Paris, France

Besides some craziness getting to the airport (and the whole flying thing...) this trip was absolutely, 100% perfect. Such a nice change from last weekend in Barcelona.

We thought we had scheduled plenty of time to get to the airport in time for our flight, however, when dealing with trains and metros it’s impossible to judge how long it will take. We ended up getting to the airport with less than an hour until our flight left.  Once at the airport we had a few issues with checking in and security, but fortunately we made it on the plane.

If you know me at all, you probably know that I am terrified of flying. My dad is an airline pilot; I was practically born on a plane. Growing up I flew all the time, sometimes to exciting destinations, or sometimes just for fun as my dad was flying the plane. However, in the past five or so years I have developed this ridiculous fear of flying. I manage to deal with it somewhat while flying on US Airways, or any other American airline. However to Paris we flew on RyanAir…not my favorite. For starters, you could sit wherever you wanted on the plane. I know a lot of you probably think that is cool, but for me it was hectic and it made me uncomfortable. Secondly, the color scheme of the plane is horrible. It's navy with neon yellow right in front of your face. Neon yellow is not a calming color. In addition to this, the announcements were done three times, in three languages.  This also made me uncomfortable. To make all of this even better, the take off was extremely turbulent and as we landed we were swaying from side to side. Pablo (our pilot) did not do a good job. I won’t deny that I shed a few tears. I know I probably sound crazy, but I already don’t like flying, and then add on all of these factors and I was miserable. Well thank god, we landed safely, and the trip was perfect from that moment on. (Minus the flight back, but it was much better than the way there! Pablo stepped his game up.)

Safety card on the seat in front (no seat back pocket) and the seats DON'T recline!

The first thing we did once we got to Paris was go to the Louvre. On Friday nights it is free for students under a certain age, so we took advantage of this. The only negative is we only had an hour till it closed, so we did not get to see as much as we would have liked. I could have easily spent two or three more hours in there. We did see the high points though, and got to take fun pictures outside.

Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Winged Victory of Samothrace

After the Louvre, we walked around Paris in hope of getting to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night. Turns out the Eiffel Tower is quite a walk from the Louvre. We ended up getting close enough, and found a nice café to eat dinner. It was insanely expensive, but after a long day of travel, it was worth it. As we were leaving the café, we saw the Eiffel Tower sparkle, which was very exciting.

After the café, we rode the metro outside of the city to our hotel. It was not the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in, but definitely not the worst. The weirdest part about the hotel was the fact that they didn’t have shower curtains.  Definitely a new experience.

Next time: Pack a shower curtain?

Saturday morning we woke up early to start our day of tourism. We got another one of those hop on-hop off bus tours. I love these things! If you are ever traveling to a big city, I really suggest you use the bus for at least one day. It gives you a good idea of the major attractions, and saves time and energy walking around the entire city.

The first stop on our list was Musée de l’Armée. This is a national military museum and the Tomb of Napoleon lies here. We did not go in, but the grounds were very pretty.

Next, we stopped at a street vendor and I had my first crêpe. It had cinnamon and sugar in it and it was really good.  It was not exactly what I was expecting a crêpe to be, but it was good nonetheless. After the crêpe, we went into Notre Dame. The inside of this cathedral was just as beautiful as the outside! I love going into old cathedrals. It is neat to think about all the history this place has. Also, I find it amazing to think of how they actually built it without the equipment that we have today.

After Notre Dame, I was getting hungry again (surprise surprise…). We went back to the same area that we got the crêpes from and got toasted sandwiches from the same vendor. Mine had ham, tomatoes and sliced mozzarella on seasoned bread. It was fantastic! The food in Paris is definitely better than in Spain, so that was a nice change for us. (I think I get more excited about the food than the actual city itself, it’s the Frost in me).

The bus tour took us to the Champs-Élysées next. This is a famous and very expensive street in Paris. At the end of the street lies the Arc de Triomphe. It was very entertaining watching the cars go around it. Even more entertaining was watching a family of six, with a baby in a stroller, try and cross the multi-lane street to get to the Arc. We found out after much searching, that there was a tunnel to get underneath the street to the arc. I didn’t go to the top, but my friends did. Looking at their pictures I wish I had. You could see all of Paris from the top. Also, when we first got to the Arc, there was a family decked out in red and yellow (Spain played France in the Eurocup that day, and won!!). They had a Espana banner, so naturally we had to have our picture with it!

Next we went to the Eiffel Tower and took many pictures in front of it. It is really neat, however it’s interesting to think that it is famous but has no real significance. Nonetheless, it was extremely cool being there, and seeing it at night was magical.

For dinner we ate in the Latin Quarter. This area is packed full of any type of restaurant you could possibly want (except American food…). The restaurant we ate at was pretty good, however the best part was that it had WiFi!! We spent the entire time texting our friends and families and hardly said two words to each other.  When away from your family so long you take every chance you can get to talk to them.

After dinner, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower for a river boat tour down the Seine. Before getting on the boat, I had to have one more crêpe. I got one with strawberries, sugar and cream.  Close to one of the best things I have ever eaten. It was heavenly, and pretty pricey. But I was eating a delicious crêpe, in Paris, under the Eiffel Tower. I’d say it was worth it.  We got on the river boat right as the sun was setting. Everything looked even more beautiful in that light. It was really cool seeing the city from a different perspective. The only thing I would change about the boat tour was bringing a jacket. It was pretty chilly on the boat (as it was all day, a big change from Spain).  It was dark as we arrived back at the dock, so the Eiffel Tower was lit. Right as we were pulling in, it started to sparkle! That was one of the prettiest things in Paris. I know I am girly, but I like sparkly things!!

After the tour, we headed to a area where there are supposed to be a lot of bars and students. Halfway there though, we all looked at each other and realized how exhausted we were, so we decided to head back to the hotel.  

The next morning we woke up and it was raining. Apparently this is pretty normal for Paris, so we got extremely lucky on Saturday with just a bit of cold weather. The first stop on our list was the Catacombs. This was probably the thing I wanted to see most in Paris. It has the remains of over three times today’s population of Paris underground. Unfortunately, when we got there the line was astronomically long. We would have missed our flight waiting in that line. So we ended up heading to the last place on our list, Sacre Coeur. It was an extremely long walk to the top, but it was worth it! There was a beautiful panoramic view of Paris from up there. As usual, the inside of the cathedral was gorgeous.

After grabbing some food, we finally headed back to the airport (with plenty of time to spare this time). The flight went pretty smoothly and we were back in Alcala before sunset. It was such a wonderful trip. I loved the city, the sites and the atmosphere. I would go back again this weekend if I could. But I can’t, because I’ll be in Italy! I am so grateful for this experience. I am waiting for someone to pinch me!

Until next time! Hasta Luego!