First day in Paris, we met up with some more of Val's friends from U of I, Nancy and Sarah, who are studying in south of France so we had someone who could speak French with us. That is one thing that Val and I quickly got frustrated with, not knowing the language at all. All I had was, "Bonjour," "Merci," "L'adition si vouz ple." I just felt like an ignorant American by knowing very little of the language. Also, everyone says that everyone in Paris speaks English, but that is just not true.
First thing we did was head over to the Musee Orsay, which was my favorite museum, smaller than the Louvre with more impressionist artists like Van Gogh, Monet, Degas and Renior. I really enjoyed this museum because its the type of art that I like and it was of artist I knew and not just hundreds of 16th century interpretations of Jesus' birth.
Next, we headed to the Montmartre district of Paris to see the Sacre Coeur, "Sacred Heart," which looks like a version of the Taj Mahal. It sits up on the highest point in the city, so it is a gorgeous view! We also had the pleasure of seeing some street performers.
Sacre Couer
Street performer
Nice break dancing
View of the city from Sacre Couer
View of Sacre Couer from the bottom
And since we were in the neighborhood, we walked over to the Moulin Rouge, the area full of sex shops. It looks like all the pictures I've seen of it, just a place to see, get a photo, then move on.
The Moulin Rouge
Then it was time to see the biggest sight of all of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, which is full of gypsies ("Do you speak english?") and men trying to sell you cheap, metal replicas of the tower. They get quite annoying after a while. I must say that the Eiffel Tower truely is a big tower of metal. I don't know but I guess I was expecting something prettier. It was extremely windy and combined with my fear of heights, I decided not to pay 13 euros to go to the top. Instead, Nancy, Sarah, and I found some macaroons, which were delicious, and waited at the bottom for everyone else.
Famous Eiffel Tower
Yummy Macaroons!
That night we got a true European dinner, not until 10pm. We fortunately found this place that had a menu deal for 12 euros, appetizer, entree, dessert, drink, and bread! For the appetizer, I had salmon tartare, smoked salmon bits on a garlic toast bread and a light salad; entree was beef bourguigno
The group at dinner.
DAY 3 of Spring Break, DAY 2 of the City of Paris: March 28th
So Val and I realized that we kinda did Paris backwards, you are suppose to do the free walking tour the first day and then Versailles is suppose to be the last day, but it was all good. Sunday morning we met up with a free walking tour which started at St. Michel fountain. Our tour guide, Jackie from Melbourne, Australia, was energetic, quirky, hilarious, but knew her stuff. I loved her! Unfortunately our whole 3 hour tour was accompanied by a cold, misty drizzle. This tour was great though because we saw everything in the main part of Paris, Notre Dame, Pont Neuf, Palais Justice, Siene River, Henry IV statue, Louvre, Jardines Tuileries, Concorde Plaza, Champs Elysees to finish at Petit Palais. It was exhausting, but totally worth it!
St. Michel
Notre Dame
Pont Neuf
Such a misty day
Jardines Tuileries
Plaza de Concorde. That was a "gift" from the Egyptians when Napoleon invaded.
Fountain that Anne Hathaway throws her phone in at the end of The Devil Wears Prada.
Champs Elysees
Petit Palais
Val and I by the Siene River
After that we headed over to the Louvre, which we also got into for free with our student visas! I was really tired and had only one true mission, to see the Mona Lisa. Val and I gave ourselves and hour and a half then we were going to head back to our hostel. So I saw the Mona Lisa, which is really tiny and there were so many people around to just see her! Then I also saw the Last Supper by Da Vinci which is beautiful. Then I walked around, sat as much as I could, and looked at some Spanish renaissance paintings. The Louvre is just so overwhelming and very easy to get lost in, but the building itself is gorgeous because it was the royal palace before Versailles was built.
Inside the Louvre
The Mona Lisa, so tiny
All the people around the Mona Lisa
Da Vinci painting, last supper
Inside the Louvre
The Louvre
DAY 4 of Spring Break, DAY 3 of the City of Paris: March 29th
In the morning, I headed to a flea market that a friend had told me about which is supposedly really famous. Well, it actually wasn't that cool and way out on the north end of Paris. I thought i was going to have some really cool jewelry finds and stuff but it basically just had random clothing, shoes, and cheap looking jewelry. I was a little disappointed, but determined to find some cool paintings so I headed back to the Montmarte district. I found a beautiful, original water color up by Sacre Couer, then grabbed a sandwhich and ate lunch in this little park which looked over the entire city. It was just beautiful and a much prettier day than the day before.
