PARIS, FRANCE
My first impression on Paris was expensive. We made the trek to our hostel and it was the most we had paid yet and was probably the worst. When we got into our room we were pretty happy about it being empty but also unhappy because it was so small. It was a definitely downgrade from our Berlin Hostel, but that’s to be expected…not every hostel offers spacious rooms and down comforters. We, or mainly me, take a nap and then we go for our first exploration to the Sacre Coeur which was down the street from our hostel. After climbing the stairs which are equivalent to Mt. Everest we walked around the outside and then sat down to watch the street performers. When that was over, we walked around the little area to the left of the Sacre Coeur and I saw my first mime EVER. ..Pretty amazing. We walked down to this point where you could see the Eiffel tower in the distance and waited until midnight to ring in Tammy’s Birthday. After midnight and the light show, we headed back to our hostel because the next day we were going to spend it in Versailles.
VERSAILLES.
About 40 minutes away from Paris, is the lovely city of Versailles. We spent the day touring Chateaus. If it weren’t for Tammy, this place would not have been a point of interest for me but I’m glad it was. The rooms were gorgeous. We spent the day there and then headed back to Paris for her Birthday dinner.
PARIS.
The next morning Tammy and I bought food to have a picnic at the Eiffel tower. It was quite a relaxing afternoon. We ate our baguette and cheese and then just hung out a few feet away from the Eiffel tower. ( Im just re-reading my last sentence and am jealous of how that simple activity is so special and was such an amazing opportunity. )
After the Eiffel tower we went to the Petite Palis and caught the Louvre on a free day. Unfortunately by the time we got there we didn’t have much time before it closed. I was still able to see the Mona Lisa though. Seeing the Mona Lisa was probably the most anti climatic part of the trip. The Mona Lisa is about as big as a fly on a wall. What probably makes it seem that way is that the wall itself was really big and just there for that one small picture. Don’t get me wrong, it was really cool to see something that I’ve learned about many times and seen in textbooks, but it just wasn’t as amazing as I thought it was going to be…definitely was no colesseo.
After the Loruve we went back to the Hotel because I was starting to feel a little weird. I wanted to get some sleep because we were planning on going to Euro Disney the next day.
August 3, 2009. The day that did not exist.
- I went to sleep that night before at 11pm, which is pretty early considering the times we had been going to bed. I woke up that morning at 8 and showered first since Tammy usually sleeps in a little bit longer than I do. After my shower I laid back down and ended up falling asleep till 4pm. I woke up shocked because sleeping in is not something I am used to, let alone sleeping all day. Tammy asked me if I was okay and I swear I felt like I was in a coma. I ate something and then fell back asleep until 8pm. I had dinner and then I fell back asleep until the next morning. Therefore, August 3rd is the day that did not happen.
Back on track.
I think I had slept so much because I wasn’t used to traveling or the constant going and going that I had been doing. It all just caught up with me, but the next day, I felt amazing. We started the next day at Shakesphere and Co. A really neat bookstore that Hemingway, Joyce and a few other famous authors hung out at. If you buy a book there they stamp it which makes for a cool keepsake. I bought Jack Kerouac’s “On the road” I felt like it was appropriate…and incredibly cliché. Haha After spending some time there, we went to the Notre Dame. I took a picture standing outside of it because my mom told me did the same thing when she was younger .
After Notre Dame, we walked around the Hotel De Ville, then went back to the Eiffel tower to see it at night.
INSERT: Hostel Roomates.
I cant believe I haven’t mentioned them yet, Our Roomates showed up the same day we did, just a few hours later and we found out they would be in our room 5 of the 6 days that we were going to be there. So to make matters worse, not only was our room the size of a shoebox but our roommates were GIANTS. No joke, they both had to be above 6’4. There were two of them, brother and sisters from some oakey midwest town that was in Paris ONLY to visit Museums. No other sightseeing. It was pretty funny to see them sleep because even though I’m almost 6ft. my feet only hung off the edge of the bed, a little bit. I would say a fourth of their legs were always dangling off. The only enjoyable experience with them was one night Tammy and I were still awake and they had already gone to sleep. So we were whispering to each other and I asked Tammy a question and the girl, (in her sleep) responded. We looked at her and saw that she was still asleep. We fell into a fit of giggles for like twenty minutes. It was great.
Anyways..back to our trip.
The next day we went to La Pure Café. I wanted to go there because it is the café that was in “Before Sunset.” After getting coffee we spent the rest of the day wandering around Jardin de Luxemburg. The most beautiful garden/park that I have ever been to. After that Tammy and I decided that we couldn’t wait to see harry potter. We grabbed dinner and caught a 7pm showing. We walked into this huge theater and immediately started laughing- the screen was probably as big as my dads flat screen. They really should have provided binoculars or something. Anyway, the movie was great, I was shocked about the ending though. After that we headed back home, it was the perfect last night in Paris. The next morning we went to Champs Elysee (which ended up being a favorite area of mine), Tammy got a pastry at Lurdee and I saw the biggest sephora EVER, the arc de triumph, had coffee and sat at my last Parisian café.
Other Memorable moments in Paris:
- When asking a security guard for directions this is conversation we had.
“How do we get to___?”
“Where are you from?”
“America?”
“Will you marry me?”
Haha.
- I had one of the most amazing crepes in my life outside of the Notre Dame.
-Pomme Frites: MUST try.
