Paris, Parigi, Paris.

On Friday, Ryan, Elizabeth and I took off for Paris. Becca, my friend in Greece, was supposed to meet us there, but got hit by a moped earlier in the week (yikes. Kudos to you, Becca). It was quite the exhausting time. Our flight left at 750 pm from Milan Bergamo. This entails: getting on the 240 train to Milan, transferring in Brescia, waiting for a train to Bergamo from Brescia, taking a bus to the Bergamo airport. We then waited for two hours, it was great. We got on our flight (Ryanair), which flies to Paris Beauvis, and then took a bus to a random spot in actual Paris. When we finally got to Paris, it was about 11. 8 Hours of traveling! Elizabeth ate a moldy sandwich along the way, and my water bottle spilled all over my clothes, which took 2 days to dry. Alas.

Once we arrived, we were greeted by the far off tip of the Eiffel Tower, glimmering as it does for 10 minutes every hour at dark. What a sight J We scrambled around looking for a subway to take us to our hostel--the subway in Paris is awesome, and takes you within 2 blocks of literally anything in the city centre! We bought a carnet, which is 10 tickets for the price of 8 or something. The subway is awesome and modern and smells weird J We arrived at our hostel (which was a 1 star hotel, but really theyre the same thing). It was next to a McDonalds. The hostel folks spoke no English, but plenty of French, and it took some time to communicate that we had a reservation, and we had money to pay, and please, give us our key, we’re tired. Eventually the hotel owner’s wife told us she spoke Italian, which was a godsend. We got into our room, which was a full bed and a cot, for the 3 of us. We had two balconies! I hit the sack (and forgot to pack pajamas), and Elizabeth and Ryan went out to explore and grab food--Paris, unlike Verona, does not close down after dark.

The next morning we woke up bright and early, with the intention of taking a free tour service around Paris (you tip at the end). We grabbed coffee and breakfast beforehand. Our tour guide was an adorable Parisian who spoke British (Maybe Scottish) English, but breaking out some beautiful French for proper pronunciations. She took us all over town--see the pictures! She had all sorts of interesting stories, and was clearly an internet nerd, so we took quite a liking to each other. Then her phone got stolen (she’d informed us all about scams on the right bank--sign a petition in French that really says give me 10 dollars, asking if you speak English and never leaving you alone, etc etc), and that took a bit of a down turn. Because we only had 2 full days in Paris, we immediately went to the Lourve after the tour. It was huge (I also forgot my ticket and had some guy try to sell it back to me)! Filled with so much art! But most of it sucked :P We walked past the Mona Lisa several times, and there were constantly people around in, taking pictures, with flash. This was incredibly disappointing. We also saw a few other famous things--Venus de Milo and the code of Hammurabi, being the most recognizable. Some of the works were quite beautiful though.

After this long stretch of walking, we decided to take a break, and went for a snack at a little pastry shop. I got a large loaf of cheesey bread (for breakfast the next day) and a chocolate muffin. Elizabeth got her crème Brule, and Ryan got a cookie. We set off on the subway for the Eiffel tower, and passed a dozen men selling the same Eiffel tower key chains (6 for a euro!). After standing in line for a half hour (the half hour before it closed, or so we thought), we got our tickets (mine just to the second floor, as Im such a baby about heights). Ryan and Elizabeth decided to do the same, since the wait for the summit was very long. We took a rather rickety elevator (which slanted, and so didn’t go straight up, which was really odd), and within minutes the tower started sparkling--it was dazzling. We had a great view of the city, but it was so dark it was hard to see much! Also I was busy overcoming phobias.

At the end of this long day (and photo shoot), we settled for dinner a nearby restaurant, where a game was going on. Food is expensive in Paris, head’s up everyone. I wasn’t too hungry, and just had an appetizer of grilled mushrooms, and split an apple tart with ryan. Finally, we made the trip home, and passed out after showering.

Day 3 was the final day! Ryan and I meant to go to Versailles, but there was too much left to see in the city centre. Elizabeth went off shopping! Ryan and I grabbed breakfast at a cute pastry shop (I had a crème coffee, which was fine), and headed off to Notre Dame--almost at the same time we’d been there the day before! Notre Dame was beautiful (and means Our Lady), but I’m starting to get worn down by all these famous churches. There was mass going on, which was quite beautiful, and the first I’ve ever seen! It’s so odd to think about the amount of history that’s crammed into a still living space--there’re coat racks next to tombs of popes. After Notre Dame (and successive photo shoots), Ryan and I walked the Seine river, picking up unique gifts for our lovely friends.

Finally we ended up at the Orsay--the second most famous museum in Paris. It contained more contemporary art, from the French masters like Monet, Van Gogh (okay, not French) Renior, etc. Ryan and I both really enjoyed it, more so than the Lourve. There’s much less art, but the ones that are there each stun you. We saw so many famous paintings. I love impressionism though, I may be biased. After such a great time there, I wanted to hit the Orangerie (where Napoleon’s orange trees used to grow, but is now the home of more Monets, Reniors, etc), but Ryan was arted out, and so we headed to Napoleon’s Tomb, which is in the same sight as a WW2 museum. It was absolutely giant for such a tiny man ;) Ryan went into the WW2 Museum while I enjoyed (more) coffee, and the attentions of an odd waiter. Lots of military folk filtered in and out: veterans, current military, and tourists all mingled. After strolling the museum a bit, Ryan and I were full of American spirit. It’s hard not to feel that way over here. Separated from your own country, you only remember its greatness, especially when you bring up our contributions to WW2. You realize every country has its flaws and corruption. And even in Paris, we were not discriminated against for being Americans who spoke no French. They were actually quite nice and helpful, and one waiter even commented that when he went to California, he adored the American spirit of solving your own problems.

After that rousing display of patriotism…Ryan and I went to the Orangerie, and took in more fantastic Picassos, Monets, Renoirs, and more, along with two rooms filled with nothing but wall-length Monet’s of water lilies. Watch the video I put up! Finally, we went to the arch d’Triumphe. This is located in the centre of the city’s most dangerous roundabout, which prevents people from running to it. Rather, there’s stairs that go to an underground tunnel, leading to the Arch--where you have to pay just to be under it. Not realizing there was a student discount (did I mention they had student discounts for EU student residents--that Visa really paid off. We only paid full price at the Lourve, and then because we were in a hurry), we refused to pay, and just took pictures in front of it. We then took off Montemarte, the non historical part of Paris where people hang out--also the red light district! Sex stores everywhere, and quite disgusting, to be perfectly honest. Lots of people taking photos in front of the Moulin Rouge, and plenty of folks there during Valentine’s Day weekend (we picked a great time to go…) ready to pay 80 euro each to get in. We ended our final day in a very cute French restaurant with a pay toilet near our hostel in lieu of Chinese food or “Paris Fried Chicken” (both of which were SERIOUSLY tempting considering the lack of each here, and the high prices). It was up there on best meals I’ve ever eaten. Amazing duck confit that fell apart, like a mix of roast beef and turkey. Crème brulee, cheese plates, and a waiter that spoke English. With this very satisfying ending, we went to bed, and woke at 400 to go home (our whole flight group was a bunch of zombies wandering in a large group, waiting for the plane terminal, for security, for checkin, for everything…).

A beautiful, fantastic, and modern city, that I could visit over and over again.