...Not what I was expecting.
It certainly did not capture my heart like it has done for countless others. That being said, I still enjoyed my trip, but I'm glad I was only there for a short time and I have no huge urge to go back (Venice and Edinburgh however are both calling my name).
Saturday, May 17
The flight and customs went well, then I had to buy a bus ticket. I was under the impression that I could buy one from a machine with my credit card or cash, but the machine only took European credit cards. After a brief search, I found a desk to buy a ticket at and made my way to the bus stop. Paris was hot. Really, really hot. I was very glad that the bus was air conditioned. I found my hostel easily, even though it was out of the way. It was a nice hostel for the price. I found a place around the corner to eat dinner, I got a Caesar salad- it was too hot for anything else. Across the street was a bakery and I got the yummiest dessert. It was really light and fluffy with strawberries but it wasn't cake. Who knows what it was, I don't read French. haha. My room was on the 5th (6th if you are American) floor and I had to climb A TON of stairs, so I avoided that as much as I could. I went to bed pretty early, because I had plans to get up early to make the most of my only full day in Paris.
Sunday, May 18
I took the bus to the Louvre nice and early. I wasn't sure how busy it was going to be so I arrived an hour before they opened. The courtyard out front was so empty, it was beautiful and actually quite peaceful. I was second in line, but by the time they opened the line behind me was very long. I went and got a audio guide, and I'm glad I did because the signs were all in French (in Italy, the museums had Italian and English). The main reason I decided to go to Paris at all was because I really wanted to see my favorite piece of art which is in the Louvre, The Nike of Samothrace. Well, I went off in search of that piece first and I find out it has been closed for the past few months and won't open until the end of summer for restoration and research. I was crushed. That was one of the main reasons I went and I didn't get to see it. You would think that when you visited that piece of art on their website an alert would come up, but nope... I had myself a little pity party in the bathroom, then I went on to try and enjoy the rest of my time in the Louvre. I stopped by the Mona Lisa to see what the hullabaloo is about. I still don't like it. The museum was so calm at first, but by the time I left at 11lish it was crazy and the tourists were started in get on my nerves. I walked to the Eiffel Tower and I realized I didn't need the directions I had printed out. You could see I most of the way along the river. When I first saw it I started to laugh. I just couldn't believe I was in Paris. I found the line to climb the stairs and bought a ticket, then started the accent. The stairs weren't bad at all, but the heat did make me wish I had bought water before heading up. I ended up getting some at the 2nd "floor". The wait for the lift to the top (and back down) was ridiculous and they really could have organized it better. The view was amazing! You could see for ages. Once I made it down I got the cheesiest ham and cheese crepe (per Erin's request)and ate it on the lawns out in front of the tower. A man walked by while I was chowing down and said "bon apitet!" I thought that was pretty neat. I got an older couple to take my picture and I am so glad they did, they turned out really well. I started heading back towards my hostel and found a Starbucks to use the bathroom and then I decided to turn around and head towards a church I wanted to see called Sainte-Chapelle. It was a long walk, but wow, Sainte-Chapelle was amazing! So breathtaking. The whole church is made of stained glass. The lady at the ticket desk gave me the price for EU students, which was so nice. The Louvre didn't give me that! I got there just in time, by the time I left they had closed the gate! I started wandering towards Notre Dame which is just around the corner to take some pictures and I ended up finding a pet and flower market. I would have loved to have bought some plants there. Out front of Notre Dame a food festival type thing was wrapping up and I got a 2ft long baguette for 1 euro 50! The cheapest thing in all of Paris it seemed. I rode the Metro back to the hostel then grabbed some more water to go with my baguette dinner.
Monday, May 19
I got up and finished packing then grabbed breakfast downstairs before heading to the Jardin Luxmbourg (big gardens where the senate is housed) to see the Statue of Liberty. My feet hurt so bad and all I wanted to do was sit forever. The Statue of Liberty was small and I was really surprised! For some reason I thought it was the same size as the one in New York. I sat in the sun for a while and wandered around looking in shop windows nearby before deciding go ahead to the bus station that takes you to the airport even though it was a bit early. It ended up being a good thing because there was mall with free wi-fi across the street. It also had shops I enjoyed more so than the area I was at before. I slept most of the bus ride to the airport. Then the airport made me mad because it was really hot inside and the drinks were really expensive. The flight back plus the bus to Keele were really easy and uneventful.
