Bonjour Paris!

I can now officially say that I have completed my #1 on my bucket list; See the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night.

I will say it was a rough start to the weekend when I found myself sprinting to the train station in the rain at 5am on Friday morning, but needless to say, the weekend was well worth the surprise early workout in the rain that morning.

I signed up to go to Paris with a tour group. The weekend included a boat tour, 2 nights in a very nice hotel, the Eurostar tickets there and back, and of course a guide; who just happened to be the best tour guide I have ever had in my life, or maybe it was just the fact that he was French...

So anyway, Friday morning bright and early we were headed out on the Eurostar to Paris. It was about a 2 and a half hour train ride which wasn't bad at all, and when your ears started popping it was the sign that you were in the tunnel under the English Channel. On the train I recognized some other students from Kingston and met many more. I met a friend that I ended up spending most of my time in Paris with, and turned out she goes to GVSU and lives in a town not too far from my home town. Small world.

First Glimpse

Once we got there, we got on a coach and toured part of the city. Although at this point people were fading fast in the heated comfortable coach seats, I tried my hardest to stay awake. From the coach we caught a glimpse of the famous Thinking Man statue, some of the area that was being set up for fashion week, the Louvre, and many other famous sites. After awhile the coach came to a stop, and even the people who had been dozing off suddenly awoke at the site of the Eiffel tower right outside our window. We rushed off the coach and raced to the edge of the viewing site we were on in order to get a good look at the beautiful Eiffel Tower we have seen so many times in pictures and movies. Although it was a bit cold and foggy that day, it took nothing away from the tallest structure in Paris (equivalent to an 81 story building) right in front of us. The guide had to put us on a time limit so we wouldn't stay frozen with our jaws dropped staring and taking hundreds of pictures, and so we would be able to make it to the hotel in time for check in!

Crowding Mona Lisa

We slowly made our way back to the coach and headed for the hotel, and I knew soon I would find myself back in front of the Eiffel Tower. Our hotel was gorgeous and I was a bit surprised after hearing some stories of european hotels. It was very nice and the people were very friendly. We found our rooms and unpacked and were given free time until later that night when we were meeting for a walking tour and transportation to the Louvre. During our free time we found a bakery (which we ended up visiting countless times during the duration of our trip) and ate the best croissants and rolls we have ever had. We wandered the streets by our hotel and picked out a place to ear later that night.

We made our way to the Louvre with the tour guide which included our first ride on the metro (much like the tube in london, but MUCH smellier.) Very shortly we found ourselves in front of the Musee du Louvre, one of the largest museums in the world, and the most visited museum in the world. For a museum, it was truly an exciting place to be. The glass pyramids added a bit of modern architecture to the 12th century building that was used as a fortress. We soon found ourselves following signs pointing towards the Mona Lisa. Once we finally arrived in a room with a large crowd surrounding a small painting consuming a whole wall, we knew we were in the right place. As we made our way to the front to catch a good glimpse, it finally dawned on me. I was in Paris! At the most famous museum standing in front of the Mona Lisa! A piece of art I had heard so much about, and seen in so many books and pictures. But the real thing was right in front of me! It was a breath taking moment. After spending a few hours touring through the museum we saw other famous works of art such as the statue of Nike (Winged Victory), The Venus De Milo, and many, many others.

The Louvre at night

After we finally found the exit (or Sortie in french) we found ourselves facing a glittering object in the distance and looked at the time and knew it was the Eiffel Tower sparkling. The Eiffel Tower sparkles every hour at night. Although saying it sparkles might sound silly, it is truly what it does. It doesn't just light up, or blink on and off. It truly sparkles. We were both very excited to see it from a distance and decided to head in that direction. We walked along the Seine river and took in the beauty of Paris being all lit up around us. Our tour guide had explained to us that if Paris were a person, it would be one that wakes up and take hours to get ready and makes sure to be wearing even matching socks and underwear. It was quite a funny comparison and a true one at that. Every street, every building, is perfectly placed. The architecture matches and lights flood every street at night. It was a very well laid out city which makes it that much more eye appealing.

After a long walk through winding streets we arrived in front of it. I feel like I may or may not (in other words I do) overuse the word beautiful in all of my posts. But I swear to you, this was EASILY the most beautiful and incredible thing I have ever seen. I know many people think, 'yeah its a tall Iron tower...cool' But there is something about standing right in front of it, as it lights up the sky, that makes you never want to take your eyes off of it. We found a bench and sat there and waited for it to sparkle. We counted down the minutes and as it got closer we made sure our cameras were set and ready. But as soon as the sparkling started, my focus was far from being able to take my eyes off of it to find the record button on my camera. It was instantly breath taking and my heart felt so full at that moment in time. It is truly a feeling I will never be able to explain. I instantly went back to when I started writing my bucket list, and although I tried so hard not to, I had some doubt that maybe #1 on my list might not ever happen. But there I was, watching what I had been waiting for for so long and It was even better than I expected. I truly had the feeling of acomplishment. One dream fulfilled, and that moment has given me the motivation and determination to make sure I fulfill the rest.

