Sorry about the delay on this post, but I just got back from a weekend trip to Gibraltar and Morocco - which I will write about next. But first, here's the end of my spring break.
We left for Paris on Monday morning and arrived at our hostel in the late afternoon. The weather wasn’t quite as beautiful as in Barcelona, but after a quick bite to eat we wandered around the Seine River and saw the Notre Dame at night.
We started our day on Tuesday with a free tour of the city, provided by students living in Paris. It was great to get some background information on the city and to get our bearings. The tour lasted nearly 3 hours, and after that we walked up the Champs Elysees (a famous shopping street in Paris, but only window-shopping for us) to see the Arc de Triomphe at the end.
Just as we finished taking pictures, a pretty decent storm hit but we were able to avoid the whole thing on our metro ride to our next destination. Next on our list was the Sacre Coure, which is another beautiful church on top of a hill, conveniently located very close to our hostel.
Tuesday night we met up with Chris (who we had stayed with in Barcelona) who also had that week off. I’ve now spent 3 out of the 4 weekends of March with Chris (the first weekend of March he visited me in Sevilla, the 3rd weekend we went to Belgium together, and then I visited him in Barcelona)! After a few drinks at a bar close by, we headed home early to get ready for Versailles the next day!
The train ride to Versailles was only half an hour, and after waiting in line for a bit we realized we could get in for free with our passports. To study abroad in Spain I needed to get a 6-month visa, which makes me a temporary resident of the European Union, which gets me into a lot of museums for free! So we made it into the Versailles Palace just as another quick storm hit. After waiting for the storm to pass, we made our way to the gardens. They’re massive and we weren’t able to see them all, but here’s an idea of what they look like.
After Versailles, we took the train to the Eiffel Tower, where we probably took the most photos. Here are only a few of the ones I took…
We started close to the tower and eventually made our way to Place de Trocadero, which provides a great view of the tower. When I visited Paris with my family a few years ago, we also took pictures from Trocadero!
After Trocadero, we ate dinner at a café close by, and then Chris and I watched a very important Barcelona soccer game at a bar (Barcelona tied Arsenal).
Thursday was our last full day in Paris and we woke up early to get to the Louvre! We were able to get in for free here as well and somehow missed any lines. Of course, the first thing we saw was the Mona Lisa, which I had been told was tiny. I guess since I expected it to be so small, it actually seemed pretty decently sized to me!
We wandered through the museum for a couple of hours before heading out for lunch and then we walked up to the Opera House. It’s a beautiful building that is still in use today, and we were really glad we visited. The Opera House hadn’t been on our to-do list, but my cousin Jimmy who studied in Paris a few years ago recommended we go. Thanks Jimmy!
The Luxemburg Gardens
Then we ate dinner at yet another café (we had trouble finding anything other than cafes in Paris) before heading back to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. I’ve decided the Eiffel Tower is significantly prettier at night, especially when it sparkles every hour. There are three levels of the tower than can be reached: the first level at 200 feet can be reached by stairs, the second level at 400 feet can be reached by stairs or elevator, and the final level at 1,000 feet can only be reached by elevator. Unfortunately the highest level wasn’t open when we went Thursday night, but I’m proud to say I climbed the steps of the Eiffel Tower to the second level! My legs were burning by the end, but it was definitely worth it. We were even able to see the tower sparkle from inside, which was awesome. I took some videos of the Eiffel Tower while it sparkled, and I will try to post them to the blog!
After coming down from the tower, we once again went to Trocadero to watch the tower sparkle from afar. It was so fun to sit on the steps; we all agreed we felt like we were waiting for fireworks. Our last night in Paris was certainly my favorite – while sitting on the steps with my friends we talked about how lucky we are to be in Europe and how amazing this whole experience is. Little by little, it’s hitting me that this is an experience I will never forget.
Oh – how could I forget! Crepes. We all had at least one crepe every day and they were delicious. Some of my friends tried jam-filled crepes, but since I still haven’t grown out of my chocolate chip pancake stage (my Mom can vouch for that) thin pancakes filled with Nutella were right up my alley.
On Saturday the weather was beautiful so we spent the majority of the day laying by the river – tough life, I know. After we got a little too hot, we went paddle boating!
After paddle-boating, we watched one more ‘paso’ before heading home. These processions begin the weekend before Easter and continue until Saturday. Obviously, the floats are incredibly heavy if it takes around 40 men to carry it. I give credit to the men who do this (although I’m not sure if its voluntary…) because the final production is quite amazing.
The next morning Hannah and I woke up early to go to Easter Mass at the Cathedral. Although it was over 2 hours long, it was still a beautiful way to spend Easter morning, especially since I wasn’t at home! After mass, my other friends and I had a picnic in the park near my apartment. It was another great day in the sun and I couldn't be happier that I'm here in Spain. It's hard to believe that I have little over a month left here - and so much left I want to do! I hope to accomplish some of my goals - speak Spanish as much as possible - before I leave! I am quite proud of myself for how close I've grown with my señora lately - we talk quite often and she's told me multiple times to visit her when I return, which I certainly plan to do.
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