Paris

This weekend was a very exciting weekend. Chelsea and I adventured off to Paris! We woke up early Saturday morning and caught a TER train to Lyon where from there we took our very first TGV high speed train to Paris. It was a quick ride and we made it to Paris by eleven in the morning.

Our room

Once we arrived we went off looking for our hostel. We found it very quickly as it was a quick three minute walk from the train station. We went to check in, but our room was not ready until 3:30 in the afternoon. So we dropped of our luggage and went to start exploring the beautiful city Paris. Our hostel was very sketchy. We were just hoping that our room wasn’t that bad. Luckily, it wasn’t. We were told we were going to have another roommate in our room as well, but she never showed up the first night. We were happy about that. The room was very colorful and had bunk beds. I got the top bunk. Our room was also right outside a neon sign flashing the word hostel. It was so annoying. Our room also didn't have a bathroom or shower in it. It was like being at school but worst.

Hostel Planet Blue

After we dropped of our bags we went to the metro station, and found our way to the Eiffel tower. We were confused at first with the metro, but once we figured how it ran we were pros at it! The Eiffel tower was beautiful. I was so happy to be there and was so amazed! Before we took pictures we stopped and brought some berets. I got a purple one and Chelsea got a black one. The guy there told us we were very pretty and to stop by at 7:30 at night for a tour he would give us. Yeah right, we weren't going on any tour with him. However, he did give us a free keychain. With our berets on we went to the Eiffel tower. It wasn't before long that we got stopped by some ladies who wanted us to sign papers for a deaf organization. We knew this was a scam and they were a pickpocketer as this was the same thing that happened to one of the girls at our school. We held on to everything and said no and kept walking. It was exactly what she explained.

Arc de Triomphe

After visiting the Eiffel tower we hoped back on to the metro to Champs-Elysees. We saw the Arc de Triomphe and went shopping. Our first store we wanted to go in was Laduree. This is a famous bakery/restaurant with some gifts in it as well. I got a really cute keychain that had three French macaroons, an Eiffel tower and the Laduree logo on it. I am not going to say how much I spent on it. Let’s just say it’s the most I spent on any keychain. I was definitely paying for the brand name.

The next day in Paris we got up early and went to the train station to finish booking our trip on the way home from Italy and Switzerland tickets for next weekend. We got lucky with coming home, we were having trouble but a cancellation popped up and it was a perfect fit for us, so we took it! 

Notre Dame

After we got the train all situated, we went off to Notre dame! We hopped on the metro and found it without a problem. This was a very cool cathedral. We took pictures of it and we got to go inside to check it out. It was so amazing to see the beautiful architecture and the all the stain glass windows and statues. Throughout the cathedral you could light a candle, so I lit one for my grandpa. We also got to attend a mass and receive communion. The mass was all in French, but they did do the second reading in English.

After the cathedral we walked around and did a little bit of shopping. Once the night fell, we got dinner and went to the Eiffel tower. Since we were there before it was dark out, we took a walk to the lock of bridge. This bridge was very cool; I have never seen so many locks before all in one place. It was crazy!! On our way back to the Eiffel tower, we could see that it was lit up. It was just as beautiful as it is during the day. It is a must see and it is so worth it.

 

Lock Bridge

When we returned back to our room later that day for lunch, we found out we had a roommate for the night. She was very nice, which Chelsea and I were both glad! We weren't sure about sharing a room with a complete stranger. At least she spoke some English! That was our last night in Paris as we left really early to catch a train back home Monday morning to make it back in time for class which we had to be there for noon.

This weekend has been so much fun and I can't wait to go back one more time with Chelsea and for a whole week with my mom and sister in May! This week I start taking afternoon classes and start working on my entremet project. I will be in ice cream this week. See you all soon!