j'adore Paris

So I have a new favorite city. This past week was spent in the beautiful city of Paris, France. On Monday morning we had to get up at 4:30am to catch the first train to France. Going through customs was actually fun because I got my first stamp in my passport! Exciting right? After we checked into our hotel, we headed straight to Notre Dame Cathedral. It had gorgeous stain glass windows and an incredible view of all of Paris. I fell in love with Paris here because it was where I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time. Dani, Chelsea, Hayley and I then headed into the Latin Quarter to find a Patisserie, I experienced my first French chocolate croissant... it was delicious to say the least.  We then wandered to the Pantheon, which is another huge building where many famous people are buried. It was really nice because our program provided us with a 5-day metro and museum pass so we were able to get into almost everywhere for free. From the Pantheon we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower. If you’ve never been to Paris then you wouldn’t know that this is a VERY long walk but we wanted to see as much of the city as we could. We passed through the Luxembourg Park, which was beautiful. There were little buds on the trees. We saw the statue that the Statue of Liberty was copied from. My first experience at the Eiffel Tower is one that I will never forget. We were there around sunset and got to watch the sun go down behind the Eiffel Tower. The sky was clear and blue and had fluffy dark clouds with sun shining between them. It had rained earlier in the day so there were puddles everywhere and you could see the reflection of the tower in them. We could not stop taking pictures as the sun went down and it began to light up. Then we crossed under the tower to the other side. When we were on the bridge crossing the Seine, we stopped to take a picture for another group of tourists when the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle. I literally gasped and at the same exact moment it began to pour rain. Within a second we were all drenched and were running to find cover in a souvenir shop that had a descent view of the tower. It was literally like a scene from a movie. Perfect.

            Tuesday morning was spent going to the Musée de Rodin and Musée d’Orsay. A group of us then headed to Love Lock Bridge, which is a place I have seen on Pinterest and have always wanted to go. The tradition is to “lock” your love to the bridge and then throw the key into the river below. Obviously I put Kass’ and my initials on it… so hopefully that means we are forever J it was really cute and I got some good pictures. Maybe one day I’ll be able to go back with Kass and find it one day. We went to the Arc de Triomphe and walked around the Champs Elysées. It was pouring rain again so we decided to get some macaroons in Ladurée. Macaroons aren’t my favorite but I’ll admit the pistachio flavor was pretty delicious.

            On Wednesday we started at the Louvre. That place is HUGE and I couldn’t get through the whole thing if I spent a week there. So, instead I chose a few big things (Mona Lisa) to see and then just wandered for the rest of the time. I headed to the Musée de l'Orangerie to see Monet murals. As a group we toured the National Opera House, it was cool but I’ll be honest… I couldn’t understand one thing our guide said. After we headed up to Montmartre. It was an amazing view of the entire city in all directions. There was a cute square where dozens of artists were selling their original paintings. Adorable. I’ll admit though, hot chocolate at Angelina’s was by far my FAVORITE part of the day. It was AAAAMAZING. I have never tasted anything so rich, creamy and delicious. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was well worth the 8 Euros.

            On Thursday I went to Versailles. My favorite part was the garden but honestly it would have been so much more incredible in the summer because most everything was dead and bare. Versailles took most of the day so when I returned to Paris I met up with Chelsea, Dani, and McKenna for dinner. I had the best bowl of soupe à l'oignon (French onion soup) I have ever had. Friday was our last full day so me and a few of the girls decided we just wanted to wander and enjoy the city, especially because it was sunny and beautiful. We spent most our time around the Eiffel Tower riding the carousal, eating crepes, ice cream, cotton candy and any other treat we could find. We also climbed to the top. I can now check that off my bucket list.

            Paris is a lot different than London. I would go back to Paris in a heartbeat but I’m not going to lie it was nice to come HOME to London. I feel so much safer in London and am comfortable with the city, people and even the food (I know it’s a miracle).  Paris was a lot dirtier than London. Not knowing the language was difficult. I mean I know they speak French in France… obviously… but it’s really not a joke… they speak FRENCH. Sometimes when ordering food I would just have to aimlessly point at what I wanted because no one could understand me. I have no idea how to even pronounce French but it’s amazing that I survived a week only knowing 3 words (hello, thank you & excuse me).

            Sorry this is so long… but now for the food. Pretty sure all I ate the whole time I was there was sugar, carbs and more sugar with a semi-real meal here and there. The pastries and crepes were INCREDIBLE, not to mention the gelato & baguettes. Seriously though I was in heaven and I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a plain croissant more than I did in France. I probably ate 6 chocolate croissants a day, I was on a sugar high all week. London really is “home” now and a piece of my heart will forever be in London.