I have to say of all the cities I've visited so far, Paris tops my list (aside from London, of course).
We departed from the brand new St. Pancras Station on Thursday evening and arrived in Paris 2 hours and 15 minutes later, a record in Eurostar travel. After a short walk to our accommodation at the Hotel Victoria, we no more than set our things down and immediately went in search of our first crepe of the trip. I have been holding out for Paris and haven't bought a single crepe, despite all the temptations in various countries this semester. We stopped at a decent looking cafe nearby and I ordered a crepe with "banane e coco," thinking coco meant chocolate. But the language barrier strikes again! "Coco" means coconut... I HATE coconut! Unfortunately, my first crepe of the trip was a bust. But c'est la vie, as the French say...
Friday we set off bright and early for sightseeing on the coach. I definitely made the right decision choosing to travel to Paris on the school trip, rather than alone because there is no way I could have done as much as we did on my own. Our major destination for Friday was the Palace of Versailles (what up, Marie Antoinette??), but on the way there we made stops at the Arch of Mankind (the modern mirror image of the Arc de Triomphe) and the Villa de Savoye (an architectural landmark by Le Corbusier)... definitely two things I never would have thought to do, but I'm very glad I got the opportunity to visit. When we finally got to Versailles, Melissa (my partner in crime for the weekend) and I were jumping for joy because we are both completely obsessed with the Marie Antoinette movie. Big surprise, there was SCAFFOLDING on it. One of my friends said she's going to make a photo album called Europe: Under Construction because literally, every major landmark I have seen since travelling has had some sort of scaffolding on it. I know it's the off season, but really, every landmark?? Unnecessary... scaffolding has officially made it onto my very short list of pet peeves, along with slow walkers, big crowds, and people who walk in front of my camera when it's very obvious that I'm trying to take a picture. But I digress...
Versailles was beautiful. I was obsessing over Marie Antoinette's bedroom, which was decorated with this gorgeous flower wallpaper. The Hall of Mirrors was equally as stunning, and the chapel when you entered the palace was decorated with the most gorgeous murals. We had a really great tour guide named Norman, who is a professor at Faraday, and he is just absolutely the most energetic old man I have ever met in my life, and completely offensive all around, but you just can't help but love him. As we're standing in the chapel, he was talking about the mural above the altar, and suddenly reveals that he thinks the way Jesus is painted makes him look like a "striptease dancer." Everyone's head turned like, what?? did you really just compare Jesus to a stripper?? Hilarious. We also got to tour the gardens outside the palace which were amazing, and HUGE... it took us a good 15 minutes to walk down to the lower pond and that wasn't even the farthest one. I only wish we could've spent more time there because I really would have loved to see Marie Antoinette's cottage, but I guess I will save that for my next trip to Paris.
arch of mankind.
villa de savoye.
marie antoinette's bedroom.
in the gardens.After Versailles we headed back to central Paris and made a stop at Napoleon's Tomb, but it was CLOSED! Paris happened to be on strike that weekend, so the metro was closed down and because of that, a few things we had planned to visit were closed as well. The outside was pretty, at least!
By this point in the evening, it was absolutely freezing outside. But we ended our tour by the Eiffel Tower, so we could spend some time there and go to the top of it. After about an hour-long wait, we finally got on an elevator and began our ascent. You don't realize looking at the Tower just how high it is. But we were in the elevator for a good 7-10 minutes just going up, and up, and up. We finally reach the top and it is breathtaking! I've been to the top of some pretty tall buildings since visiting Europe, and I'm big on getting the scenic views, and this was, hands down, the best one. After taking about a million pictures, we decided it was time to head down, but not without incident. As I said, it was freezing in Paris, and at the top of the Eiffel Tower, you can imagine how much colder it was. I would put it at a good -10 degrees... it could have snowed up there, and I didn't have gloves on. Needless to say, I couldn't feel my hands or any of my extremities for that matter, and thus, dropped my camera. And suddenly, my world stopped. There I was, on top of one of the most famous structures in the world, looking down on one of the most beautiful cities of the world, and I had all I could do not to burst into tears at my mistake. But I kept composed and told myself it was just a material object, and made my way back down the tower, mildly depressed but thankful I at least got some pictures while I could. We then set out to visit the Louvre since it's free for students on Friday nights, but of course we had to stop to take pictures in front of the Tower at night. And just like magic, it started sparkling! It was beautiful.
eiffel tower, no big deal.
the sunset over Paris as seen from the Tower.
