WEEKEND IN PARIS
I still cannot believe I went to Paris for the weekend! The things you can do when you’re studying abroad in Europe… We had pretty crummy weather all weekend, misty and so cold we were back to our north face jackets. Despite the weather, we still managed to have a great weekend! Plus, it could have been worse; at least the weather didn’t keep us locked up inside…
So. March 1st:
Liz, Katie (Neenz), & I had a 16:01 Eurostar to Paris to catch! Taking the train through the chunnel was so easy! Just a quick security, passport control, fall asleep, and voila you’re in Paris! After arriving we decided the first thing we wanted to do was check in to our hotel to drop off our backpacks. However this took a little bit longer since we had the address of a different ETAP hotel and ended up walking in the complete opposite direction from the Gard du nord. Oh well, it could have happened to anyone, and it just meant we had to tackle the metro a little earlier than planned. So we eventually made it to our hotel, cleaned up, and headed back out to go see the Eiffel Tower at night! We eventually rounded a corner and we could see the top all lit up and beautiful! By the time we made it to the tower, apparently our timing was perfect, the whole thing started sparkling. It was gorgeous, and we were in Paris!
By this point it was somewhere around 9 or 10, and it was time to find food… Apparently there are no food places right around the Eiffel Tower, but we managed to find the Café Le Dome which had 24 hour service. We had a very French meal among us 3: quiche, croquet monsieur, and steak frites!
March 2nd:
We decided to devote the beginning of the day to explore Montmartre, a part of Paris that was a little closer to where we were staying. First stop, the Sacre-Coeur. This church is stunning! And so large, I had no idea what to expect! It was stunning inside and out. From there, we just explored the area, and experienced a bit of the “artsy” and “bohemian” side of Paris. We also managed to find the Moulin Rouge which is on an…interesting street to say the least. We just wanted to find it for the movie, took our pictures, and made our way back to the metro.
Next stop: Rue Cler. This street is just lined with stands & stores where Parisians can buy all their fresh food. The amount of cheese was so…well French! We had a nice lunch on rue cler too, topped with a dessert of a cheese plate!
Next stop: Notre Dame. Once again, this is another beautiful church! I was blown away primarily by beautiful stained glass windows! There is this one huge circular window that is stunning! We walked around the area, stumbled upon an ice skating rink where we were going to go ice skating on until we realized that they heavily enforced the “gloves mandatory” rule, and we were not prepared. So instead we rode a carousel! We found some crepes, made our way back to the Notre Dame, and ate our crepes sitting in front of the beautiful church while being serenaded by street musicians.
After that we headed to the Gallerie Lafayette, which is technically a department store but doesn’t compare to any department store I’ve seen. It is floors high, beautiful architecture, and full of expensive items. We kept on the shopping theme and checked out Printemps, another huge store that’s out of our budget. At another store Tally Welly, we tried out some brightly colored skinny jeans (which is the France style I want to pick up on), but European sizing is too confusing…
Anyways, our lunch was so late we knew we wouldn’t be hungry for a sit down dinner so we decided to picnic back in our hotel instead. At the Gallerie Lafayette, we picked up a French wine tasting set, and then picked up a baguette, brie, champagne, strawberries, and grapes from Monoprix. Then the three of us set up a little picnic in our room. That was so relaxing, delicious, and very very French as well.
Saturday morning we started the day exploring the Arc de Triomphe, another huge monument! From there we walked down the Avenue de Champs-Elysees, where once again the fashion and prices were way above my head or sense of style…still so much fun to walk around a few story high Louis Vuitton…
After that we went back to the Eiffel Tower and climbed it!!! We took the steps as far as we could, and then rode the elevator for the last distance. Now that was a typical French tourist experience but definitely very necessary! Afterwards we met up with two of Liz’s friends (who actually are my neighbors in the fall at Elon! Small world) and picnicked in front of the Eiffel Tower. After sitting outside for quite awhile, it started to drizzle, so we made our way to Café Richard where we indulged in hot chocolate and crepes! Later we walked around more, saw the Parthenon, and eventually ate dinner at Gueve back around the Notre Dame.
Last day in Paris… Started off back on the Champs-Elysees, and then made our way to the Louvre. It’s free the first Sunday of the month, so that’s awesome, but that also made it very crowded. The crowd to see the Mona Lisa was almost more climatic than the Mona Lisa herself… It was still very cool to walk around and see a lot of famous artwork. We had lunch, the best muffins in Paris (which really are delicious), and then enjoyed our last thirty minutes in Paris at the Jardin du Luxembourg. Even with the weather, it is still gorgeous! From there it was the metro back to the Eurostar, and back to home sweet home in Flat 29. We really did have a great time in Paris! Though I think London is still more my scene, I’m so glad I have finally visited France!
My French could use some work…but I’m so glad I got to experience the language really and truly in France! That wraps up A Weekend in Paris 2012!
p.s. sorry there are no pictures….I’m flying through my limited megabytes for internet this week…pictures are all up on Facebook though!
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