I spent this past weekend in Paris. Which is still weird for me to say. This was the first long weekend that our school gave us, so a group of 6 of us decided to go to Paris. On Friday morning, we traveled to Pisa by train and flew from Pisa to Orly Airport just outside of the city center. Friday night, we go to our hostel a block away from the Louvre. Literally a block. We checked in, and the hostel gave us our own room for the six of us which was awesome, because we were supposed to get a room for ten and potentially be living with 4 random people we didn't know. So that worked out really well. After we dropped our stuff off at the hostel, we walked to the Louvre, where on Friday nights, students in the EU can get in for free. Because I have a visa, I am technically an EU student, so I got into the Louvre, free. We spent close to 3 and a half hours there and saw the Mona Lisa (of course). After the Louvre, we wanted to see the Eiffel Tower and could see the top of it from where we were. So we decided the walk wouldn’t be too bad. It ended up taking a lot longer than we expected because the tower looks a lot closer than it really is. After about an hour long walk and lots of picture taking, we finally made it to the Eiffel Tower which was even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Every half hour or so, the entire tower lights up and sparkles making it even more beautiful. We took some pictures and sat in the park underneath the tower for about 40 minutes and then decided it was getting late so we walked back home to our hostel.
The next morning, breakfast was a 7:15 AM. We ate a good breakfast of baguettes, fruit, cereal, cheese, coffee, tea, and juice. And even better, it was included in the price of us staying at the hostel (aka free). On Saturday, it was marathon Paris day. We took a train to Versailles and took a tour of the castle and grounds there (for free again because I’m in EU resident student). I can’t even begin to explain how ginormous and beautiful this place is. First of all, the mansion is about the size of my college campus. And that’s not including all of the land surrounding the mansion, which is at least six times that big. It was one of the most breath taking places I’ve been in my life. After Versailles, we went to Notre Dame by train. We took pictures outside and inside of the cathedral. It was beautiful and gothic and awesome. After Notre Dame, I bought a croque-monsieur which is this typical French food and it’s basically a really really yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwich. With cheese baked on the outside too. After lunch, we walked to Bastille, which was the only underwhelming place we went in Paris. I think it’s just because I didn’t understand the history of the place and it’s basically just a statue/monument thing. From Bastille, we took the metro to Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Cathedral. It’s this huge white church on top of this really tall hill in Paris. The streets leading up to the church are packed with tourists and souvenir shops and street performers. Not what I expected on the steps of a church, but whatever. We went inside of the church, which was gorgeous, and we walked around in there for a little bit. Then we bought some Escargot (aka snails) and ate it on the steps of the church. After, we took the metro back to the Louvre where our hostel was. We stopped at the hostel for a couple minutes and made our way to CHIPOTLE. And this is where I cried. Because I’ve missed Chipotle so much. And it tastes exactly like Chipotle in America. I got a burrito and it was perfect. And they even had the Green Tabasco sauce. My life was complete in that moment. After Chipotle, we went back to the Arch of Triumph. Took some pictures, and did touristy things. Our night ended by walking around the city a little more and eventually heading back to our hostel and passing out after a really long day.
Our final day in Paris was spent by waking up, eating breakfast, and going to the Musee D’Orsay. It’s an art museum that used to be an old train station. This museum has the largest collection of impressionist paintings in one place, something really popular in France. There were paintings by the most famous artists the world has ever known and I saw them all. Monet, Van Gough, Manet, Cezanne, Lenoir, the list goes on. After that, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to FINALLY see it in the day and to climb up 669 stairs to get a breath taking view of the city. That definitely ended our trip to Paris on a high note. We finally headed back to the hostel and got a cab to the airport. Flew out back into Pisa and took a train into Siena.
Looking back on my time in Paris, I was surprised by a few things. First of all is how much I loved the people. The “stereotype” of French people is that they are snobby, rude, and hate Americans. However, every single French person we talked to were the most helpful, kind, and patient people. We never had anyone speak to use rudely or ignore us completely, which is (from what I’ve heard) a very common response you’ll get as an American in Paris. So French people ARE awesome. Second surprise is how much I loved the city. Getting off the plane, it was so peaceful and quiet. This is not something that I was expecting in a city that is 5 times the size of NYC. The atmosphere is so relaxing and so so so quiet. I swear I could hear a pin drop in the airport crowded with people. And it’s not that people weren’t talking, they just are so soft spoken, very different than Americans. I thought that Paris would be dangerous and I’d be afraid of being pickpocketed but I had no issues and not once did I feel unsafe. The city has beautiful combinations of historic and modern culture. It has green space and gardens and skyscrapers and monuments. It has fountains and clubs. It’s so diverse and has such an indescribable atmosphere that I completely fell in love with. Third surprise is how easy and CHEAP it is to do things in the city. The ONLY museum/attraction thing we had to pay for is to go up into the Eiffel Tower, and that was 4 euro. All of the museums were free for students as well as the churches. The transportation in the city is 1.50 for a ticket anywhere in the city. And everything is so clearly labeled, we never got lost (and I’m not even that good at figuring out public transportation). All in all, between meals and transportation I spent 55 euro including the taxis to and from the airport, which for me, I think is a great deal.
