Day 12: Love boat.

I stepped off the train to nothing but scowls. Paris is completely different from Italy. It is such a HUGE city! It is so much busier and more urban. I'm told it is comparable to New York City, a place that I have yet to visit but someday soon I will let you know if that comparison is accurate. A lot of the architecture here is contemporary mixed right in with historic buildings, it's so diverse and incredible. I really wanted to prove everyone wrong, that the French don't hate Americans. That it was just a stereotype. That it was completely false. Well, you all told me so: they hate us. Thus far in my Paris adventure i've met one nice French man that helped us to the metro.
Our hotel is definitely a step down from the palace we resided at in Venice, but with a view of the iconic Eiffel tower out my window how could I ever complain? We walked down the street from our hotel to a park right next to the monumental tower and sketched it. What a completely surreal moment, sitting in front of the Eiffel tower and completely disfiguring it in my attempt at sketching. Directly after, we got to do laundry for the first time! I had no idea the experience I was in for: 10 Euro later it ended with a man "woof"ing at us and taking our picture behind a bar. Little did I know what the night had in store. Everyone met at the hotel that night at 7:45 and we embarked to our boat tour. We had a quick stop at Notre Dame, just to admire, and in the midst of our admiring we lost some group members. We sat on the steps, and aproximately an hour later they were retrieved. You've never seen a boat like this: I think on the weekends they must rent it our for weddings, Vegas style. Fake flower arches, light posts, tacky floral carpet. It was quite the Love Boat. I think there were even lightning bugs flittering around, but I was later informed they were just mosquitoes illuminated by the boat's bright spotlights. It sure set the mood for our amazing hour tour of all the major landmarks in Paris, as well as the Eiffel tower at night, which is SPECTACULAR! Oh! And the best part of all: Orangina. The most incredible drink i've ever drank, and possible my favorite thing about Paris.