The Last Vacation
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
The past week has been one for the books. Thursday was my 21st Birthday, and it was a good one. I had dinner with my boyfriend at my favourite restaurant in Kingston so far: Little Italy. Then, we met up with some friends at the King’s Tun pub. After that, we went just down the road to a club called Barcadia. Tip: Entrance to the club is free, but it’s not your typical club. It’s more of a bar and it’s very small. But, if you’re looking to go dancing for free, Barcadia’s your place.
Friday, I went to class as usual. Then, around 6, Eric and I headed for Victoria station where we met the tour group. Our means of transportation was the same as the Amsterdam/Bruges trip – overnight on a train, then a coach bus. We arrived in Paris at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. The day started off pretty cold, but it warmed up a little when the sun came out and we started walking. I got to see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Champs Elysees, and everything in between. Tip: An underground rail pass for the day is only €4. So if you want to see a lot that is spread across the city, an underground pass is a cheap way to make it happen. Eric and I opted not to get the pass so that we could get some exercise and see more. We didn’t have a specific plan, just a few things we wanted to see throughout the day, which weren’t too spread out. I also got my crêpes. Yummy!
Sunday, we spent a few hours wandering the gardens and town of Versailles. The gardens were pretty, but I feel they would have been better earlier in the season – none of the fountains were running and quite a few of the statues were covered. But, it was fun walking around the gardens and the nearby food market. After Versailles, we spent a few hours in Montmartre – home of the Montmartre Palace and Moulin Rouge… and lots of pick-pocketers. No one I knew had any run-ins with them, but we did see a girl get roped into having a bracelet made for her. I’m happy to say I’d been warned ahead of time about them. After Montmartre, our group headed back to the UK.