Finally in Sweden!

There's quite a lot to tell, but it's much easier to show (Paris pictures already on facebook).
It seems unfair to try to summarize 10 days worth of travels in a post, but at least I have pictures to share too :)

Raph met me at the terminal in Paris with kisses and just his backpack. Apparently the airline had lost his luggage full of clothes, toiletries, and presents for his grandmothers, so as consolation they provided him with a free t-shirt and a toiletries bag along with the promise of reimbursement for up to 100 euros worth of clothing. Keep in mind you can't really go that far on 100 euros in Paris, but it was enough for new pants, two shirts, and three pairs of boxers. All of that had to last the entirety of the trip because, as it turned out, he didn't get the luggage back until we were in Brussels...less than three days before he had to leave for New York again.

The trip got off to a rocky start, with us running around Paris in the rain looking for a place to buy a sim card for Raph's phone, looking for the DHL office, looking for the correct entrance to the DHL office, etc... To be honest though, I didn't really care as it was a chance to explore the city a little and observe that Parisian women almost never wear sneakers. We finally got the apartment key, and after grabbing a taxi to Raph's cousin's apartment where we would be staying, we lugged all the bags up to the 6th floor. Here, I marvel at the little hobbit door before we go in and collapse.

My favorite part of each day was in the "morning" at around 10 or 11 when we'd go out and get pastries. This helped me decide that part of my future goals is to own my own pastry shop-- I wouldn't be the baker though...I'd just own the shop and eat there whenever I wanted. My favorite place: Croissanterie!
We ate out once for dinner, which wasn't bad, but it was definitely a bit too pricey. Same thing for lunch when we were around the Louvre. Best way to go in Europe is to just buy food from the grocery store and make it yourself. Heads up: bottled pasta sauce is tons better in Paris than it is in the U.S.

Every day in Paris was always so much fun-- It was definitely my favorite city. We went to the Louvre, Versailles, walked down the Champs-Élysées, saw the Arc de Triomphe, rang in the New Year at the Eiffel Tower, went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, visited Notre Dame, and walked around several different neighborhoods in Paris. Part of the reason it was so great was also because Quentin's (Raph's cousin) apartment was so close to everything. We were within walking distance of nearly everything. This allowed us the freedom of walking home and wandering through streets and over bridges...definitely a great way to relax and enjoy the city without feeling like you need to rush around to get somewhere.

The next city we hit up was Rome. Deeeefinitely not what I expected. The weather isn't terrible-- it's warmer than in Paris, albeit much wetter-- however the city itself is a bit of a disappointment. I was extremely surprised by how much graffiti there was in the city. There are tags on absolutely everything you could think of-- even trees! The only buildings that were spared were the churches and ancient ruins. It is possible though, that this is the case because those buildings are the ones that make Rome any money and the city tries to keep them clean. But wouldn't you think that with all the money the city makes from tourists that they would also be able to clean the graffiti off of other edifices as well?

Ah well. In any case we did the whole bit with the Colosseum, the Forum and other ancient ruins, several famous fountains and piazzas, the church of San Giovanni (Saint John), Saint Peter's (which we didn't really get that far into because we had to pay and neither of us had cash), and the Vatican museum. We actually bought Roma Passes (tourist passes which you can get discounts with on certain sights and free subway rides) and tried to use them to get into the Vatican, but APPARENTLY we couldn't because the passes only work in ROME and we were in VATICAN CITY. What a way to squeeze money out of people. Jeez. But we still got a discount anyway for being students.

While we were in the Sistine Chapel we weren't allowed to take any photographs (probably because the flash would damage the paintings, but probably more because then people wouldn't buy the posters being sold at the 30295807298320923084 tourist shops), but I managed to snag one on the sly. I had the camera at waist level pointed at the ceiling and snapped a picture, forgetting to take the flash off (sadness) but got a surprisingly decent picture (happiness!). You can also see my chin and part of Raph's face there.

While we were at Saint John's (the first home of the popes and still considered, historically, the most important church by many Catholics) there was yet another instance of money-milking which I had to document. A large domed section of the church was cast in darkness because none of the lights directed at its gilded center were on. Periodically though, the lights would flash on for 60 seconds or so and then turn off again. I was able to get a nice photo while the lights were on, but Raph directed my attention to the money machine sitting by yet another gift shop in the church which would turn the lights on if you put money in it:
Other than that, the ruins were absolutely gorgeous and definitely my favorite part of Rome.

To be continued...
Next up? The city of chocolate, beer, waffles, fries... and not to mention Raph's family...BRUSSELS!