Hola,
I have officially made it back to Bilbao! I am so happy to be back, but have a ton to talk about. I guess I will just start from the beginning and see how it flows. I wrote in a diary everyday so that I could remember all the little details that triggered something in me or made me realize that I was not in America.

07/04/2009
I packed up all my stuff and took a bus to Hendaye which is on the border of France and Spain. The people living here speak both French and Spanish, but more French then Spanish; they also speak Euskara because it is a part of Pais Vasco. So I get on a train headed to Paris. Sidenote: I paid a total of 33.30 Euros to get from Spain to Paris, I am quite the smart shopper. So on this train, its all French. I have my IPOD on, but I am not listening to it because I am just taking in all the sounds of the train. In Europe they have those phones that play music, and its all the craze to listen to the music on your phone as loud as you can in public places. So there is a guy on the train playing the music on his phone. A lady comes up to him and asks him to turn it down, he nicely replies with a no. Then a big guy gets up and into his face yelling at him about turning down the music. He argues back and this goes on for about 20 minutes and I am just sitting there laughing at these people screaming at eachother in French. So the stereotype of the "loud obnoxious French" was actualized within 10 minutes of being in France. So 7 hours later my train pulls into Paris, France. I get off realizing I have NO money on me, and make my way to the train station. I find some way to pay for the train, hop on and make it to Pat Tannous' dorm room. It was late at night by the time I got in so we stayed in knowing it would be a long day the next day.

8/4/09
Pat insisted that I didn't need to get up early here in Paris, but I didn't believe him and woke up at 9:45 AM. Pat took forever to get ready, but whatever. We finally left his dorm and headed to the Latin District to grab a bite to eat. We stopped at a Doner Kebab which is a chain restaurant throughout Europe serving Gyros and other things like that; it was my first time to one and no one could believe I went that long without stopping at one. Tannous had school, so we walked over to his school, which was about 4 rooms, and he set me loose in the city of Paris with all of his ID cards. His ID cards were able to get me into whatever I wanted for FREE. This literally saved me over 100 Euros. So I walked around, saw the outside of the Pompidou which is a contemporary art museum, and is architectually contemporary. I then went to the Louvre. It was a beautiful day in Paris so I hurried through the Louvre. The Louvre used to be where they protected all the art during the French Revolution so that other countries would not steal it. I saw the Venos de Milo and the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa, I feel, was a little overrated. It was in a room filled with 100s of people and it took me 5 minutes to push myself to the front. I can cross it off the list at least. After I got into the Louvre (for free), I tried to go to the Dorsay, but the line was just too long to wait in. I then went to Notre Dame. That was the most beautiful church I have ever seen. Once again I used Pat's ID to climb to the top for free. I started getting a little claustrophobic halfway up as my heart started racing. I finally made it to the top and was taking in awe at the view. I could see all of Paris! I saw the huge bell weighing over 13 tons and was done with my visit to Notre Dame. 400 steps later I was finally on solid ground and ready to continue my excursion of Paris. I grabbed a Crepe and walked around for a little then headed back to Pat's dorm. We then got ready and went out to Montmartre which is a church overlooking all of Paris. We sat there, drank a beer, and watched all the local entertainment. The steps of Montmartre is a place where a lot of people sit and relax. There are street performers and a ton of things to watch. It started raining, so we headed back to Pat's dorm and called it an early night.

9/4/09
We woke up and went for breakfast. Tannous had to leave for Egypt, so he threw me the keys to his dorm as a last resort and said had fun. We had got in trouble the night before because he is not allowed to have overnight guests. After we had breakfast Tannous left to pack his bags and get ready and I went to the Arc de Triompe. Once again climbed the steps and saw the city of Paris from a different view (for free). I saw the Eifel Tower in the distannce so I headed that direction. It was a lot farther away then I thought it was, but I finally made it there. I took a nap in the grass, under the sun, looking at the Eifel tower. Once again it was so touristy. I did not plan on going to the top, but if I did, it would have taken me at least 2-3 hours in line. I took some pictures of it and stared at its gracefulness for about 5 minutes. Then I headed out and continued my walk. I had no idea where I wanted to go, and wondered aimlessly until I saw this gold topped building in the distance. I had no idea what it was but I went in using Pat's card once again. It turned out to be the tomb of Napoleon. Napoleon's tomb was huge and decorated to excess. When I die I would like to be buried like Napoleon (remember that family). I then went back to the Latin District to meet up with a friend of mine. We then went out for the night, and walked around the streets of Paris.

10/4/09
I woke up and headed to the airport. I have become completely independent since I have gotten to Europe. I can travel any city, find my way around any city, and even make a few friends! I made it to the Airport in plenty of time for my flight. I sat next to a lady from France and a man from Egypt. They entertained me with stories of France/Egypt throughout my 5 hour flight. People always say that France is extremely expensive; well, it is. I was able to do it on an extremely cheap budget because I had friends to help me out. I had the time of my life in Paris, but once again it was way to touristy for me. I hate waiting in lines and dealing with people that have no idea what is going on. As I sat on the plane and watched the little plane on the map move closer and closer to Egypt, my excitement arose. I had no idea what to expect, or what I was going to see or do. I was about to land in the Middle East. In Africa. To places I had never experienced before in my life.

The first picture is of me on top of the Arc de Triompe. You can tell why I thought it would be possible to walk to the Eifel Tower. (That day I probably walked at least 10 miles. Look on a map at the distances from the Arc de Triompe, Eifel Tower, and Napoleon's Tomb.......)

The second picture is of me on top of Notre Dame. It was amazing seeing the detail up there with the gargoyles. They seem to watch over the city.

The last picture is of Napoleon's grave. You can see how awesome the building looks, and why it would attract my eye from the distance.