My trip began on Friday morning at 2 am. Yes, that’s right 2 am. To get a cheap flight, we (my roommate Danielle, our friend Kris, and I) booked through Ryanair (For the record it’s not that cheap. They tack on all these ridiculous fees, etc). However, Ryanair does not fly out of El Prat in Barcelona. It flies out of Girona, about an hour outside of Barcelona. To maximize our time in Paris, we decided to take the earliest flight out of Girona on Friday morning—6:50, which meant taking the bus that left Barcelona at 3:30 am, leaving the apartment at 3 am, and getting up at 2 am. But, hey, we were on our way to Paris—functioning on only an hour of sleep was a minor detail. We finally arrived in Paris at 10:30. The bus ride from Beauvais (where Ryanair flies) was only supposed to be an hour, but thanks to an accident on the freeway, our travel time was doubled. But, it’s cool—we were in Paris!!! We took the metro to our hotel (at this point, I’m a pro at public transit), which happened to be in the Indian neighborhood. Hostelworld.com left out that tiny detail when we booked. I’ve never seen so many curry restaurants in my life. We couldn’t check in until 2 and were pretty much ravenous, we had to find somewhere to eat lunch. Our lunch wasn’t that great and it was expensive, we vowed after that to stick to pastries, baguettes, and crepes. Note: Lunch was not at and Indian restaurant.
For those who have seen National Lampoon’s European Vacation, remember the tiny hotels they stayed at, yeah, that was us—minus the silly berets. It was nice, clean and safe, just European style small. After checking in and dropping off our stuff, the first thing on our list was to get out of the weirdo neighborhood we were in and go see St. Chapelle and Notre Dame. St. Chapelle is unreal. It’s a gothic chapel built during the 13th century. If you can imagine gothic arches and vaulting, blues, reds, and yellows, and almost floor to ceiling, wall to wall stained glass, that’s St. Chapelle. I just can’t help but think about these old churches and building that have stood for hundreds of years. They’ve stood through years of war and war and war, and yet they’re still here for us to see.
St. Chapelle
Not only is St. Chapelle beautiful, it’s located right next to the Seine, St. Michael’s Fountain, St. Germaine, and Notre Dame. Ivana, a friend from USF and Vegas who’s been studying in Paris all semester, met us at Notre Dame. Notre Dame is enormous. Construction began in the 12th century and it was completed in the 14th century. The highlight of Notre Dame was climbing to the top—some 400 odd stairs—and seeing the view of Paris and seeing the famous bell. There were no hunchback sightings, but I did get to see the gargoyles up close—my favorite part. Again, it’s crazy how long Notre Dame has been standing. Walking up the steps, you could see where they dipped, where who knows how many thousands of other people have stepped.
Sitting on the steps of the Palias de Justice
Me sitting by the Seine
View from Notre Dame
After Notre Dame, Ivana took us to have some super tasty crepes (I love nutella), and then we were off to the Louvre. It was free after 6 on Friday, so of course we had to take advantage of that. Of all the things I saw in Paris, the Louvre was probably my least favorite. It’s too massive and too crowded. It’s overwhelming. I find it difficult to appreciate art like that. However, you can’t go to Paris and not see the Louvre. We did a really quick sweep, seeing the Mona Lisa (the lamest thing I have ever seen),
and the Venus de Milo.
My favorite part of Paris came after the Louvre—seeing the Eiffel Tower at night. It gets golden as the sun begins to set (as a note, it doesn’t get dark in Paris until about 10:30 at night), and then once it’s dark, it begins to glitter and strobe. We sat on the Champs de Mar, drinking wine, and just watched the tower sparkle and glow. There was a marching band, well more like a couple of tubas, a trombone, some trumpets, and a drum set, playing pep tunes and having and impromptu dance party right next to us. Like the beaches in Barcelona, people walk by trying to sell you wine and champagne (although no one offered massages for 5 euro). It was unreal, totally unreal. After the wine ran out, it seemed like a good time to head back to the hotel. It was really late and we were exhausted. But our first day in Paris was amazing.
Day two started out with French pastries for breakfast (mmm croissants). First, we checked out Montmartre, which was about a 2-minute metro ride from our hotel. The sight to be seen in Montmartre is La Basilique de Sacré Coeur. It’s built on a hill—the highest point in Paris. It’s spectacular. After the Eiffel Tower, Sacré Croeur is my favorite thing in Paris. It’s huge, but it doesn’t feel cold and ominous. It’s incredibly beautiful on the inside. It’s amazing how these massive churches were built in a time without modern technology, how faith can inspire people to build such massive monuments to their beliefs. Although I don’t think of myself as religious, I love old churches. And as a little fun fact, the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) was founded in Montmartre, where the Sacré Coeur is. It’s kind of cool, since with out the Jesuits, USF wouldn’t exist.
and the Venus de Milo.
Day two started out with French pastries for breakfast (mmm croissants). First, we checked out Montmartre, which was about a 2-minute metro ride from our hotel. The sight to be seen in Montmartre is La Basilique de Sacré Coeur. It’s built on a hill—the highest point in Paris. It’s spectacular. After the Eiffel Tower, Sacré Croeur is my favorite thing in Paris. It’s huge, but it doesn’t feel cold and ominous. It’s incredibly beautiful on the inside. It’s amazing how these massive churches were built in a time without modern technology, how faith can inspire people to build such massive monuments to their beliefs. Although I don’t think of myself as religious, I love old churches. And as a little fun fact, the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) was founded in Montmartre, where the Sacré Coeur is. It’s kind of cool, since with out the Jesuits, USF wouldn’t exist.