Although Paris drained my bank account and I didn’t love it as much as I thought I was going to, I loved everything I did there. Shakesphere and co, picnics at the Eiffel tower, Jardin de Luxemburg… thinking back, im quite fond of all my memories of Paris. <3 br="">
My first impression on Paris was expensive. We made the trek to our hostel and it was the most we had paid yet and was probably the worst. When we got into our room we were pretty happy about it being empty but also unhappy because it was so small. It was a definitely downgrade from our Berlin Hostel, but that’s to be expected…not every hostel offers spacious rooms and down comforters. We, or mainly me, take a nap and then we go for our first exploration to the Sacre Coeur which was down the street from our hostel. After climbing the stairs which are equivalent to Mt. Everest we walked around the outside and then sat down to watch the street performers. When that was over, we walked around the little area to the left of the Sacre Coeur and I saw my first mime EVER. ..Pretty amazing. We walked down to this point where you could see the Eiffel tower in the distance and waited until midnight to ring in Tammy’s Birthday. After midnight and the light show, we headed back to our hostel because the next day we were going to spend it in Versailles.
VERSAILLES.
About 40 minutes away from Paris, is the lovely city of Versailles. We spent the day touring Chateaus. If it weren’t for Tammy, this place would not have been a point of interest for me but I’m glad it was. The rooms were gorgeous. We spent the day there and then headed back to Paris for her Birthday dinner.
PARIS.
The next morning Tammy and I bought food to have a picnic at the Eiffel tower. It was quite a relaxing afternoon. We ate our baguette and cheese and then just hung out a few feet away from the Eiffel tower. ( Im just re-reading my last sentence and am jealous of how that simple activity is so special and was such an amazing opportunity. )
After the Eiffel tower we went to the Petite Palis and caught the Louvre on a free day. Unfortunately by the time we got there we didn’t have much time before it closed. I was still able to see the Mona Lisa though. Seeing the Mona Lisa was probably the most anti climatic part of the trip. The Mona Lisa is about as big as a fly on a wall. What probably makes it seem that way is that the wall itself was really big and just there for that one small picture. Don’t get me wrong, it was really cool to see something that I’ve learned about many times and seen in textbooks, but it just wasn’t as amazing as I thought it was going to be…definitely was no colesseo.
After the Loruve we went back to the Hotel because I was starting to feel a little weird. I wanted to get some sleep because we were planning on going to Euro Disney the next day.
August 3, 2009. The day that did not exist.
- I went to sleep that night before at 11pm, which is pretty early considering the times we had been going to bed. I woke up that morning at 8 and showered first since Tammy usually sleeps in a little bit longer than I do. After my shower I laid back down and ended up falling asleep till 4pm. I woke up shocked because sleeping in is not something I am used to, let alone sleeping all day. Tammy asked me if I was okay and I swear I felt like I was in a coma. I ate something and then fell back asleep until 8pm. I had dinner and then I fell back asleep until the next morning. Therefore, August 3rd is the day that did not happen.
Back on track.
I think I had slept so much because I wasn’t used to traveling or the constant going and going that I had been doing. It all just caught up with me, but the next day, I felt amazing. We started the next day at Shakesphere and Co. A really neat bookstore that Hemingway, Joyce and a few other famous authors hung out at. If you buy a book there they stamp it which makes for a cool keepsake. I bought Jack Kerouac’s “On the road” I felt like it was appropriate…and incredibly cliché. Haha After spending some time there, we went to the Notre Dame. I took a picture standing outside of it because my mom told me did the same thing when she was younger .
After Notre Dame, we walked around the Hotel De Ville, then went back to the Eiffel tower to see it at night.
INSERT: Hostel Roomates.
I cant believe I haven’t mentioned them yet, Our Roomates showed up the same day we did, just a few hours later and we found out they would be in our room 5 of the 6 days that we were going to be there. So to make matters worse, not only was our room the size of a shoebox but our roommates were GIANTS. No joke, they both had to be above 6’4. There were two of them, brother and sisters from some oakey midwest town that was in Paris ONLY to visit Museums. No other sightseeing. It was pretty funny to see them sleep because even though I’m almost 6ft. my feet only hung off the edge of the bed, a little bit. I would say a fourth of their legs were always dangling off. The only enjoyable experience with them was one night Tammy and I were still awake and they had already gone to sleep. So we were whispering to each other and I asked Tammy a question and the girl, (in her sleep) responded. We looked at her and saw that she was still asleep. We fell into a fit of giggles for like twenty minutes. It was great.
Anyways..back to our trip.
The next day we went to La Pure Café. I wanted to go there because it is the café that was in “Before Sunset.” After getting coffee we spent the rest of the day wandering around Jardin de Luxemburg. The most beautiful garden/park that I have ever been to. After that Tammy and I decided that we couldn’t wait to see harry potter. We grabbed dinner and caught a 7pm showing. We walked into this huge theater and immediately started laughing- the screen was probably as big as my dads flat screen. They really should have provided binoculars or something. Anyway, the movie was great, I was shocked about the ending though. After that we headed back home, it was the perfect last night in Paris. The next morning we went to Champs Elysee (which ended up being a favorite area of mine), Tammy got a pastry at Lurdee and I saw the biggest sephora EVER, the arc de triumph, had coffee and sat at my last Parisian café.
Other Memorable moments in Paris:
- When asking a security guard for directions this is conversation we had.
“How do we get to___?”
“Where are you from?”
“America?”
“Will you marry me?”
Haha.
- I had one of the most amazing crepes in my life outside of the Notre Dame.
-Pomme Frites: MUST try.
Although Paris drained my bank account and I didn’t love it as much as I thought I was going to, I loved everything I did there. Shakesphere and co, picnics at the Eiffel tower, Jardin de Luxemburg… thinking back, im quite fond of all my memories of Paris. <3 br="">
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