Paris one and two

Bonjour de Paris! That's it, that's all the French I've got, folks. So, hello! I'm safe, I'm in Paris, and I'm having a great time. What've I been up to? Well, yesterday was a national holiday so the only thing really open was Notre Dame, and since the lineup was ginormous I just sat myself down outside and listened to a Rick Steves tour. Actually, that's what I did yesterday - I followed a Rick Steves Historic Paris Walking Tour, which was actually really neat even though I didn't enter any of the buildings he talked about; strolled the streets (and got lost a few times); and went to Luxembourg Gardens and toured around for a while. I'm not actually sure how much walking I did, but if you look at a city map, I started walking at the Hotel de Ville, walked the entirety of Île de la Cité, around part of the left bank, then out to the gardens and wandered into the outskirts of Montparnasse (which wasn't actually on my map, so I got lost and decided to move back onto the map - I had a total adventure). Then I wandered back to the Hotel de Ville, coming over le Pont Royal bridge. I was pooped, so I came back to the hotel and did a bit of nothing before joining the other girls from the room for dinner and drinks (happy hour) down at the bar. I'd say the night was primarily nothing exceptional, but it was excellent to meet the other girls and just relax.
Today though, was different. Whereas yesterday was my first day and I was excited to get up and go, today I lazed about a bit more. I didn't leave the hostel until about 10:15 when I caught the metro with 2 other girls from my room who were headed for the airport. I took the metro (changing lines a few times-I'm getting better at this!) down to the Eiffel Tower and went up to the second floor. I walked up, and you know, Jazzercise is working. Yes I was sweaty, but I wasn't gasping for breath, and I wasn't sore and uncomfortable. It was even challenging enough for some people that I passed them easily. Afterwards, I wanted to head to the Louvre, but it was a 2ish hour estimated wait time, so I skipped and went to Cimetière Père Lachaise for a few hours and wandered.
It sounds strange and morbid, but the cemetery was the spot that I have felt the most comfortable in Paris. I'm not sure if its because no matter the language, a cemetery is a cemetery, or if it was just the atmosphere. It was so calm and quiet, interesting as all get out, and the whole place was just... Parfait. So that was fun. Then I headed back to the hostel a second time (I came 'home' and ate between trips), and here I am. Two new girls just arrived and they're from Duncan (small world!), and that is about it with today. Tonight I charge some devices and hang out, and then tomorrow I check out of here and head to the hotel to meet up with my contiki. I'm hoping they've got a luggage lockup up there because I've got like 5 hours to kill between check-out and check-in, and I was thinking of maybe trying the Sacre Coeur or Notre Dame in between. Either way, it'll be another adventure. I'm sure I'll write something more reflective once I find my journal; it has actually got reflections and such in it. For now though, hi friends and family, I'm still alive, Paris is beautiful (even if it rains almost as much as at home), and I think I'm in love with old cemeteries. Ciao!