Basilique Sacré Coeur
We hit Moulin Rouge next, located in the red light part of Montmartre. I’m sure it’s way cooler at night and if you actually go to a show there, but we had to see the famous Moulin Rouge. I felt tempted to break into song, but decided it would not only embarrass my friends but also me. We took a few pictures and got on the metro. Next stop, the Arc de Triomphe. Not too much to say about the Arc. It’s the second largest triumphal arc in the world, but it’s probably the most famous. After the Arc, we walked to the Eiffel Tower, and had panini’s for lunch. We were going to go up, but the line was ridiculous. We decided to go back later that night. Danielle had built a model of some house for one of her final projects at school, so she had to go see this house that been the bane of her existence. The house was done by Le Corbusier. It was pretty ugly from the inside and modern on the inside. Not my favorite thing ever, but pretty cool. Le Corbusier had been a collector of Picasso. He had done some cubist work himself, so a few of those pieces were hanging in the house.
The Pantheon was our next stop. Some of France’s greatest figures are entombed in the crypt there—Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, Dumas. It was a little eerie. In the middle, there is a huge pendulum that swings back and forth. I have no idea what the pendulum symbolizes. Ivana met up with us again at the Pantheon and took us through Luxembourg Gardens.
Ivana and I in Luxembory Gardens, and Me in the Gardens
The Grand Opera House
Ivana had talked to some of her friends, and they were at a park having a little picnic dinner. We grabbed some baguettes and sandwiches and met them there. The park was very serene. It was nice sitting and chatting and just enjoying the park, and when the sun started to set, the trees started to turn gold.
The last thing on our list was to go up the Eiffel Tower. It closes at midnight and we got there at about 11. Unfortunately, they weren’t selling tickets to the very top anymore. I was pretty disappointed, but c’est la vie. We did go up to the second observation deck, and the old man security guard fell in love with me. Our conversation goes as follows:
Security Guard: (Heavy French accent) Where are you from?
Daniela: Las Vegas.
SG: Oh Las Vegas!!! (Calls over other security guard and says in French) She’s from Las Vegas!!
SG2: Oh Las Vegas! You have one of these there, no?
D: Yes, but it’s absolutely nothing like this.
SG: How do you like Paris.
D: Oh it’s beautiful! C’est belle, c’est magnifique!
SG: Oh your French accent in beautiful (hilarious because I kept getting made fun of for my crappy French, then they start talking in French)
D: Sorry, I don’t understand French (I hear them say Bush a few times) Oh no Bush, no Bush!
SG: Oh no Bush!! Yeah! Obama?
D: Yeah Obama!
SG: Obama!! Democrat?
D: Democrat!
SG: Enchante!! Sarkozy!!
After all this goes on, and a line has started to form around me, we finally get in the actual line. The security guard comes up to me and starts speaking in French again. I finally figure out he’s telling me I have a beautiful smile. I thank him, and finally move along in line. But he really loved Las Vegas…and Obama.
Even though we only got to go up to the second observation deck, seeing Paris at night was pretty spectacular, and the perfect way to end our trip. Once we got down, I said goodbye to Ivana and we went back to the hotel. The next morning we got up early to do a little souvenir shopping—for the record Tour de France merchandise is super expensive—and then started on the trek back to Beauvais.
Danielle and I
I really loved and enjoyed Paris. I have to go back one day, if anything just to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, the one thing I really wish I would have done. It’s funny though, getting back to Barcelona felt so familiar and normal. But Paris, oh Paris, there is nothing quite like it.
The last thing on our list was to go up the Eiffel Tower. It closes at midnight and we got there at about 11. Unfortunately, they weren’t selling tickets to the very top anymore. I was pretty disappointed, but c’est la vie. We did go up to the second observation deck, and the old man security guard fell in love with me. Our conversation goes as follows:
Security Guard: (Heavy French accent) Where are you from?
Daniela: Las Vegas.
SG: Oh Las Vegas!!! (Calls over other security guard and says in French) She’s from Las Vegas!!
SG2: Oh Las Vegas! You have one of these there, no?
D: Yes, but it’s absolutely nothing like this.
SG: How do you like Paris.
D: Oh it’s beautiful! C’est belle, c’est magnifique!
SG: Oh your French accent in beautiful (hilarious because I kept getting made fun of for my crappy French, then they start talking in French)
D: Sorry, I don’t understand French (I hear them say Bush a few times) Oh no Bush, no Bush!
SG: Oh no Bush!! Yeah! Obama?
D: Yeah Obama!
SG: Obama!! Democrat?
D: Democrat!
SG: Enchante!! Sarkozy!!
After all this goes on, and a line has started to form around me, we finally get in the actual line. The security guard comes up to me and starts speaking in French again. I finally figure out he’s telling me I have a beautiful smile. I thank him, and finally move along in line. But he really loved Las Vegas…and Obama.
Even though we only got to go up to the second observation deck, seeing Paris at night was pretty spectacular, and the perfect way to end our trip. Once we got down, I said goodbye to Ivana and we went back to the hotel. The next morning we got up early to do a little souvenir shopping—for the record Tour de France merchandise is super expensive—and then started on the trek back to Beauvais.
Danielle and I
I really loved and enjoyed Paris. I have to go back one day, if anything just to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, the one thing I really wish I would have done. It’s funny though, getting back to Barcelona felt so familiar and normal. But Paris, oh Paris, there is nothing quite like it.
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