THE END!

Yesterday Jessica and I woke up to find more rain and cold weather... yay! After we finished getting ready we took the Metro to Trocadero, which is the stop where Rachel works (and it's also right by the Eiffel Tower). Rachel was nice enough to take us to lunch at a small cafe by her office and then she showed us the way to Trocadero, which is the main viewing point for the Eiffel Tower. We took some pictures (of course) and then Rachel left and Jess and I walked down to the tower. I honestly forgot how giant it was, so it was a lot of fun to be able to go back and see it again!

Our initial plan was to climb the stairs to the top, but we decided that that might not have been the best idea in the freezing rain. When we made our way to the ticket line, it didn't take long to discover that only one of the four elevators was operating. We ended up having to wait two hours in line just to get our tickets and get up to the second floor, so we were not happy campers to say the least, especially because it was about 50 degrees and pouring rain. Thankfully Rachel gave us her umbrella to use otherwise we would have been absolutely miserable. When we finally got to the second floor we had to get into another line to get on the elevator to the very top of the tower. We were a bit delirious at this point, but it was kind of fun to be able to play random games and look at all of the people around us who were just as miserable.

Once we got to the top of the tower we were very happy to see that not many people were outside taking pictures. After being outside for about two seconds we quickly realized why there was no one else there... it was FREEZING and ridiculously windy. Unfortunately the rain clouds made it almost impossible to see much of the city, so it was a pretty big letdown once we were finally at the top. After only about ten minutes of looking around the city from the top we had seen enough and decided to head back down to the ground. Once again, there was a ridiculous line to get on the elevators so we waited another hour to get from the third floor to the ground level. All in all, our experience on the Eiffel Tower was pretty miserable so after we left our first stop was a warm cafe for hot chocolate and pastries.

When we finally made it home after a long day of wet and cold weather we were happy to relax for a few hours. When Rachel and Xavier came home from work around 8 they took us to a great French restaurant that was literally right across the street from their apartment, which was very convenient considering it was pretty much monsooning at this point. We all had a great meal and it was nice to be able to sit and enjoy food in the dry, warm restaurant. All of us were exhausted from a long day, so after dinner we headed home and all went straight to bed.

Jess and I slept in this morning so we could enjoy our last night in a bed for a while... Once we were finally up and ready we walked around an open-air market at the Bastille, which was just down the street from Rachel and Xavier's apartment. It was great to be able to experience the market in the SUNSHINE! The weather finally cleared up today, thankfully, so we were very excited to walk around and explore the area.

After we finished at the market Jessica and I walked around the Le Marais area, which is one of the biggest Jewish communities in Paris. We stopped to get falafel sandwiches for lunch, which were delicious. The sunshine made everything so much better and it was nice to finally be able to walk around and enjoy our surroundings!

Once we were done with dinner we took the Metro from the St. Paul stop back to Trocadero where Rachel works because Jessica wanted to buy some macaroons to bring home for her dad and Rachel knew of a great pastry shop in that area. We also were able to pick up my contacts from Rachel's work that Mom shipped a couple of days ago, so that was a big relief! After getting the cookies and contacts Rachel, Jess, and I walked back to Trocadero to take pictures at the Eiffel Tower in the sun!

After saying our goodbyes to Rachel, Jessica and I headed back towards the tower and walked through the gardens (even though at this point we have some pretty bitter feelings towards la Tour Eiffel). In the gardens we saw a wedding, lots of people sunbathing, and also two policemen bust some street vendors for selling miniature Eiffel Towers... it was pretty exciting! We then walked past the Military School and got back on the Metro and headed towards the apartment to get our things together for our long trip home.

Rachel has already scheduled for a taxi to pick Jess and I up from their apartment and take us to the bus stop outside of the Opera. Once on the bus, it's about an hour ride to the airport and then we have to check in and wait until our flight at 9:30 tonight. We arrive at the Malpensa airport in Milan at 11:30 PM and then we're going to be waiting there until our flight to Atlanta at 10 AM the next morning. Our flight home is 11 hours, so that combined with a bus right, another flight, and a twelve hour layover means that we're going to be very happy to get home on Friday afternoon.

It's so weird to think that our trip is already over and that we'll be home so soon. The time I've spent in Italy and Paris has been so memorable and even though I am looking forward to coming home, I am also very sad to go. This has been such an amazing experience and I'm so fortunate to have had the opportunity to study and live in another country for a month. I hope you all have enjoyed keeping up with my travels through this blog, but sadly, it looks like this is the end. Ciao!!!!! I can't wait to see you all very soon! Love, Mariel