Bon Jour de Paris!

Bon Jour!

What a great trip to Paris, France!!! It was so much fun. The only problem we had was some cold weather that I hadn’t packed sufficiently for, but other than that it was pretty amazing.

Kristen and I left Seville at about 9am on Friday, and after a layover in Barcelona, arrived in Paris. After taking the bus into town, the metro to our area, then trying to find our hostel and get checked in, we went for a walk around the streets of Paris. It was pretty cold and raining a little, so we just bought some French cookies at a local grocery store, and then went to get some sleep in our 10 bed mixed dorm room. Luckily we shared the room with 7 other girls from the CIEE program in Seville who were all from the USA. The other guy in the room we didn’t really see. The hostel was pretty clean, but it was still a hostel.


For breakfast, we got cereal, coffee, orange juice and baguettes with Nutella. That was a GREAT breakfast. Then we set off for a free walking tour around Paris leaving from our hotel and meeting the tour guides near St. Michael’s fountain. We walked around getting to see the Seine River, bridges, the Louvre, the Obelisk, and the Champs-Elysees. We got to hear a lot of interesting stories and history as well as get a feel for the city. After the tour, Kristen and I went to go see the Eiffel Tower up close! It was so great.



After standing in line for about 45 minutes, (and eating some French fries, lol) we started to climb the steps to the top (because it was cheaper than the elevator). It was really cold and windy up there, but so cool to get to see Paris from that high up. We decided to pay the extra amount to go to the very top, but after standing in line for about an hour, we found out that you had to buy tickets BEFORE standing in line, and the booth was already closed.  so we only got to go up to the 2nd level, but honestly the tower is cooler to look at than be on. Although it was a great view of the city. ;) At a little café outside of the Louvre, we stopped in to try our first French crepes. I think so far it is the best thing I have tasted in Europe. We tried a ham and cheese one (which was sooooooooooooo delicious) and a Nutella with whipped cream one, which made me realize just how much I now love Nutella. It was such a fun meal.

After taking about a hundred pictures of and with the Eiffel Tower, we headed back to our hostel, taking the confusing Paris metro. By the end of the weekend, we were pros at the metro.

The next morning, we set off for the Louvre! That was a fun experience, especially since we got library cards from the University of Seville, so they let us in for free! It was really fun to get to see all this famous art in a famous place, but it really was an art overload; I wasn’t really able to appreciate the art, and I definitely wasn’t able to see it all. I did, however, fight the crowds and saw the Mona Lisa, from about 20 feet away, since it was blocked off. It was also fun getting to see the halls and glass pyramids like in one of my favorite Dan Brown books The Da Vinci Code. After the Louvre ad the gardens, we walked over to the cathedral of Notre Dame! That was fun too, getting to see this famous church. I even heard the bells ring! After waiting in line for about an hour and a half, we got to walk up the 400 steps to the bell towers! (we also got in free to this, thanks to our library card). It was fun getting that view of Paris and getting to see the gargoyles and bell up close. Although we were there on Palm Sunday, we were still able to go inside the church and see it. I LOVED seeing all the stained glass in there, but since I’ve seen so many gothic Cathedrals already, it wasn’t as impressive as some of the others that I’ve seen. After going through the cathedral, we walked over and saw the Arch de Triumph. We walked down the famous Avenue de Champs-Elysees. There were so many people on that street, it was hard to walk. It was filled with outdoor cafes and stores like Louis Vitton, Chanel, and many other name brands that I can’t afford. In order to safely cross the most dangerous round-a-bout in Europe, we walked through the underground passage to the Arch de Triumph. Although we had to pay to go up, it was worth it. After only a few hundred more steps, we had a great view of Paris.

That evening, we went and ate some more crepes, where we actually got to see the guy making the crepes. It was fun to see how it’s done, as well as eat the delicious bacon, egg, and cheese crepe and the apple cinnamon crepe. They are sooooooo good!!! We then went across the river from the Eiffel Tower so that we could get a great view of it at night. Although it was cold and windy up on the steps of the building across from the tower, it was worth the wait. We got to see the tower light up, then we even got to see it sparkle, like it does every hour on the hour at night. It was so spectacular to get to see. Of all the things in Paris that weren’t as majestic in real life as I originally imagined (and as I had seen in movies), seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up at night was truly amazing; one of my favorite memories of Paris.
Monday we set out early to go see the Museum de Orsay, that houses Picasso, Monet, Van Gogh, and many others. The only problem was that Monday is the day the museum is closed.  I was very disappointed by this, but we ended up walking around and really having a fun time in Paris. I tried French coffee along with a croissant and a French raisin bun. We had fun shopping and seeing the streets of Paris. That afternoon we took a group tour of the neighborhood of Montmatre (mountain of the martyrs). This is a gorgeous area of Paris where Picasso lived and worked, as well as many other artists. I saw the Moulin Rouge nightclub (where the can-can originated as well as the strip tease). This area of Paris really fits the ideas of Paris: beautiful houses covered in vines, cobblestone streets, outdoor cafes, artists selling their work, history, and so much more. Because it is built on the hill, by the time we walked all the way to the Sacre Dote, (church on the hill), we had another great view of Paris. I even stopped by a street vendor and tried something that I had seen in many stores, which turned out to be just a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with more cheese on top. It was really good though. That was such a fun tour. After that, we hopped on the metro, got a little turned around at the station trying to figure out which one to take to the airport, then finally boarded the right one and headed out to Orly airport. As we flew out over Paris at 9pm, I got my last view of Paris. I was really glad we had a late flight, because getting to see Paris lit up at night from the air was amazing as well. There were golden lights everywhere, we could see the Eiffel Tower, and we got to appreciate just how huge Paris is. We also got to see the moonlight on the clouds from a different angle than ever before.

It was such a fun trip, getting to see all this historic and famous stuff. Although we knew Paris was in France, we forgot that they speak French there; a language neither one of us spoke. I hope to go back someday and be able to show other people the greatness of Paris, but I’m glad I don’t live there. We were able to get along fine, but it was nice to get back to Seville where we knew where things were, how things were done, and we could read the signs and understand the people talk. It was an amazing trip, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it. :)

Au Revoir!


French phrases I’ve learned: (don’t really know how to spell them though)

Bon Jour- hello
Au Revoir- goodbye
Je tem- I love you
Toilettes- toilets (bathroom)
Boisson- drink
Je suis contao- I’m content
Merci- thank you
SVP- sil vous plais- please
Café- coffee
Oui- yes
Non- no
Rue- street
Musee- museum
Moulin Rouge- red windmill
Femmes- girls