A visit and now off to Italy~

This weekend was really nice...Stacey arrived Friday evening and we went up the street to Ashley's apartment for dinner with her and her "friend", Matthieu. They made a really great dinner and we brought wine and sat around telling stories, eating and drinking. Saturday we did a lot of tourist sites, including Sacre Coeur (and it was my first time inside, soo pretty), Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, Louvre, Palais Royale, Pont de l'Alma, l'Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. Stacey loved it all and took lots of pictures...Sunday we continued with a morning in the garden at Versailles, followed by a quick lunch with Ashley and Matthieu. Then we went back to the Eiffel so she could go up it! I stayed down below and actually went to the grocery store a metro stop away. I am afraid of heights and knew I couldn't go all the way up...but sometime I'm sure I will go to at least the 1st platform. It was pretty cold, but Stacey loved the view and as she was getting off it started to sparkle...oh so pretty! At least I know the drill and timeline for when future guests want to go up....it's definitely an event including waiting in line.
It was really nice to have her here, as we were able to talk about our experiences here in Europe but also talk about life back in Idaho, people, etc. She has done a lot of travelling already so I got to learn some good travelling tips for my adventures to come. I leave bright and early in the morning from Bougival to head to the airport where I'll catch a short flight to Italy! Unfortunately the short/cheap flights don't mean short travel time...I have to catch shuttles, bus, a train...so will still be paying for those and won't get to Torino til late afternoon. But this is our plan for Italy

Arrive in Milan and catch train to Torino
We'll do Halloween and 2 days seeing what there is in Torino (home of the 2006 Winter Olympics)
Saturday morning we will get the train to Verona (home of Romeo and Juliet)
Walk around Verona a few hours, then catch train to Venice (not far)
Spend Saturday evening and night in Venice and site see!
After lunch Sunday we'll get train to Milan
Hang out in Milan for awhile, Stacey will leave me to go back to Torino and I will spend Sunday night in Milan!!
Monday morning fly from Milan back to Paris

she has picked out our hostel for Venice and a hostel for me in Milan...they are hotels with a variety of roomstyles, and she will walk me to mine in Milan to make sure it's "all good". She has done this a LOT this semester so I trust her judgement! We are still trying to get one for Venice though...hope it all works out!

So I am going to see 4 cities in about 5 days!
Stacey did a great job of planning the most economical and time-friendly way to see the cities over the weekend.

Break is going nice...I have a whole 10 days off work, so I've been getting things done for myself, and trying my best to relax.

I'm feeling quite homesick lately, though...... :/

New video of sparkles from below