Next stop on our European vacation was Paris the city of lights. I had heard a lot of mixed things about Paris from other students traveling around Europe, especially that if you don't know French you are looked at like Sarah Palin saying she can see Russia from her backyard. I was definitely pleasantly surprised at how accommodating people were. There wasn't the same friendliness as Spain, but coming from Rome I'm not shocked when people aren't smiling and happy 24/7.
I also loved the French style. Every single girl was dressed impeccably in a wardrobe of black tights, long sweaters, and amazing boots. I wish that I could look 100% put together like the girls of Paris. Looking at everyone it's exactly how you would picture cosmopolitan Europeans strolling around with cigarettes, baguettes, and well behaved children.
Our first day we checked into our hostel "Oops!" which was the first award winning designer hostel in the world. There were many cute features and decorations, but overall it was just like any other hostel we stayed in so far. The first night we were so exhausted from all the traveling I think we may have been in bed before 9pm. It's so hard when you want to cram so much in to such a short time and you are just too physically exhausted to do so.
The next day we decided to do a bike tour around Paris. After doing one in Munich I thought it would be a really cool way to see everything since all the monuments are in a somewhat close area but too far to really walk to. So we did this and overall it was really entertaining and interesting even though I think Martin is cursed for life when it comes to bike riding. We saw Notre Dame which was amazing, as well as many buildings built by Napoleon.
Later that night we went to the Louvre since it's open late until 10pm one night a week. I was a huge nerd and bought the audio tour which was actually really interesting, and explained some of the lesser known works along with their history. I got to see the Mona Lisa (disappointing), Winged Victory (one of my favorites), and the Louvre's amazing collection of Egyptian and Middle Eastern artifacts. They say that if you spent 30 seconds looking at each piece that is housed in the Louvre you would be there for 58 days, which just speaks to how incredibly expansive it is.
Later we went to a club Le Queen down on Champ Elysees which is one of the main streets stretching down from the Arc du Triumph. It was a relatively small dance club, with an owner who had a fondness for giving away Moet. We ended up here for both of our nights out in Parigi due to the unexpected closure of another club we had planned to go on Thursday.
We spent most of the next day wandering around Champ Elysees, window shopping and strolling around Louis Vuitton where Martin will be spending his riches as a famous design manager. My Visa was buring a whole through my pocket, but I was good and realized maybe in the future when there is money in my pocket to back up the credit card.
I also got to experience the Eiffel Tower. It for me was a highlight of my whole trip. I met some other people traveling from Boston (crazy coincidence) and took the elevator ride all the way up to the top level. Since I went at night I had AMAZING views of all the city light and landmarks. It was sort of sad though not being there with any friends or loved ones. Seeing all the couples at the top made me miss that feeling of being able to share that incredible moment with someone who means so much to you. But it was still something I will remember forever and hopefully in the future I will be able to come back and do it all again in the name of love <3.
So in general we had an amazing time in the city of light and love. Paris is unlike anywhere else in the world.
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