J'adore Paris!
Just got back from our free weekend in Paris: I know everyone always says that it's an amazing city, but I'm going to have to agree. The architecture of all the buildings is so beautiful and so unique! It was so cool to see a city that I have only seen in movies. Here are some cliche touristy highlights:
Walking down Champs Elysees. Right when we got to the city we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went to see the Arc de Triomphe and walk down the Champs Elysees. My group was only 6 people, and we actually ran into two other groups of our study abroad friends who were also visiting Paris. It was fun to see so many other Americans around, with their cameras out and wearing "I heart Paris" t-shirts. I felt like one of those people you see around DC all the time, walking around with a map looking lost. We were not the only visitors in Paris, which is a lot different from the way it feels down in Antibes.
Visiting the Chateau Versailles. We spent most of the day Saturday looking at the huge palace in Versailles. It was so beautiful and so ornate. I learned that King Louis XVI had his people in severe poverty for years just so he could build this huge "summer home" for himself. The gardens were amazing and they had too many sculptures and fountains to count. Inside was the most ornate house I've ever seen, with a million rooms to get lost in, each one decorated differently. I love things like that so I had a lot of fun just exploring.
Climbing the Eiffel Tower. Sunday we climbed the stairs all the way up to the top! It was pretty cool, but it felt a lot like going to the top of the Washington Monument or the John Hancock building in Chicago. It's still neat to say that I've done it. We found different landmarks around the city while we were up there, like the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and our hotel (which was only a couple blocks away from the tower!). Random fun fact: Obama was in Paris the same time we were, and we saw his car parade go around the Eiffel Tower!
The Louvre museum. We saw hundreds of sculptures, paintings, mummies... it's amazing how many original works they have in there! I even saw the original Mona Lisa. That museum is so huge, I could have spent a whole day in there. We only got about an hour and half, but it was free on Sunday so I felt like we saw enough. It's kind of cool not covering everything, because I know if I go back I'll have lots of stuff to still explore.
Shopping at H&M. Today we thought our flight left at 1pm, so we were up at 8:30 getting our stuff together so we could get breakfast at a bakery and take a taxi to the airport at 10:30 or so. When we realized our flight didn't leave until 3pm, we figured it would be an excellent time to go shopping! We took the metro over to H&M and went to town. I got a few things that will be really fun to tell everyone I got them in Paris.
I really feel like I got to see a lot of the city, and it was just a great weekend. We spent a lot of money, but how often do you get to tour the city of Paris? Of course it only made me want to explore the rest of the world. I think that if I can figure out the metro system in a French city, I can get my way around anywhere! Maybe one day when I actually have a salary and I'm not borrowing Dad's money...
We only have one week left and it's kind of making me sad. I miss people at home but I've had so much fun getting to know people here. I highly suggest studying abroad to anyone who is considering it. Please be brave and do it! Even if you don't know anyone going. It teaches you so much about yourself and about other people, just being in a different community and culture. I am so glad I went on this trip, and I really feel like God's been taking care of me and giving me the best situations possible. It's cool that I can see Him working in a place where I don't even have any Christian friends. God is good.
Walking down Champs Elysees. Right when we got to the city we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went to see the Arc de Triomphe and walk down the Champs Elysees. My group was only 6 people, and we actually ran into two other groups of our study abroad friends who were also visiting Paris. It was fun to see so many other Americans around, with their cameras out and wearing "I heart Paris" t-shirts. I felt like one of those people you see around DC all the time, walking around with a map looking lost. We were not the only visitors in Paris, which is a lot different from the way it feels down in Antibes.
Visiting the Chateau Versailles. We spent most of the day Saturday looking at the huge palace in Versailles. It was so beautiful and so ornate. I learned that King Louis XVI had his people in severe poverty for years just so he could build this huge "summer home" for himself. The gardens were amazing and they had too many sculptures and fountains to count. Inside was the most ornate house I've ever seen, with a million rooms to get lost in, each one decorated differently. I love things like that so I had a lot of fun just exploring.
Climbing the Eiffel Tower. Sunday we climbed the stairs all the way up to the top! It was pretty cool, but it felt a lot like going to the top of the Washington Monument or the John Hancock building in Chicago. It's still neat to say that I've done it. We found different landmarks around the city while we were up there, like the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and our hotel (which was only a couple blocks away from the tower!). Random fun fact: Obama was in Paris the same time we were, and we saw his car parade go around the Eiffel Tower!
The Louvre museum. We saw hundreds of sculptures, paintings, mummies... it's amazing how many original works they have in there! I even saw the original Mona Lisa. That museum is so huge, I could have spent a whole day in there. We only got about an hour and half, but it was free on Sunday so I felt like we saw enough. It's kind of cool not covering everything, because I know if I go back I'll have lots of stuff to still explore.
Shopping at H&M. Today we thought our flight left at 1pm, so we were up at 8:30 getting our stuff together so we could get breakfast at a bakery and take a taxi to the airport at 10:30 or so. When we realized our flight didn't leave until 3pm, we figured it would be an excellent time to go shopping! We took the metro over to H&M and went to town. I got a few things that will be really fun to tell everyone I got them in Paris.
I really feel like I got to see a lot of the city, and it was just a great weekend. We spent a lot of money, but how often do you get to tour the city of Paris? Of course it only made me want to explore the rest of the world. I think that if I can figure out the metro system in a French city, I can get my way around anywhere! Maybe one day when I actually have a salary and I'm not borrowing Dad's money...
We only have one week left and it's kind of making me sad. I miss people at home but I've had so much fun getting to know people here. I highly suggest studying abroad to anyone who is considering it. Please be brave and do it! Even if you don't know anyone going. It teaches you so much about yourself and about other people, just being in a different community and culture. I am so glad I went on this trip, and I really feel like God's been taking care of me and giving me the best situations possible. It's cool that I can see Him working in a place where I don't even have any Christian friends. God is good.
posted by Laura @ 5:36 PM
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