The Parisian Way

As you’ve already seen from my post about Barcelona, I went to Paris this past week. It was marvelous! I never thought I’d love France so much!
I was a little, or a lot depending on what time of day you saw my facial expression, nervous about figuring out how to get to our hostel. We realized our plane was later than we thought which means arriving at our hostel around 11:30pm. Not something I’d imagine someone lending their house to strangers would like. Fortunately, our Airbnb host was a fantastic human being and said she’d gladly meet us at 11:30pm. Come to find out that she was actually living with us! Another surprise. Totally fine though. She was sweet and very helpful with everything. She gave us a spread sheet that contained answers to any questions we might have. I took a picture of that right away.
Day One

The next morning we woke up at a fairly decent time and headed out to explore! We started with the Notre Dame. There was a fairly long line waiting to go into the Norte Dame, but we stuck it out. The line ended up moving so fast that we got inside in a little over 10 minutes. Thank goodness we waited! The stain glass was breathtaking and the hazy light made it look like a fairytale- think Cinderella.

Here are some wonderful pictures:

Afterwards, we trekked to the world known Eiffel Tower. I mean did you really go to Paris if you don’t see it? On our way we found a wonderful place for Macaroons. There was some deal for getting 4 for €6. Don’t have to ask us twice. I ended up getting Nutella and chocolate and Micky got Coffee and Nutella. We ended up eating them in front of the Eiffel Tower. Totally casual I know.
Here are some artsy pictures of love locks and the Eiffel Tower:

We then wandered the streets of Paris. We had trouble finding a place to eat lunch. The first restaurant we went into was disgusting. We ended up leaving because there was a pigeon flying around our heads and it just looked dirty. I’m super glad we left because we ended up finding the best French fries in the world. I also finally got to have good chicken since being in Europe. Wow, I’m missing Paris already.

We then found a shopping district. I ended up finding boots that I wish I bought! Maybe next time Mark’s and Spencer. Micky ended up getting a Longstretch bag. Surprisingly, I didn’t not end up buying anything! On our walk home we got to see the Eiffel Tower twinkle. It looks like a Christmas tree in real life. It’s a magical thing to see. It’s kind of like seeing a sunset for the first time.

We also found a dinner place on the journey home. Look at this delicious sandwich and cheesecake:

Day Two
The next day, we woke up excited to see the Louvre. Micky had already seen the Louvre when she went to Paris a few years back, but I was incredibly excited. We ended up waiting in line for an hour because we could not find the secret entrance. For anyone who needs to know… If you’re facing the main entrance to the Louvre it is on your right (close to the arch). I didn’t really mind waiting in line though. I got to people watch all the tourists.

Some pictures inside the Louvre:

When you finally get inside the Louvre, you buy your ticket and then explore the craziness. When we found the Mona Lisa, craziness broke out. I’m not kidding. It was like playing basketball with all these crazy tourists elbowing you to reach the Mona Lisa. When you finally see her, she really isn’t worth it. What is worth it? The painting literally across from her. It reminds me of a scene from Merchant of Venice.

After the Louvre, we ended up wandering some more. We found a sandwich place and ate in front of a random church.

We then got “lost” by wandering around Paris. We ended up in a whole street dedicated to wholesale… And that is when I saw my first hooker. For some reason it freaked me out. I practically ran away. I don’t know if it’s because I learned so much about sex trafficking in my college class or even if it was because I grew up in a small town. It just really startled me.
After getting out of that area, we found real shops. Micky ended up buying a winter jacket and I ended up buying the comfiest jeans in the world from Mango. They’re my first high waisted pair!
We ended up meeting up with some friends in our program for dinner. We then walked some more and saw the lights twinkle one last time. Paris was wonderful to see. Seeing the Eiffel Tower was defiantly something worth seeing.

Stay tuned for my post tomorrow about London!

As always,