After that moment, and soaking it all in, we decided that we would come back the next night. We slowly left, and kept looking over our shoulders trying to figure out if it was real or just a dream. After successfully figuring out the metro on our own and finding our way back, we headed towards the restaurant we had picked out earlier. It was a small place and the staff was friendly, but hardly knew any english. We found ourselves playing a big game of charades and ordering something random from the menu. It ended up being fried cheese (not to be confused with fondue) served with salad, potatoes and bread. It was SO good! After we were stuffed from our surprise meal we found our way to another little bakery and bought another popular french food; macaroons. We tried many different flavors and they too were delicious! After that we called it a night and headed back to the hotel to catch up on all the sleep we had missed from the early trip that morning.

The nextmorning, we went to breakfast served by the hotel and had probably way too many croissants and then headed out for a walking tour with our guide. We walked all throughout the city including the Notre Dome Cathedral. As we walked through the Cathedral and saw the many stain glass windows and the famous Rose Windows, it was easy to decide that the Cathedral was by far my most favorite church I had seen. The architecture of it all was completely stunning and I enjoyed listening to our tour guide spend time telling us what all the engravings meant on one of the doors to enter the Cathedral, and that was just ONE of the many doors and engravings. We walked around it as well and saw the many gargoyles sticking out every which way on the sides of the building. Some of them were truly scary looking, but I managed to find ones I thought looked the most like the ones from the Disney movie. Our tour guide also enlightened us with the story of how the gargoyles got their name which was quite funny.

Rose Window

After that, our tour guide led us to the river, where we boarded a boat for a tour along the Seine River. It was quite cold so we ended up sitting inside and taking pictures through the glass, but the sights were still amazing. We again saw many historical and famous buildings, including the restaurant that inspired the movie Ratatouille, and we caught a glimpse of the smallest house/building in France, which was only 2 small windows wide and looked much like a house made for Stuart Little.

Hair band I tied on for my love for Paris :)

After the boat tour, we made our way to what is known as the Latin Square for lunch. The Latin Square is full of little shops, restaurants, and bars, and is seen as the college area, or the area for the youth. We ate at a little Bistro our guide had recommended and again we were brave with what we ordered. I ended up with duck breast. But we also tried snail, which I will say I will never try again. After that we did some souvenir shopping and of course spent some time in a chocolate shop we found. We ate our chocolates and again walked along the river wandering through Paris. We found the love lock bridge during our wandering and stopped to listen to a small band performing some songs on the bridge. The bridge is filled with locks, some engraved, some painted on. Many had names, dates, initials, or notes on them. By putting a lock on the bridge and throwing the key in the river, you supposedly are showing your eternal love. It was definitely a sign that Paris is truly the city of love and romance.

Snails....

Then we went back to the hotel to drop off our purchases and headed out again to the Latin Square for dinner. It was interesting to walk around the area full of restaurants and bistros because almost every place had someone outside trying to convince you to come into their restaurant. It was a very pushy business, and the only comparison I could think of is when people want to sell you things in the middle of the mall. We finally decided to go into a restaurant where a guy offered us a free glass of wine. We decided on fondue and it was delicious! I had never had fondue before, so I really don't have anything to compare it too, but I would guess it was better than most. Again we spent the night exploring the Latin Square and wandering through the beautifully lit streets of Paris and again made our way to the Eiffel Tower to watch it shimmer and sparkle one last time. Seeing it sparkle still had as much of a breath taking effect on me as the first time. It was the perfect way to end the last night in Paris.

Notice how the road has NO LINES! Crazy drivers

On Sunday we woke up and checked out of our rooms and were given time to do some more exploring. We headed to the Arc De Triomphe and walked around the surrounding areas, stopping to watch some street performers. We then headed to the Moulin Rouge where we were supposed to meet our tour guide for another walking tour. It was this point that I really noticed how tough it was being in a country and not knowing the language. France was the first place I had traveled to with a language barrier for me, so I was very glad to be with a group. I was surprised by even all the signs I couldn't come close to understanding, let alone pronouncing. On Thursday before I left, my landlords granddaughter was over, and she was trying to teach some french but I couldn't seem to remember any of it (keep in mind she is only 6 and knew plenty). It made me wish I was more fluent in other languages.

Moulin Rouge

We met up with our tour guide and headed up a very large hill towards Montmarte, and Sacre Coure. We passed the street that Vincent Van Gogh lived on and some other famous landmarks. Once we finally reached the top we found ourselves in front of a beautiful church with an even more beautiful view of all of Paris. It was a little hazy that day but the view was still incredible.


We then explored the Artist Square, where many artists sat in front of their easels painting away; either of beautiful paris landscapes, or someone posing in front of them. After wandering down some more narrow, cobblestone streets of Paris we realized that we were nearing the end of our Parisian adventure and we headed back to the hotel to grab our things. On the way back we ate at a Quick (which is supposed to be equivalent to McDonald's; but I will say I prefer McDonald's)

Everyone was completely exhausted by the time we were back on the Eurostar and headed home. As we took the tube to the train station, and then finally the bus home, I had to keep looking at pictures to make sure that it really hadn't all been a dream.