I have to start out by saying that Paris was not on my list of places I wanted to go when I decided to study abroad in Europe. I didn't even tell my bank that I planned on going to France and had to have my mom tell them while I was already here! I tend to not like things that are hyped up for me, I guess because I go in with high expectations and then am disappointed. The opposite happened with Paris- I went in with such high expectations and Paris still overwhelmed me with its beauty. From the moment I sat down on the plane from Sevilla to Paris I was impressed with everything and everyone I countered. My seat was on the aisle with an older French couple (maybe in their 50's) in between myself and the window. The French couple spoke and understood English as long as I spoke slowly, and I learned that they were just finishing a five day vacation in Sevilla and returning to their home in a town 18 kilometers outside Paris. They were pleased to learn that I was from the United States and enjoying my time studying in Spain. I showed them the list of places that I was planning on visiting in Paris, and they told me that I was definitely maximizing my limited time there! They were a sweet couple, holding hands during takeoff and landing and even reading the same book during the duration of the flight! After we landed, I took my backpack from the overhead compartment and wished them safety for the rest of their trip home, and they told me that I was a pleasant travel companion, and that they were so glad I was visiting France. It was the best welcome to a new country that I could have asked for!
We flew into Bouveau airport, which was an hour bus ride outside of the city of Paris. We definitely didn't mind the bus ride however, because we spent the entire ride laughing at the most ridiculous things. We realized during the only moment that we weren't laughing (while we were eating) that apart from ourselves, the entire bus was silent. We couldn't help talking though- we were all too excited! Emily and I were seated in front of the two other girls we traveled with this weekend, Deanna and Jen. I was turned around talking to them, and turned to face the front of the bus again, when I caught my first glimpse of the top of the Eiffel Tower over the Paris skyline! I reached behind me excitedly and grabbed Deanna's leg (I think I actually grabbed the seat, but whatever) and Emily's arm on my other side and exclaimed "THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!" People on the bus smiled and laughed at us- we had definitely just defined ourselves as both Americans and tourists.
I honestly can't say where our hostel was located, but where ever it was I'm glad it was there. We stayed in Arty Paris hostel (highly recommended- clean and spacious rooms and a delicious free breakfast! Also a very helpful staff) and were fortunate enough to have a room just for the four of us. Getting up to our room was a bit of an adventure- I have never in my life seen a smaller elevator! It was probably a quarter of the size of a normal elevator. We could all fit just carrying our purses and squeezed together sideways with no space to move! We meant to get a picture of the four of us crammed into the elevator, but didn't have time. Also approximately half of the time that we needed to use the elevator it was stuck, so we ended up walking up the stairs several times. However we were just on the fifth (and top) floor, so it wasn't all that bad.
The first thing we wanted to do after arriving to our hostel around dinner time Friday night was cross something off the list of things that we all wanted to do- eat crepes. We asked the man at the front desk where we could find crepes, and followed up on his recommendation which resulted in the most pleasant first meal in France. We ate on the outdoor terrace of a small restaurant and were served by a waiter who did not speak much English, but we were able to communicate with him through the help of a French woman who spoke nearly perfect English, and was enjoying a solo dinner at a table near ours. Jen and I ordered crepes with Nutella, almonds, bananas, whipped cream, and vanilla ice cream. Emily and Deanna ordered crepes with crumbled cookies, apples, caramel, and vanilla ice cream. We tried each others, and both were so delicious!! Needless to say they were very unhealthy, but definitely worth it because they were so flavorful and filling.
After dinner we took the metro, which was surprisingly easy to navigate, to the Louvre museum! We came up from the metro station, and the Eiffel Tower was right there, unobstructed and lit up, in front of us. Every single one of us teared up at the sight of it. And it wouldn't be the last time this happened to us.
We spent an embarrassing amount of time walking around what we later learned was the outside of the Louvre without realizing what it was, and not understanding the numerous people who we asked for directions when they said that the Louvre was "right there". We were looking for the iconic glass pyramid! We stumbled upon it, much like we did our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, and therefore the excitement was even greater! I saw the pyramid shimmering through the pillars of the outside of the Louvre, and again excitedly exclaimed "THERE IT IS!" and we all began running/skipping to where we could see the pyramid.
Luckily we knew that the Louvre is free for students under 25 from 6:30-9:45 pm on Friday nights, which is why we chose to go during this time. I'm so glad it was during the evening, because it wasn't crowded at all! We decided that since the Louvre was so big, and we didn't intend to spend our entire night there, that we would see just what we wanted to see, including the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, the Egyptian exhibits, and the basement of the museum. I've heard so many people say that they were surprised at how small the Mona Lisa is, that I think I was expecting it to be tiny, and I actually ended up being surprised at how big it was! Still not large, but definitely not small either. Our host mom said that when she went, she could barely see the painting because there were so many people crowded around it, but when we went there were only maybe 20 people there and I was able to get to the rope surrounding it to take pictures! The same proved true with the other things we visited in the Louvre as well. We definitely lucked out.