Our walk to the Louvre took much longer than expected (the map was very deceiving), so once we arrived we had minimal time to see much, so we headed straight for the Mona Lisa (I though it would be bigger) and Napoleon's crown jewels (they looked pasted on... I'm such a brat) but that was about all we had time for before they started kicking everyone out. Bummer that I was on a budget because that is probably the most famous art museum in the world and I didn't really have time the rest of the trip to go back.
Back at the hotel, we tried again at the crepe issue and this time I was a little more lucky. I was dying for some real food so I tried a crepe with egg and cheese and it was pretty good, until I started getting sick of egg and cheese... But anyway, the best part of the night! My roommate Carolyn felt bad that I dropped my camera and so she asked to look at it and I was just like, "yeah, ok its broken anyway do what you want with it," and just kind of tossed it to her. She no more than touched it and it was fixed!! Albeit a little broken part on the front, the camera was back to perfectly funtioning condition... I was literally jumping up and down with happiness. That camera is my baby. I think I couldn't get it fixed at first because it was so cold and the camera needed to warm up a bit. Needless to say I went to bed a happy camper.
Saturday morning we opted for a walking tour of Central Paris, ending at Notre Dame Cathedral. Quasimodo was nowhere in sight, but stormin' Norman pointed out that the statues on the lower half of the outside of the building (the ones that are supposed to be in hell) look like they were having a lot more fun than the ones up north, so we should "go with the devil." Just another friendly piece of advice.
notre dame
By this point in the evening, it was absolutely freezing outside. But we ended our tour by the Eiffel Tower, so we could spend some time there and go to the top of it. After about an hour-long wait, we finally got on an elevator and began our ascent. You don't realize looking at the Tower just how high it is. But we were in the elevator for a good 7-10 minutes just going up, and up, and up. We finally reach the top and it is breathtaking! I've been to the top of some pretty tall buildings since visiting Europe, and I'm big on getting the scenic views, and this was, hands down, the best one. After taking about a million pictures, we decided it was time to head down, but not without incident. As I said, it was freezing in Paris, and at the top of the Eiffel Tower, you can imagine how much colder it was. I would put it at a good -10 degrees... it could have snowed up there, and I didn't have gloves on. Needless to say, I couldn't feel my hands or any of my extremities for that matter, and thus, dropped my camera. And suddenly, my world stopped. There I was, on top of one of the most famous structures in the world, looking down on one of the most beautiful cities of the world, and I had all I could do not to burst into tears at my mistake. But I kept composed and told myself it was just a material object, and made my way back down the tower, mildly depressed but thankful I at least got some pictures while I could. We then set out to visit the Louvre since it's free for students on Friday nights, but of course we had to stop to take pictures in front of the Tower at night. And just like magic, it started sparkling! It was beautiful.
eiffel tower, no big deal.
the sunset over Paris as seen from the Tower.Our walk to the Louvre took much longer than expected (the map was very deceiving), so once we arrived we had minimal time to see much, so we headed straight for the Mona Lisa (I though it would be bigger) and Napoleon's crown jewels (they looked pasted on... I'm such a brat) but that was about all we had time for before they started kicking everyone out. Bummer that I was on a budget because that is probably the most famous art museum in the world and I didn't really have time the rest of the trip to go back.
Back at the hotel, we tried again at the crepe issue and this time I was a little more lucky. I was dying for some real food so I tried a crepe with egg and cheese and it was pretty good, until I started getting sick of egg and cheese... But anyway, the best part of the night! My roommate Carolyn felt bad that I dropped my camera and so she asked to look at it and I was just like, "yeah, ok its broken anyway do what you want with it," and just kind of tossed it to her. She no more than touched it and it was fixed!! Albeit a little broken part on the front, the camera was back to perfectly funtioning condition... I was literally jumping up and down with happiness. That camera is my baby. I think I couldn't get it fixed at first because it was so cold and the camera needed to warm up a bit. Needless to say I went to bed a happy camper.
Saturday morning we opted for a walking tour of Central Paris, ending at Notre Dame Cathedral. Quasimodo was nowhere in sight, but stormin' Norman pointed out that the statues on the lower half of the outside of the building (the ones that are supposed to be in hell) look like they were having a lot more fun than the ones up north, so we should "go with the devil." Just another friendly piece of advice.
notre dameWe had a bit of free time in the afternoon, so Melissa and I opted to do a bit of window shopping at the famous Galleries Lafayette, a HUGE department store in downtown Paris. We did give in and make a stop at Sephora (which IS French, I might add) and I kind of, sort of bought some French perfume for myself but it was a decent deal and it smells delicious!
