Date: Monday 7/14/08
Day:18 of my journey Paris, France
Today we woke up with high anticipations and expectations. Every one in the trip knew today was the day
we visited the Louvre. After breakfast we all rushed to the bus. I got on and for some reason I just couldn't stop thinking
about every one back home. It was just two days away and it seemed like I had forgot all about my life back home. I was just
so used to all of this exploration and freedom. But there they were, every time I closed my eyes I saw their faces. I heard
their voices. Maybe this was a sign to finally call my mom after seventeen days, but there was just one issue. I lost my phone
card. At that moment, my stomach started hurting. It was an explosive mix of homesickness and guilt.
After I got off the bus the sickness in my stomach just went away with the sight of the magnificent glass
pyramid of the Louvre. Patiently, We waited in the immense line. Second by second, minute by minute, I grew more impatient.
All I wanted to do was go into the Louvre to satisfy my need for fine art. Finally there was a security guard that escorted
us to the front of the line. This was truly one of the perks of being a student ambassador. When we went in we were amazed
by the marvels of the Louvre. Every one of us rushed off to go and visit all of the marvels. Our first immediate goal was
to see the Mona Lisa. After walking past every painting and its grandmother we were finally there. I was amazed how exagerated
the descriptions of the painting were. It was just a meek looking woman painted on a 10 X 14 piece of paper. So my group and
I started to explore the rest of the museum. The place was huge. There were places where it was completely empty and others
where it looked like nobody was there since it was built. After a while we had seen all we needed to see, so we got the cure
for homesickness: good old American Starbucks.
After a lunch in the food court I felt extremely tired. My eyes grew weary and my head grew heavy finally
I fell asleep. Thats right I am probably among one of the only people who have fallen asleep in the Louvre. When I woke up
it was time to go and take a tour of Paris. We saw everything the marvelous streets, the heavily decorated bridges, and the
marvelous opera houses. After the tour we went into a suburban area for dinner. After that we enjoyed ourselves in a musical
plaza filled with dancing singing and ice cream.
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