around

Christmas day! We got up, had breakfast (more cheese, more bread, and more jam, which I could never  get tired of) and distributed presents. Then it was time to get dressed and head out for sightseeing, with the Arc de Triomphe first on the list. The Arc is a monument for those who died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. It is massive, solid, and screams at you to photograph it. The weather that day was the kind you dream of for outdoor photographs: clear and sunny with a piercing blue sky and occasional thick fluffy clouds that reflect sunlight artfully in backgrounds. I couldn't stop clicking my camera. I abused the panorama function to no end. I zoomed in on everything, took pictures of everything at five different angles, and even when we left I wasn't tired of taking pictures of it. Away from the Arc and toward the Louvre is the Champs-Elysees, one of the most famous streets in Paris. It's lined with cafes, designer clothing ...

So, day two. After seeing the Eiffel Tower, my mom and sisters and I went home and slept. The three of them got up early the next morning because they had planned a trip to Normandy, which I had declined attending. This was for three reasons: a) I knew I'd be jetlagged, b) I'd been looking forward to a peaceful day in France for a month and knew I'd need it soon after I got to France (and I was right), and c) I knew that going on a side trip with my family that would include an itinerary and a fast-moving pace would likely cause me to become agitated and a bit murderous. Which, let's face it, nobody needed during a trip to Paris. So they left, and I spent the day doing what any world traveller would do if left alone in a cute Parisian apartment with good wifi: I watched a metric ton of Doctor Who. Yep. I sat on my ass and watched TV on my laptop. There was a point when I showered and dressed and went outside for a walk and ate food and bought groceries and made din...

I left for Paris on December 21st from Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan, which is a forty minute train-ride south-west of Xinzhuang. You already know about Taoyuan from the previous post, so I won't go into it. I left on time, though, and had an easy flight to Shanghai. Once in Shanghai, I quickly learned that I could not access the internet because I didn't have an "international phone" through which to receive the password. (Coming back from Paris, I found out that all I had to do was ask about it at the front desk.) My layover was short, though, so it wasn't too big of a hassle, and I did manage to change some TWD into RMB, the Chinese currency, and buy a snack. I needn't have worried about food, though, because I was well-fed on China Eastern's flight. Oh, China Eastern. I got to know them very well in that week, seeing as I had about three separate flights with them. The planes are very nice, and I was elated to find that I had a m...

I'm in Taoyuan International Airport two hours before my flight leaves and only just now realizing how wiped out tired I am. Forgive any inconsistencies or odd trains of thought in this post, is what I'm saying. It's always a relief to get through the first round of check-ins and security screenings with flying colors. It's even nicer to be ready for your flight two hours early. I'll be boarding my flight to Shanghai Pudong International Airport around 6pm, and I think the flight will be leaving at 6:45 but I'm not sure. My boarding pass shows an earlier time and half of it's in Chinese, so I'm just gonna be there at 6pm and call it close enough. Once I'm in Shanghai, I have a three-ish hour layover until my flight to Frankfurt, Germany, at which time I have a two hour layover until my flight to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France. The flight from Shanghai to Germany is twelve hours long, so that'll probably be the one I'll do most...

I'm going to Paris for Christmas. Tomorrow. I know I've not been around on my blog in... forever, mostly due to two things: a) the weather in Taiwan getting cold and dank because it's winter, and b) my mood taking a nosedive due to said cold and dankness. Also, I've been drowning in children more than fun experiences, so I haven't had much to discuss at length since getting my camera. That is all going to (hopefully) change in the next few days. Because, as previously stated, I'm going to Paris for Christmas. Tomorrow. Christmas shopping has been finished, so now all that's left is making sure I have all my proper documents and can fit everything I'll need for five days into a backpack that might be smaller than my college school bag. (I'm not taking a suitcase.) Also I have to hope that China is the same as the US and doesn't count a purse as a carry-on, because for the amount of odd crap I'll be fitting into it, it may as well be one....