I'm about a week late in writing about this, but it's been a busy week back (as every week is busy).
I went to Paris last weekend! It was stunning, and I likely would have fallen in love had I had more time there. My friends and I took the really really really Eurostar out of St. Pancras International at about 5:25 am, to arrive in Paris by about 9 am. The first day, we went out to Versailles. I felt exceedingly special because we got to skip the ridiculously long line because we have student visas. The inside of the palace was undoubtedly grand...but to be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with it. I've seen other palaces here in the UK and in Italy, and I am a bit sick of seeing a royal bedchamber and the funny-shaped short beds that royals used to sleep in. I did like the Hall of Mirrors, though. I am a big fan of chandeliers and mirrored surfaces, so I was in heaven. It was beautiful and shiny and bright and grand. Finally, we wandered around the gardens. The gardens were extremely impressive, as far as the eye could see! ACRES of green and dusty paths, statues, fountains, trelises, trees....
By the time we rushed back to Paris, we JUST missed the last ticket sale at Musee d'Orsay, so we headed down the Seine to Notre Dame. The church seems a bit smaller than what I expected, after having seen St. Peter's and Italy's Duomos, but the inside was gorgeous. The stained glass windows and rose windows were huge and beautiful, and there was a service going on so the whole place was lit with a heavenly glow.
After Notre Dame, we had dinner in St. Michael, a neighborhood known for cheap eats and souvenirs; it kind of reminds me of little places in downtown Manhattan/Chinatown/Lower East Side. I had a super-salty French onion soup, chicken, and delicious creme brulee.
We headed back to our hostel, St. Christopher's, which was one of the better hostel experiences we've had so far. Our room was an 8-person bunk room, but very spacious. Each bunk had a curtain and a little reading lamp inside, so it was good for privacy. We even had a sink and a kitchen table in the room. My friends and I were a group of four, and there were some other people in our room who didn't bug us...but made the room smell less than desirable.
The next morning, after a free breakfast provided by the hostel consisting of unlimited baguettes, Nutella, jam, cereal, coffee, and orange juice, we headed to Musee du Louvre! We got there pretty early so there were no lines. We made a beeline towards Winged Nike of Samothrace, and behind her, the Mona Lisa. Everyone complains when they see her, "She's so small!" but I still thought she was pretty awesome. After that, I wandered around the museum on my own, proud to say that I saw everything I wanted to see. After Mona Lisa, I went for the Greco-Roman statues, including Venus de Milo, another beauty. Then, I saw the Code of Hammurabi and a bunch of huge paintings. My favorite is David's Liberty Leading the People. After the museum, we headed to the Jardin de Tuileries and walked all the way down towards the Arc de Triomphe. What a long but nice walk it was! We spotted that funny obelisk thing, and window shopped down the Champs Elysees. We even went inside the flagship Louis Vuitton store...! Along the way, my friends and I stopped for silhouette souvenirs. It was so cool, just like in Ragtime, when the guy just cut out our silhouettes with just paper and a pair of scissors, freehand!
When we reached the Arc, there was a ceremony going on to honor the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We climbed up to see a great 360 view of Paris, and then observed the ceremony going on below. It was so touching to see war veterans carrying flags and wearing medallions representing their devotion to France.
After, we had dinner at a nice restaurant and then headed towards the Eiffel Tower. Along the way, we stopped for banana chocolate crepes (to-die-for), and when we reached the Tower, it was exactly the top of the hour, so we saw it sparkle! After lots of struggling to get night-time photos of the Eiffel Tower, and seeing it sparkle a second time, my friends rode a carousel and had some cotton candy...and then we headed back.
The next morning, we went to Sacre Coeur Basilica high on the hill of Montmartre. The church is...interesting-looking. I'm picky about my buildings, so I don't really like how it looks, but it is indeed very grand and majestic. In fact, my favorite part was sitting inside and watching the sunlight filter through the stained glass. I think in all my time visiting churches, I've never seen such beautiful light from stained glass windows. It is probably never sunny enough when I visit churches typically. After Sacre Coeur, we walked around the quaint Montmartre, and then to the Moulin Rouge, bypassing the red light district...that was awkward and interesting.
Finally, our last stop was Musee d'Orsay. We first had a picnic in the Jardin de Tuileries, and the weather was so gorgeous and sunny that I got a nice tan. Finally, we had 40 minutes to run through the museum since we had our Eurostar to catch. The museum is a converted railway station, and the inside is enormous, bright, and beautiful. This museum is possibly my favorite when it comes to collection, because they had loads of impressionism and Monet!! I could easily spend hours in d'Orsay the next time I go to Paris...
Finally, it was time to bid adieu to Paris! We departed the busy Gare du Nord and headed back to London.
What an amazing city Paris is. It is everything I expected and wanted it to be. People were surprisingly friendly, and everything was absolutely beautiful! We went at a good time of year too, not toooo hot and crowded, but just warm enough and sunny. I can't wait to go back!!
No comments:
Post a Comment