The Louvre museum was originally part of a palace that was built in that location, and the ruins of the base of the castle can still be found in the basement! The last picture above is a model in the basement of the Louvre of the castle that once stood on its location. Of course I reached over the rope and touched the original castle walls- such a thrill!
After the Louvre we went to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. The journey was awesome in itself- we walked alongside the Seine River which is the most turbulent river I have ever seen. And also possibly the most dirty. It was so murky, and there were actual small waves in the river. With each turn we took while walking through the city, we would catch glimpses and then lose sight of the Eiffel Tower. Each time it came back into our line of vision it was bigger and brighter- but the best time was when we knew we were close because we could see the light it projects cutting through the night sky periodically as it circled, but the buildings we were next to obscured the Tower itself. We turned right down a small street, and the Eiffel Tower was right in front of us, only about two blocks away. We all stopped, and again tears were in all eight of our eyes. It was so big! That sounds like such a stupid statement- obviously the Eiffel Tower is big. But looming in front of us so suddenly in all of it's impressive massiveness it looked more majestic than the most glamorous queen dressed in her finest jewels.
Every hour after dark, on the hour and for five minutes, the Eiffel Tower lights up with dancing lights that literally give the impression that it's glittering. It was so breathtaking to see. I felt mesmerized- I actually couldn't move. It was the most beautiful and inspiring sight I have ever witnessed, and I highly doubt that anything will ever make me feel the way that I did in those five minutes. I took a video and endless pictures of the glittering, but neither compare to the real thing, just as pictures of the Eiffel Tower can't express how being there and seeing it in person excites something inside of you that you didn't even know was there.
Saturday morning we rose by 8 to enjoy breakfast and take the metro to the island on the Seine River where Notre Dame is. Jen was meeting up with some of her friends from home in Paris, and they were going to spend the morning at Versailles, so she left the hostel to start her day before we even got up! When we exited the metro station we could hear the bells of Notre Dame chiming and followed them to the church itself. Even before we saw the entire thing, I glimpsed the famous two towers over the rooftop of another building! It's been a long time- since my very early childhood since I've seen the movie the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but Emily said that it looks exactly the same in person as it does in the movie, which is super cool!
It's free to enter, and there happened to be a mass taking place while we were there! We sat and listened for a few minutes, but of course we couldn't understand what was being said. I guess I should have mentioned before that none of our group knows how to speak French, except for a few phrases between the four of us. We walked around the inside, and found small jar candles with a picture of Mary and the words "Notre Dame" on them, which you could light and say a prayer and then take home with you for a small donation. This was such a unique and meaningful souvenir!
After Notre Dame we walked the short distance to the famous Love Lock Bridge. We had a little trouble finding it, and asked a very helpful couple for directions. Almost everyone that we spoke to in France, whether a shop owner, a waiter in a restaurant, or a person on the street, spoke at least a little bit of English and was more than willing to help us! The Love Lock Bridge is something else that made me tear up when we walked onto it. I've seen pictures of the immense amount of locks that are on the bridge, but actually seeing just how many there were was unbelievable. It was so inspiring to see how many couples there are who feel so strongly about one another that they are are excited to make such a big commitment. If that many people can believe in love, what reason does anyone have to be afraid of it? It was so interesting to examine the locks individually. Some of them are combination locks, some are padlocks. Some locks are engraved with words and images, showing that the lock-hanging wasn't a spontaneous but rather a long anticipated event. Almost all of them have inscriptions of some sort, ranging from quotes about love to the names of the two people who hung the lock together. There is almost no room on the actual bridge left to hang locks, so many people have hung their locks onto locks that are already hung. It was while examining some of these locks that the most horrific thing possible happened- one of the locks became unhooked and fell straight through the gap in the board of the bridge into the Seine River!! Emily, Deanna, and I grabbed each others' arms and looked at each other with shock and amusement- what were the chances of this happening!? Of course I was freaking out- if I end up alone at 80 years old except for an excessive amount of cats it's definitely because of the time I went to Paris and knocked a lock off the Love Lock Bridge. The irony is that right before this, we were talking about how cool it would be if when a couple broke up, their lock fell off the bridge. Of course, for that to happen you would have to believe in magic, but after this trip and meeting some of the best magicians I've ever seen (more on that later) I just might believe in magic.
This wasn't the weirdest thing to happen on the Love Lock Bridge however. While we were standing near a lamppost on the bridge, we're 90% sure that we witnessed a sketchy drug deal. A man came up to the lamppost, opened a section in the base with a key, and slipped a super suspicious-looking package inside, and then locked the section closed again and put the key into his pocket. He stood around for a while as though checking to make sure no one saw him before walking away, again with more sketchiness than I've ever seen a person walk. I guess it will be a mystery for a while, but I kind of hope this is one of the things that you find the answers to when you die.
