Bonjour Paree!

First of all, I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. I just feel weird blogging with nothing interesting to say! I can give little Rome updates now and then : )

Now for… PARIS!

As we were sitting on the train heading into Paris we made three things known and agreed we wouldn’t let them stop us from appreciating the city and all its glory.

1. Paris will be very, very cold.

2. People in Paris will be rude.

3. Everything will be expensive.

However, with some stroke of luck, none of these things occurred and our trip to Paris turned out to be the best ever! The weather was beautiful and gorgeous, no colder than 50 something, we found cheap, yet delicious places to eat, and everyone spoke English and seemed eager to help and chat.

We arrived late Thursday night and went to sleep in order to prepare ourselves for the big day ahead of us.

We woke up early and headed to the closest site to us, Notre Dam. Let me just say, traveling and living abroad has certainly made me a pro on reading maps and navigating metro systems. I should probably go on the amazing race with these newfound skills.

Anyway, we arrived at Notre Dam. It was pretty cool, a nice gothic cathedral. The art inside was pretty good, although poorly maintained. Some interesting sculptures too. The stained glass was the cool part. There were so many little details within the tiny windows.

Next we headed to the Eiffel Tower. We turned a corner and BAM! There it was. We walked around and then headed in line to go to the top. It only cost 12 euro (less than I expected) and the line wasn’t terribly long (although I felt like I was at Disneyland). I’m not gonna lie, I’m not afraid of heights but it was a little scary up there. However, the views were amazing and it truly was a once in a lifetime experience.

Then it was off to the Arc de Triomphe. It too, was pretty cool, however I was more perplexed by the lack of order in the street in front of it. Cars were just zooming whichever way they wanted. We tried to figure out how to get to the underground passage to get to the arc but we failed.

We headed back to the hostel for a quick shower and then went to the Louvre for Friday free night!

We weren’t prepared for how big and overwhelming it would be. We agreed we’d go see the Mona Lisa to get it out of the way. That place is like a maze/obstacle course. However, we finally found her, and pushed our way to the front.

I must say, after years of studying this painting, I was quite disappointed. Sure, it’s a good painting, but it’s so small and behind so much glass and robes, you can hardly see it! Oh well, it was still cool to be there.

Then we walked around and saw some of the more famous paintings as well as a bunch I’ve seen throughout my studies

(winged victory)

(leonardo's madonna and the rocks)

(venus de milo)

We headed down a small street to find a Parisian restaurant for dinner. The food was good, however, it was the dessert that was superb!

Creme Brule!

The next day we woke up early and headed to the Chateau De Versailles. The palace was huge and every room was filled to the brim with art and sculptures galore! The hall of mirrors was super pretty and the gardens were nice.

We headed home before meeting up with a walking tour of the Montmartre area. It’s a really cool, very hip, Parsian part of town. There our tour guide (James, who actually was on Big Brother 9) walked us around the neighborhood providing us with little stories about everything. It was very, very cool!

Moulin Rouge!

Where Van Gogh lived (3rd floor)

Where little Picasso used to trade paintings for food

Sacre Cur - highest point in Paris, overlooking the whole city!

All around, Paris was a wonderful city and experience. I wish we had more time there and I would not mind going back and walking around all the little neighborhoods!

Merci Paree!!