After our afternoon off, we stopped for dinner at one of the oldest restaurants in Paris, but I couldn't read anything on the menu except "poulet et frites," aka chicken and fries, so I got that... again, language barrier. Some of my friends were brave and ordered escargot. I had the chance to try it but something about eating something that is slimy and resembles a slug is just not appealing to me, I don't know why.
Finally, Saturday night, the night of the surprise we've been dying to find out about all semester! The metro was still on strike so we ended up having to walk 45 minutes to the secret location and we were all praying that it was going to be worth it. We rounded the corner and it was...(drum roll please)... the circus!
I haven't been to a REAL circus before in my life, so this was such great fun. Granted, it was all in French, but I understood perfectly fine albeit maybe missing out on a few tacky jokes. There were jugglers and acrobats and elephants and a woman shot out of a cannon, it couldn't have been more on point. AND I had cotton candy... I really felt like a kid again. Hilarious, loved it! The only thing that I was taken aback by is that the French are so kind of raunchy and the clown made a couple references to snorting crack and shooting heroin... I'm hoping it was above the heads of the hundreds of children that were at the circus that night, but who knows with these crazy Europeans...
On Sunday we had a bit of time before we had to catch the train to head home, so we boarded the coach again and traveled around East Paris, stopping at a few parks, the major library and the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, where Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Oscar Wilde, amongst thousands of others, are buried. We only had time to see Morrison and Chopin's graves, which were inspiring to see, but I was really hoping to see Oscar Wilde, since I had just sparked an interest in him in Dublin. But again, another good reason for me to go back to Paris someday.
This was definitely my favorite trip of the semester. Traveling in a school group made things so much easier and accessible and I wouldn't have done it any other way. I can't wait to go back someday.
And now, back at school, it's crunch time. We're in the home stretch, with only about 19 days left to go (but who's counting??). I'm so excited to see my family and friends so soon, but I am going to be really, really sad to leave this place and the people I've met behind. But I'm not about to get all sentimental about this just yet. It's time to soak up my last few weeks here for all I can get. I'm going to Prague this weekend with some great people and then I'll have one weekend left in London. And I'm not going to waste a second.
Can't wait to see you all!
Cheers!
After our afternoon off, we stopped for dinner at one of the oldest restaurants in Paris, but I couldn't read anything on the menu except "poulet et frites," aka chicken and fries, so I got that... again, language barrier. Some of my friends were brave and ordered escargot. I had the chance to try it but something about eating something that is slimy and resembles a slug is just not appealing to me, I don't know why.
Finally, Saturday night, the night of the surprise we've been dying to find out about all semester! The metro was still on strike so we ended up having to walk 45 minutes to the secret location and we were all praying that it was going to be worth it. We rounded the corner and it was...(drum roll please)... the circus!
I haven't been to a REAL circus before in my life, so this was such great fun. Granted, it was all in French, but I understood perfectly fine albeit maybe missing out on a few tacky jokes. There were jugglers and acrobats and elephants and a woman shot out of a cannon, it couldn't have been more on point. AND I had cotton candy... I really felt like a kid again. Hilarious, loved it! The only thing that I was taken aback by is that the French are so kind of raunchy and the clown made a couple references to snorting crack and shooting heroin... I'm hoping it was above the heads of the hundreds of children that were at the circus that night, but who knows with these crazy Europeans...
On Sunday we had a bit of time before we had to catch the train to head home, so we boarded the coach again and traveled around East Paris, stopping at a few parks, the major library and the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, where Jim Morrison, Chopin, and Oscar Wilde, amongst thousands of others, are buried. We only had time to see Morrison and Chopin's graves, which were inspiring to see, but I was really hoping to see Oscar Wilde, since I had just sparked an interest in him in Dublin. But again, another good reason for me to go back to Paris someday.
This was definitely my favorite trip of the semester. Traveling in a school group made things so much easier and accessible and I wouldn't have done it any other way. I can't wait to go back someday.
And now, back at school, it's crunch time. We're in the home stretch, with only about 19 days left to go (but who's counting??). I'm so excited to see my family and friends so soon, but I am going to be really, really sad to leave this place and the people I've met behind. But I'm not about to get all sentimental about this just yet. It's time to soak up my last few weeks here for all I can get. I'm going to Prague this weekend with some great people and then I'll have one weekend left in London. And I'm not going to waste a second.
Can't wait to see you all!
Cheers!
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