Paris Day Three

AU REVOIR PARIS!
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paris with mary 3

So we're back. Whatever "back" means. I'm back to Oxford, but not back to the States. When I get back to the States I'm back at school...sorry. I'm ranting. And homesick (finally)

Anyway Paris was amazing. Day Three started in a rush because we got lost on the metro, apparently there is more than one metro stop called Notre-Dame. Whatever Paris, we finally made it to Notre-Dame with one minute to spare and met up with the bike tour. (We did Bike Around because Mary never did it and I didn't want to pay in advance for the other one).

Here are some pictures from the bike tour, it was even better the second time!


The Apartment where Jim Morrison Died...

Mary pretending to be riding a bike, but really posing.

It was a beautiful day and we went to some different places than the first time, like the oldest shop in Paris (a taxidermist) and a bridge over the canal.

When we stopped for a break Mary and I got gellato (yum)

Sometimes I feel this blog is more like a picture book of my life. Which is fine with me!
The bike tour was fun because we were able to ride around the Louvre Pyramids and along the Seine. We learned a lot of neat facts which I'd gladly share with you but can't really remember right now.

After the bike tour which lasted from 10:30-2:30, we wandered over to the random Baguette convention. I''m not exactly sure what was going on because everything was in french, all I do know is that there was lots of really good bread and free samples of everything. Here are the pictures..




Mary and I tried to be one of those kids in the hats making bread, but we couldn't communicate our needs and no one spoke English, so we waited like pigeons for someone to give us a sample. What was great about this tent in front of notre dame was the live music from french Canadians and the random beach volleyball court set up next to it. The whole thing (like the gospel concert/cancer walk) was all very random and unexpected.

A few minutes later we purchased some red wine, ham and brie sandwiches and sat on the steps down to the river to have a french lunch. It lasted two hours and by that time we were drunk and tired so we went back to the apartment to get ready for dinner with Anais (she's pictured below at Speaker's Corner in London) our hostess whom I never took a picture with because my battery died, but we're meeting up next week in London at Speaker's Corner. Expect a blog post chronicling my adventure there.
Anais took us out to dinner and then drove us to the bus stop. What a doll! And smart too, she's an astrophysicist.

11 hours later we woke up on a bus in London. Mary's bus to Portsmouth wasn't for another 3 hours so we slept in the bus station then went to starbucks to use the free bathroom.

Mary left so I went to find the globe theater without a map (hey, I had 8 hours to kill until the show). Well I found it in one hour (I just walked along the Thames) and got my ticket. 15 pounds and it was the best seat in the house, no lie. Look...


So directly across the stage (you cant see in this picture) on the ground level, I had a seat in the last row which means a back rest. AMAZING!
The show was really good, here's a review I wrote for my tutorial:

Review: Romeo and Juliet at the Globe Theatre

For the first production of The Globe’s 2009 “Young Hearts” themed-season, Romeo and Juliet are the finest representatives of juvenile love and reckless innocence. As it was my first time seeing a production at the world famous venue, I cannot comment on the period-style set or (lack of) lighting.

Romeo and Juliet are well-known for their tragic ending, love-struck innocence and rivalling families. In this production, however, the tragedy is evident yet there is not enough chemistry to care. Adetomiwa Edun makes his stage debut as the brooding hunk Romeo and there is no disputing his charm and charisma on stage. Early in the play his movement is more akin to hip-hop dancing, yet is excusable for his sheer enthusiasm and love for life. These qualities soon wear off somewhere in the middle of the play when the audience begins to doubt his true feelings for Juliet. The same goes for 18-year old Ellie Kendrick as Juliet. Making her stage debut, she looks the part, yet nothing can do nothing more. While both actors are lively and certainly youthful, they lack a passion and chemistry which is so necessary to the story.

The rest of the cast manages to bring about moments of joy and comedy into the story. With colourful costumes distinguishing the feuding families and standout performances by Jack Farthing and Philip Cumbus as Benvolio and Mercutio respectively, the ensemble truly makes the three hour tragedy enjoyable. A versatile Fergal McElherron (Peter, Balthazar, Gregory) and strong-willed Penny Layden (Nurse) bring the characters to life.

After the play I was so enamored with Shakespeare I got on a bus and went home. Now I'm working on another Shakespeare essay on R&J, "were the dice loaded from the start?"

Wish me luck, it's due tomorrow!
Cheers!