Two weekends ago my roommate Kelsey and I (from now on, referred to as Team Bunkbed) departed on our first real adventure, destination: Paris. After a two and a half hour train ride and some confusion at the train station (what do we do now?) we bought metro tickets and hopped on a bus to the Eiffel Tower. I don’t think I realized how big the tower was. It’s overwhelming and absolutely breathtaking to see such a recognizable icon up close. After reflecting on the reality of where we were (“I’m in Paris, looking at the Eiffel Tower, I never really thought this would happen”) and taking about 30 pictures each, we bought elevator tickets to take us to the “second floor” observation deck. The view was outstanding. We lucked out with a gorgeous clear day, despite rainy weather predictions, and were able to see every inch of Paris.
We didn’t want to leave the tower, but eventually decided we should eat, so we got lunch at a cute café not far from the tower. We had delicious tuna sandwiches followed by a nutella crepe, expertly ordered by Kelsey (Merci!), then circled back to the park in front of the tower, the Champs du Mars, to take the obligatory tourist pictures. We booked a late afternoon river cruise and got a package including pasta and wine, which was a great deal, and a really cool way to get an overview of the Parisian sights. We (accidentally) timed it perfectly, the sun started setting towards the end of the cruise. So beautiful.
That evening we took the Metro to Moulin Rouge, which was really cool to see. We got some great pictures, and wandered around the area of sex shops and shows, which proved hilarious. There was a three story shop called the Sexodrome, and several others with names I’ll just let you imagine.
To redeem ourselves, Team Bunkbed headed to Sacre Coeur, a huge, beautiful church high on a hill in Montmarte that we were able to see clearly from the Eiffel Tower, despite the fact that it’s on the other side of the city. It was really gorgeous lit up at night, and after a couple of pictures and a stop for crepes, we decided to retire to our hostel.
The next morning we went to the Louvre, which is so much bigger than I imagined. You could spend multiple days there and not see everything, so Team Bunkbed didn’t try. We made a B-line for the Mona Lisa, which is much smaller and just as ugly as I pictured, and wandered around the halls of Italian artists for awhile. We then ventured to the other side of the museum to see objects from Napoleon’s apartments, and were blown away by the decadence of his living room and dining room. I definitely would not have minded being invited to one of his dinner parties.
After another café lunch, we went to the more manageably sized Musee d’Orsay, which I’m officially claiming as my favorite place in Paris. The museum is full of famous paintings by Degas, Monet, Van Gogh and tons of other artists I can’t name. I was so impressed by the Degas ballerinas, which I’ve admired since seeing them on posters in my dance classroom in elementary school. I really loved the whole experience of being there around such famous and gorgeous paintings.
Next we headed to Notre Dame and walked around inside with hordes of other tourists admiring the architecture and stained glass. It was cloudy at the time, but I could just make out the gargoyles near the roof, very cool.
We then went off in search of a place to relax for awhile and wait for the sun to set so Kelsey (the super-photographer) could get night pictures. We ended up in yet another cute café, and split a waffle with Nutella (are you sensing a trend?) and wine. As we left the café at dark the bells went off at Notre Dame, yet another pinch me moment of the trip.
After another Metro ride we arrived at the Arc de Triomphe, the one that’s in all of the movies about Paris. Again, gorgeous and lit up in all of its glory. While taking pictures of the arch we saw the Eiffel Tower lit up in the distance, and it started sparkling for its hourly light show. Sparkling is the only way to describe it, since the tower is already lit for the evening and all of the sudden flashes all over like people taking pictures at a concert. It’s quite a spectacle, so when Kelsey got her shots we walked up the Camps Elysse and hopped on the Metro back to the tower for the real view of the show.
The next morning we got up late, giving ourselves just enough time to get out the hostel for check out and grabbed breakfast at this small French bakery across the street. The place was incredible. Everything looked delicious and beautiful, I simultaneously wanted to order one of everything and eat it all, and order one of everything to display in a museum (or at least in a picture in a foodie magazine). In the end, I ordered a small baguette with chocolate chips and an apple pastry. Both were phenomenal.
Our trip to Paris ended with hopping a train out of the city to Louis XIV’s palace and gardens at Versailles. It’s just as amazing as you’d imagine: huge, ornate, and superfluously gold. An enormous gold fence goes around the front of the palace, it was absolutely insane. We spent some time wandering around all of the various drawing rooms, admiring the gold, paintings and furniture then headed to the gardens, which I’m sure are even more spectacular when its warm enough for plants to grow.
I really liked Paris, especially once Kelsey and I figured out we could weasel our way into the Louvre, Orsay and Versailles for free because EU residents under 26 get into museums for free, and we had visas. But the French weren’t an especially kind or welcoming bunch, PDA was rampant (at one point I was waiting patiently at a map for the man looking at it to figure out where he was going and step away, but instead he decided to make out with his girlfriend/wife ad nossium (sp?) directly in front of the map I was waiting for), and speaking French is most definitely not a skill I mastered, despite a semester of “learning” the language. Pair that with a debacle with incredibly smelly guys sharing our hostel room, scarily eager mini Eiffel Tower peddlers, and Paris was really beautiful and fun, but pretty overwhelming.
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