After that I went back and hit up some of the places we had gone by on our walking tour. I actually went inside the Notre Dame which was stunning. At one point there are all these wood carvings of stories of the bible, so back in the day illiterate people could understand. However, I did not feel like climbing the 500 stairs up a spiral staircase to the top. I also walked across the pedestrian bridge over the Siene River, the bridge where on the series finale of Sex and the City Big tells Carrie that he loves her! But he is not the only one, many couples share their love by signing and attaching a lock to the wires of the bridge. Oh and one other movie reference, at the end of the Pont Neuf bridge there is a building with "Samaritaine" on it. Matt Damon in Bourne Supremacy hid behind the "M" when he tells the guy to meet him on Pont Neuf, take off his jacket and turn around!
Notre Dame
Inside the Cathedral
Carvings of Bible stories
Stain glass of Notre Dame
Locks on the bridge
See the Samaritaine in the background?
Afterwards, I grabbed a crepe with nutella from a street vendor and relaxed in the Luxembourg gardens. The French do know how to relax they have chairs everywhere by fountains and in gardens for people to sit down. Also, they are the country that gives their employees the most holidays off. I should work here! haha
Luxembourg gardens and the only skyscraper in Paris city limits.
Luxembourg Palace
From my tour guide, I had heard that the Comedie Theater saves about 60 seats every show that you can buy for 5 euros about an hour before the show starts. I had nothing better to do that night, so I stood in line and got my ticket for 5 euros, grabbed a quick dinner, and then went to the French Theatre. The show was the L'Illusion Comique so I understood it was about an comic illusion. I was hoping that it was going to be with a lot of action so I could possible have an idea, but it was mostly monologues and dialouge that I did not undeerstand at all! It was supposedly really funny though and the acting appreared really good. The theatre was also gorgeous! However after about 2 hours of watching a show in a language that I didn't know, I was ready to go. But it was an excellent cultural experience!
Theatre
Stage
DAY 5 of Spring Break, DAY 4 of the City of Paris: March 30th
This was my last day in Paris. I woke up and headed straight for the Petit Palais where they were holding a Yves Saint Laurent, YSL, exhibit for the late fashion designer. An hour and a half wait in line and 11 euros later, I finally made it into the exhibit! It was spectacular, the highlight of my visit to Paris!!! There were hundreds of haute couture dresses that he designed from his days at Dior in the 60s to his final fashion show in 2002. The exhibit was just perfectly designed! I spent about 2 hours in there and even though pictures were prohibited, I couldn't help but sneak some in.
From the Dior years
Mock up of his work space
Window in the exhibit
Inspired by Spain
Final room with a hundred couture dresses!
Petit Palais is located at the end of Champs Elysees, so after the exhibit I walked up it to the Arc de Triomphe which has 12 streets that enter the traffic circle. According to statistics an accident on this circle happens every 30 minutes! But don't worry pedestrians don't have to worry about crossing it, there is a tunnel underground. Under the arc is where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located in France. I bought a ticket to travel to the top but I was not aware of the hundred stairs you have to climb to get there. It was totally worth it though! Before you get to the very top there is a part with a screen that looks down below, so you can see everyone walking under the arc. The view from the top was spectacular though!
Arc de Triomphe
underneath the arc
Tomb of Unknown Soldier
Screen to see below you
Intersecting roads
Sacre Couer in the distance
View of the city
That pretty much consists of my trip to Paris. I went to bed early that night, because I woke up at 2:30am to catch the shuttle I reserved to pick me up around 3:30am. Of course we picked up some other people to take, but they ended up having to go to Orly Airport and I was going to Charles D'Gualle. My driver seemed a little upset about this but he said it would be ok, if we went to Orly first then Charles. Of course, we hit a bad car accident on the way to Orly, I was worried that my bad travel kharma had returned! I only wanted to see my mom! But we made it through and then made it to Charles D'Gualle with plenty of time! I landed safe and sound in Madrid a few hours later and found my mom easily!
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