After the Love Lock Bridge, we took the metro to another part of the city to see the Opera House, or Palais Garnier in French. This is the Opera House where the novel (and movie) The Phantom of the Opera was filmed. His box (number 5) was even marked!
The Palais Garnier was built by a relatively unknown architect and ended up being amazing. The grand staircase was built with the intention of being a kind of theater itself, when ladies dressed in their finest attire could be both seen and see others.
The architect wanted to incorporate lots of symbolism and references to mythology in his masterpiece, and so included marble statues of Tragedy and Comedy flanking the sides of the entrance to the main auditorium.
Touring the Palais Garnier was something that I thought would be interesting, but not something that I expected to enjoy as much as I did. We rented audio guides and were able to walk around the opera house and take photos at our own pace. It was so wonderful to be able to learn so much history about the opera house and the city as well! A wonderful surprise awaited us as we left after our tour; there was a wonderful singer with a microphone singing "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 right in front of Palais Garnier! It was awesome to have such an incredible and memorable song sung in such a significant place. I definitely will never listen to that song now without thinking about Paris.
We needed to meet back up with Jen at 3:30 in front of the Eiffel Tower, and so we took the remaining time after our tour to search for a place to eat. We settled on a delicious Italian restaurant near the Eiffel Tower which was definitely a good choice!
While walking to the Eiffel Tower, we somehow managed to turn down the exact same street that we did on Friday night when we first saw the entire Eiffel Tower! It was awesome to see the tower from the same spot both by day and by night. The nighttime picture was earlier in this blog.
When we found Jen, we also found the most delightful surprise of the day- two magicians! The young men were teenagers, 17 and 19 years old, but I would have guessed that they were maybe 22 or 23. They both spoke English very well. They were so amazing!! I got way too excited about all of the amazing tricks that they did, and I think they enjoyed having me as an audience! They even asked if I would assist them with several of their tricks! There was one in particular where they asked me to hold a match box in my hand the entire time, and asked Deanna to think of a card. At the end of the trick, they asked me to open the box, and Deanna's card was inside! I actually have no idea how that happened. Like I said earlier, they definitely made me believe in magic again! They showed us tricks for nearly an hour before continuing on their way. It was obvious that they enjoyed having such an enthusiastic audience! They even went away and then remembered another trick and came back to show it to us! I swear I think those two boys will be famous someday- they truly were gifted! It was so wonderful to meet locals who were not quite in the norm of people in Paris who wanted to show us things for their own enjoyment, as well as ours. They didn't even ask for money at the end of their display of tricks. They were just wonderful artists wanting to show off their craft, and I'm so glad that they chose us!
We spent at least an hour taking pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower on the most beautiful, cloudless spring day!
After experiencing the beauty and majesty of the Eiffel Tower during the day, we headed to our last stop: The Arc de Triomphe. The Arc de Triomphe was built by Napoleon to welcome home his troops after battle. He said to them "Returning home, you will pass under triumphal arches," and indeed the Arc de Triomphe certainly is triumphal. The only regret I have is that we went during a time when the side facing the Eiffel Tower was under restoration, however we could still catch a glimpse of it while peering around the side of the scaffolding.
We ended our long and wonder-filled day walking along Champs-Elysees, shopping and eating. We returned to our hostel pretty early, maybe around 10:30 or 11 because our feet hurt so badly, but after we had all showered, we spent the night lounging in our room telling jokes and making pathetic pick up lines (this was mostly me, I'll admit it) and just talking and laughing. It truly was the most perfect weekend that I've ever had.
The next morning we left early to be at the airport in time to catch our 12:30 pm flight. On the flight home, I sat next to a wonderful boy who is from Philadelphia and is also studying in Sevilla! We spent the time waiting for the plane to take off talking about Sevilla and Paris and the United States. Like I've said, I always meet the most fantastic people on planes! That's definitely my favorite part about flying. He wasn't even weird about the fact that when I fell asleep, my head fell sideways and bounced off his shoulder for a second, waking me up. This truly was the most perfect trip to Paris that I could have imagined. Looking back, I wouldn't change a single thing, except maybe our flight times. But even with the flights, I'm so impressed with how much we were able to do in just a day and an evening. And also the fact that even though we did so much, none of it felt rushed. Paris is a city that I would love to come back to in the future, to see more of the city, do more shopping, and see Versailles and more of the Louvre! Paris is one of the few cities that I've been to- both in Europe and in the United States- that I could see myself living in and being happy. I'm so glad that I had the chance to go during this exact weekend, with the exact weather, with the exact girls, and have exactly the perfectly timed experiences that I did.
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