I can only say that Paris lived up to, and at times surpassed, my every expectation. It was a stunning, overwhelming, extravagant city, and it was mine for one weekend.
On the plane heading to Paris
Our trip began on Friday evening after class when we, Mary, Annie, and I, caught two buses to the Bordeaux airport. Jemma and Jody have train passes, so they met us in Paris later that evening. The flight to Paris was oh so fitting, cheersing with our bottles of complimentary wine and getting anxious to land! We landed and Charles de Gaulle and then successfully navigated through the maze of trains to Gare de Lyon, where Mary's friend Laura was waiting for us. Gare de Lyon is a huge train station in Paris that directly faces the Bastille- so, yes, the Bastille was the first thing I saw as soon as we left the train station. From Gare de Lyon, we walked to our hostel which was right around the corner. I must admit I was very skeptical about this whole hostel thing, but it was really not bad at all- granted I could not sleep on the pillow, sheets, or comforter because I am spoiled and it grosses me out!-but, it was safe, we were all together in one room, we had our own bathroom, and we were in the perfect location. After getting there Annie and I went for a walk to the Bastille and the Opera house, and then Mary, Laura, Annie, Hannah(another of Mary's friends), and I grabbed dinner at a bar/ restaurant around 11:00. I had a delicious chicken salad, many ordered Croque Monsieurs, and we just relaxed and took it all in.
The next morning we were early to rise, and we began our touristy mission. First stop, Le Louvre. It is breathtaking- in the middle of a gorgeous square and just so elegant and delicate. We got in so quickly,no wait, and we walked around for several hours hitting the high points of the museum. The Mona Lisa was stunning, Jemma was nearly in love with it, and I was not disappointed by its size. Maybe it was because I expected it to be smaller than it was after all of the talk of its lack of grandeur, but it was just surreal to be standing in front of something that I have dreamed of for so long. After a lovely cappucino, we headed down the Champs Elysees to make our way to the Arc de Triomphe and la Tour Eiffel. ( I honestly still can't believe I am typing all of this; I can't believe I saw all of these things!) We did not make it to the Arc de Triomphe because we got side tracked shopping- who could balme us; it's Paris. Also, Jody and I thought we lost Annie and Jemma, so we had a minor freakout on the Champs before we were able to decode their text message and find them in, where else but H&M. After our several hour shopping tour, we took a short cut to la Tour Eiffel. Again, I was in awe of its grandeur. It is brown, which I was not expecting- I guess I always thought it was silver for some reason-, but I was still overwhelmed by it. The line was too long to go up, but we took plenty of pictures. By that time, it was already about 6:00, and we needed a break. We headed back to the hostel to make dinner plans. On the way home, Jody and I got a nice surprise when we were able to coordinate meeting with Kate and David from UT. It was so nice to see some familiar faces if only for a short while. After our reunion, all five of us were ready for some food. We explored a little and then decided on Le Bistro de Lyon. I had a gorgeous piece of salmon and was in my happy place with my friends, food, and laughter. After dinner, Jemma, Mary, and I met up with Mary's friends at a sports bar. It was relaxed, and we had a good time meeting our swiss banker friends minus the man that had to get removed from the bar. On the way home, we ate late night crepes (truly French, no more taco bell and krystals)!
Just touching le Louvre
Jody, me, Jemma, and Annie at la Tour Eiffel
Sunday morning I went to mass at Notre Dame with Mary, Laura, and Annie. It was probably the number one thing on my list, and I am so happy I was able to do that. The church, again, was breathtaking with its history and beauty and magnificence. After church, Laura took us to get world famous falafel (Chelle I thought of you the whole time because I had never tried it, and I know how much you love it). It was absolutely delicious, and it was so neat to be on a street tucked away from the main rues. Lunch was followed by a visit to the Centre Pompidou, which was free because it was the first Sunday of the month. The art was interesting to say the least, but it was eye opening to see this modren art and contrast it to what we had just seen at le Louvre the day before. I appreciate modern art for its innovation and stretch of the imagination, and I am so glad we got the opportunity to experience it. After the Pompidou, we decided to wrap up our trip with some last minute shopping. We went into several incredible vintage shops- it is a good thing I only had one suitcase-, and then I found the purchase I have been looking for: boots. I had to throw away the pair that I brought here because they were just falling apart, so a new pair was necessary, and I am in love, or as in love as one can be with a pair of boots! We closed out our tour of Paris with a farewell crepe, and then Annie, Mary, and I headed to the airport while Jemma and Jody left for the train station. The journey home to DomoFrance was an interesting one- a bus, a tram, and a walk later we arrived at our doors around 11:30 exhausted and hungry but still oh so happy from the most amazing weekend we had just experienced.
Paris was magnificent, and I cannot wait to return, but I was also so happy to be home and that was the best feeling- being able to look forward to coming back to Talence and Bordeaux, where I have made a home for myself.
