I have absolutely 100% completely and indefinitely become infatuated with the city of Paris. I know that I may have become repetitive coming back from each trip saying that I have found my new favorite city, but this is a different story. This is the one place I have visited and felt as if I could live there for the entirety of the semester. Every stereotype of the French was blown out of the water during my weekend stay. There were numerous strangers that were nothing but nice and helpful to us struggling tourists. We first arrived Thursday night around 10, but since we travel like the poverty and fly Ryanair, we landed in the airport an hour and a half away from the city. So, I then had to pay 15 euro for a bus ticket to drive me to the city and then figure out the metro system to get to the hotel. The metro in Paris is the most efficient and convenient public transportation system I have ever experienced. It can take you to any point of the enormous city. By the time we got to our hotel it was a little past midnight. The door was wide open and no one was at the front desk so we just walked right into our room, which looking back on, doesn’t seem like the best feature for a hotel to have. It worked out in our favor though because we had six people for a five-person room and two had already arrived earlier that day. The sleeping arrangements, however, did not work out in my favor for that night. Who would have thought that my bed-sharing first semester was only in preparation for some more bed-sharing abroad. Gwen and I selflessly gave up the queen for the two boys and squished into a bottom bunk bed. Whoever said, “no good deed goes unpunished” has surely never slept in those tight of quarters before.
Friday morning we awoke with cranks in our necks, but high hopes for the day because we took the train to Versaille! The Chateau de Versaille was the most gorgeous palace I have ever laid eyes on. Granted, I haven’t been a guest of many palaces for comparison. Each room was filled with gaudy, over the top decorations and works of art. Gold traced every lining throughout the palace and I loved everything about it. It is incredible to think of the days they were actually lived in. With my Student Visa having a permit of stay for six months, I was able to get into the palace for free along with an audio guide! I spent hours walking from room to room listening to the history and significance of each. I then walked along the enormous landscape of gardens all the way to Marie Antoinette’s separate house and once again was granted free admission! This is also the day I was introduced to crepes… and let’s just say it became an unhealthy addiction. I am quite embarrassed to say that I ate a total grand whopping of seven, yes SEVEN, in three, yes THREE, days. That may be disgusting and I am not denying it one bit, but let me please explain myself. We got it for breakfast every morning, which accounts for three of them. I also got it for lunch two of the days, as well as two later at night for desert. WHOOPS. I actually became friends with the crepe man and I have to say that the best one I had was ham, egg, and cheese suggested by the creator himself! On a more appealing note, dinner Friday night was one to remember! It was a tiny fondu place that served wine in baby bottles, although I think I got drunker off the cheese fondu. I never knew, but apparently you are supposed to put alcohol in it to keep it from clumping.
Saturday was a rainy day with nothing better on the agenda than the Louvre! It was yet another pleasant surprise of free entry! I couldn’t believe how large this museum actually was and the amount of history it held. My favorite part was the Napolean Apartments, they reminded me of rooms in the Chateau de Versaille. The Louvre was very interesting, but towards the 3rd or so hour I was hit with a wall of exhaustion. There is way too much to see that I don’t even think can be accomplished in a week.
This is the night that I dove head first into French cuisine and ordered duck for dinner. IT WAS PHENOMENAL. The best meal I had all weekend, aside from my crepe fetish. I of course had to order the crème brulee afterwards, which is my favorite desert! Yum yum in my tum!
Sunday morning we headed over to Notre Dame to meet one of my sorority sisters that is studying in Paris for the semester. We were able to walk around and observe this famous church while mass was commencing. Afterwards, I finally went to the most romantic structure known to mankind, the Eiffel Tower. I stared with my jaw to the floor at the sight of it. The beauty is unexplainable and the size is unexpectedly large. I spent an enormous amount of time snapping a thousand pictures from every angle. As I was progressing up the stairs, I kept hearing bits and pieces of the song, “Who Let the Dogs Out.” Once I approached the first floor of the Eiffel, the source of music was clear. There was an ice-skating rink and an ice bar right there in the middle of the Eiffel Tower. A bit peculiar, I would say, but also a breath of fresh air. We were laughing, panting, dancing, and soaking in the view all at once. After I climbed up to the next level and snapped a couple more pictures, I bought a ticket to take the elevator up to the very tip-top because there are no more stairs you can climb. The view overlooking Paris from the Eiffel Tower beats any other city view I experienced. The entire city is painted white. After the Eiffel extravaganza, my friend took us to the Arc de Triumph and down Champs-Élysées, the famous shopping street. Later she took us back to see her apartment where I got to see two girls from my high school that are also in her program. We all went to dinner together where I was able to satisfy my French onion soup craving. After dinner, we ventured back over to the Eiffel to see it during the night. If it is even possible, I fell even more in love with Paris during this hour. The lights gleaming off of the Eiffel is so magnificent. For the first five minutes of every hour, the tower sparkles with a light show. We were there for the midnight hour and there was a group of French girls who popped a bottle of Champagne at the start of the sparkles for a girl’s birthday. This is definitely something I want to come back and celebrate later in my life.
The only difficulty I faced in Paris was a language barrier because it is a rarity to come across an English speaking Frenchman. When the man at the hotel tried to communicate with me, I did nothing but shrug my shoulders and look dumb, which was easily accomplished. I couldn’t even say, “I don’t understand.” The French language is so elegant and beautiful I wish so badly that I can learn it! I even find myself back in Italy accidently slipping out a “merci”. It’s so hard being tri-lingual these days… Until next time…Ciao a tutti!
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