So all in all, this weekend was one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. Within 48 hours we spent an evening in the Louvre looking at world famous art, visited the Eiffel Tower 3 times and went up into it, adventured around Versailles, saw Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, the Arch di Triumph, Bastille, Musee D’Orsay, and ATE CHIPOTLE most of all. I didn’t think that 48 hours in this city would be enough time to do everything that I wanted, but I accomplished much more than I thought I would. Obviously, I would have loved to spend more time in Paris, but I didn’t feel like I didn’t have enough time to do the things that I really wanted to. And during my time in Paris, I found myself thinking to myself, “What am I doing here?” “How am I in Paris right now?” Never in my life would I have thought I’d actually see the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre or all of the other things the city has to offer. It made me realize how lucky I am to have this life changing opportunity and that this is going to be something that I remember for the rest of my life. Not just going to Paris obviously, but the entire four months abroad. I’m just really really lucky.
So until next time…
Au Revoir!
The next morning, breakfast was a 7:15 AM. We ate a good breakfast of baguettes, fruit, cereal, cheese, coffee, tea, and juice. And even better, it was included in the price of us staying at the hostel (aka free). On Saturday, it was marathon Paris day. We took a train to Versailles and took a tour of the castle and grounds there (for free again because I’m in EU resident student). I can’t even begin to explain how ginormous and beautiful this place is. First of all, the mansion is about the size of my college campus. And that’s not including all of the land surrounding the mansion, which is at least six times that big. It was one of the most breath taking places I’ve been in my life. After Versailles, we went to Notre Dame by train. We took pictures outside and inside of the cathedral. It was beautiful and gothic and awesome. After Notre Dame, I bought a croque-monsieur which is this typical French food and it’s basically a really really yummy grilled ham and cheese sandwich. With cheese baked on the outside too. After lunch, we walked to Bastille, which was the only underwhelming place we went in Paris. I think it’s just because I didn’t understand the history of the place and it’s basically just a statue/monument thing. From Bastille, we took the metro to Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Cathedral. It’s this huge white church on top of this really tall hill in Paris. The streets leading up to the church are packed with tourists and souvenir shops and street performers. Not what I expected on the steps of a church, but whatever. We went inside of the church, which was gorgeous, and we walked around in there for a little bit. Then we bought some Escargot (aka snails) and ate it on the steps of the church. After, we took the metro back to the Louvre where our hostel was. We stopped at the hostel for a couple minutes and made our way to CHIPOTLE. And this is where I cried. Because I’ve missed Chipotle so much. And it tastes exactly like Chipotle in America. I got a burrito and it was perfect. And they even had the Green Tabasco sauce. My life was complete in that moment. After Chipotle, we went back to the Arch of Triumph. Took some pictures, and did touristy things. Our night ended by walking around the city a little more and eventually heading back to our hostel and passing out after a really long day.
Our final day in Paris was spent by waking up, eating breakfast, and going to the Musee D’Orsay. It’s an art museum that used to be an old train station. This museum has the largest collection of impressionist paintings in one place, something really popular in France. There were paintings by the most famous artists the world has ever known and I saw them all. Monet, Van Gough, Manet, Cezanne, Lenoir, the list goes on. After that, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to FINALLY see it in the day and to climb up 669 stairs to get a breath taking view of the city. That definitely ended our trip to Paris on a high note. We finally headed back to the hostel and got a cab to the airport. Flew out back into Pisa and took a train into Siena.
Looking back on my time in Paris, I was surprised by a few things. First of all is how much I loved the people. The “stereotype” of French people is that they are snobby, rude, and hate Americans. However, every single French person we talked to were the most helpful, kind, and patient people. We never had anyone speak to use rudely or ignore us completely, which is (from what I’ve heard) a very common response you’ll get as an American in Paris. So French people ARE awesome. Second surprise is how much I loved the city. Getting off the plane, it was so peaceful and quiet. This is not something that I was expecting in a city that is 5 times the size of NYC. The atmosphere is so relaxing and so so so quiet. I swear I could hear a pin drop in the airport crowded with people. And it’s not that people weren’t talking, they just are so soft spoken, very different than Americans. I thought that Paris would be dangerous and I’d be afraid of being pickpocketed but I had no issues and not once did I feel unsafe. The city has beautiful combinations of historic and modern culture. It has green space and gardens and skyscrapers and monuments. It has fountains and clubs. It’s so diverse and has such an indescribable atmosphere that I completely fell in love with. Third surprise is how easy and CHEAP it is to do things in the city. The ONLY museum/attraction thing we had to pay for is to go up into the Eiffel Tower, and that was 4 euro. All of the museums were free for students as well as the churches. The transportation in the city is 1.50 for a ticket anywhere in the city. And everything is so clearly labeled, we never got lost (and I’m not even that good at figuring out public transportation). All in all, between meals and transportation I spent 55 euro including the taxis to and from the airport, which for me, I think is a great deal.
So all in all, this weekend was one of the best weekends I’ve ever had. Within 48 hours we spent an evening in the Louvre looking at world famous art, visited the Eiffel Tower 3 times and went up into it, adventured around Versailles, saw Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur, the Arch di Triumph, Bastille, Musee D’Orsay, and ATE CHIPOTLE most of all. I didn’t think that 48 hours in this city would be enough time to do everything that I wanted, but I accomplished much more than I thought I would. Obviously, I would have loved to spend more time in Paris, but I didn’t feel like I didn’t have enough time to do the things that I really wanted to. And during my time in Paris, I found myself thinking to myself, “What am I doing here?” “How am I in Paris right now?” Never in my life would I have thought I’d actually see the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre or all of the other things the city has to offer. It made me realize how lucky I am to have this life changing opportunity and that this is going to be something that I remember for the rest of my life. Not just going to Paris obviously, but the entire four months abroad. I’m just really really lucky.
So until next time…
Au Revoir!