating at warp speed around me. I don't mean in comparison to me. I mean weaving in and out, running into you, and then stopping abruptly right before they bowl you over. There were only 4 or 5 guys doing this, but I did not appreciate it.

Me, trying not to fall. Don't worry, I stayed on my feet.

We took the train home. I had a nice dinner with the family. Uploaded some pictures for your enjoyment. Speaking of pictures. I added a link to the right and will try to update the pictures every once in a while. I don't want to insert all of them in the blog, but wanted them to be accessible, so there you are.