Sorry for not updating for a while. Life has been a little bit more than crazy over here! I’ll make another post for that, but until then it is time for a report on my trip to Paris!
Daniel and I took the train to meet our other three friends in Paris (they flew) on Thursday night. I love the train. Security is relaxed and I could bring as much luggage as I wanted. Bliss.
We arrive at 11pm… in the ghetto. There is no one around, birds are flying around in the station, homeless people are sitting on the benches inside, I see a questionable group of people follow us with their eyes as we leave. Map in hand, we had planned to walk to our hostel. WE change our minds and decide to try the subway. Closed. We can walk! I know we can. After being approached by multiple crazy people and fearing that I was going to be mugged we try for a taxi. Customarily, you always take the first taxi in a line of taxis. However, the first driver looked really sketchy so we go to the second driver. He tells us to go to the first driver, so we start walking away (we are not getting in that cab!) and then the third taxi driver honks his horn, we tell him where we want to go and he says go to the first taxi driver. NO! We start walking because right now it’s our only option. Then I start to get freaked out. Everything is closed, there are very scary people on the streets who keep approaching us. I am clutching to my purse for dear life. We are lost. I do not get scared very easily at all. I was terrified. We decide to return to the taxis and happily find that the first driver was gone! Great we now ask the driver who originally told us to go to the first driver if he would take us to our hostel. He began yelling at us and told us “no. why would you not go with the first driver?!” I apologized, but he would have non of it. So again, we begin walking away. Heck, I am hailing a cab now because I won’t walk any further. By the grace of God one randomly pulls over to the side of the road (we looked that out of place) and he took us to our hostel. Safe and sound. Whew.
Next morning is time for something magical: the Eiffel Tower! We run out of the subway, around this really tall building and then-BAM- in all its glory it stands It’s truly a masterpiece. Everything and more I expected it to be. It is so massive you just wonder at it. That morning we would be taking a bike tour (with the same company as in Berlin) around Paris! What fun.
Bike Tour:
Rating: C+
IT WAS FREEZING. This tour could not compare with the Berlin one. It was a nice way to see the city. We saw the Louvre, Military Academy, Arch de Triumph and some other typical tourist sites.
Later, we went to Notre Dame and an art museum with famous paintings such as Van Gogh and Picasso.
Day 2:
First, we went to the Saint-Chapelle. It is an old church that took only 50 years to build (short compared to most churches) and has these breathtaking stained glass windows that tell the stories of the Bible. Stunning.
The highlight of my day was taking a French baking class. We made pear tart, cream puffs, normal puffs, madelines, and crème brulee! It was so much fun and it tasted great. I got all the recipes… so come over to my house and I will bake for you. ☺
That night I went to the same restaurant as the night before (three courses for cheap!) because it was so delicious. We also went to the Eiffel Tower to watch it twinkle! It was so beautiful!
Day 3:
We went to a graveyard. The one that everyone tells you to go to. Well don’t go, because it is L-A-M-E. So then we all met up to grab lunch before half the group left us. Now it was Daniel and I left to take on Paris again. What do we do? THE LOURVE! We got in for free and we loved it. I got to see the Mona Lisa and Napoleon’s apartments. This man lived very, very well. If you ever go to Paris, you MUST go to the Louvre. I usually do not enjoy museums at all, however, I enjoyed this one. We sat in a coffee shop for a bit after walking around. A mouse went across the floor. I'm pretty sure it was Ratatouille.
That night we headed back to good ‘ole London. Home sweet home.
