I am ashamed to admit that I was nervous and slightly unsure about my weekend trip to Paris. We had decided to go with the company that the school affiliates with, but even still, I had begun to dread it. I don't speak the language, I'm very rusty on the history, and I don't know the customs, so how great could it be? I love being proven wrong!
On the day we arrived, our tour guide announced a bunch of optional walking tours, boat cruises, etc. for us all to participate in. One of the excursions that I had been eagerly anticipating was the opportunity to go to the Moulin Rouge.....until he announced that it would be 109 euros!!! I nearly had a meltdown on the train, but in the end I am glad that I chose not to spend that money. Instead, we picked a nighttime walking tour around Montmartre, and I at least was able to stand outside of it and pretend that I went in, so that's good enough, right?! The area was absolutely beautiful, even though the weather was cold and miserable and every place we went was uphill on cobblestoned streets. We ended at Sacre Coeur, which was a brilliant basilica on the highest part of Paris that provided us spectacular views of Paris.
On Saturday, the three of us woke up early to catch the train to Versailles. We had very limited time to see it, and despite everyone's warnings, we got there at a quarter past nine and had absolutely NO trouble with lines. It was brilliant. As quickly as possible, we breezed through the spectacular palace before catching the train back to Paris to meet our 2pm tour. Our guide took us through the back streets of Paris to show us the best cheese, bread, and ice cream shops and honestly I wanted to buy everything. We passed through the Jewish section of town, and I picked up a strawberry daiquiri sorbet, which was soooo good. After that the three of us met up with a friend who is a local to Paris and he showed us around to his favorite spots which was quite delightful, and we finished the night watching the sparkling lights on the Eiffel Tower, which were absolutely fantastic but very hard to capture on camera! If you go to Paris, make sure you see them--on top of the hour every hour for five minutes!
Our final day in Paris kicked off with a boat cruise on the Seine, which was absolutely lovely, minus the tourists that stood in front taking pictures the whole time. IF you are in a new city, I completely recommend going to some of the most famous sites because you really get a good overview of the country's history, but PLEASE don't be that annoying tourist!!! Stay in your seat and talk quietly! Thank you!!! After that Pam and I grabbed some bread, wine, and sausage to have by the Eiffel Tower, and we cut our second 2pm tour so close that we sprinted across central Paris (and Pam ran in front of a few buses) to meet them. We did catch up with the group by Notre Dame and had a great time touring the Latin Quarter and some of Paris' medieval and renaissance fixtures. We were so exhausted after that that we simply went back to the hostel and waited until it was time to head to the train.
Simply put, Paris was amazing. Our hostel was very clean and nice, and we had no problem communicating with people (shout out to the French who know English better than I know French woop WOOP). I absolutely loved all of the food that I tried (banana and nutella crepes? HEAVEN), and I picked up some makeup products from the French pharmacie which I will talk about more in my next beauty post. I certainly plan to return in the future, for I have not yet climbed the Eiffel Tower or seen the interior of Notre Dame. It is so beautiful and fun, but also eye-opening as well. We had a few incidents with theft and gypsies, and I just want to re-emphasize that it is SO important to keep all of your belongings zipped away in either an anti-theft bag or in a place not easily accessible. I talked about some of my other travel suggestions here, and I'm sure as I wrap up my semester here (can you believe it?! Almost a month to go now!) the list will grow. Always keep a sharp eye out and be wary of everyone! But be nice, too :).
A lazy weekend lies before me, so keep on the lookout for more blogging on different topics!
xo
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