J'adore Paris! 

So I finally got to go to Paris.  For me Paris has always kind of been this fantasy city because I spent so much time in French class learning about it.  I knew that when I came to Europe that I had to make it to Paris, especially because one of my friends from college is studying abroad there.  Marielle and I left Sevilla at 1 am and after 5 different modes of public transportion we arrived in Paris at 3 pm.  Becca, our friend studying there, was in class when we arrived so we decided to meet up with her at Notre Dame that way we could get an eyeful first thing!  More than once I would really think about where I was and what I was looking at and I'd get all giddy.  It is just so surreal to have heard about a place for so long and then to actually be in that place, staring up at one of the most famous landmarks.  It's just crazy.  

The day we arrived was the only day we got blue skies, Paris is known to be overcast a lot of the time so it was a nice treat on the first day.  Above is the front of Notre Dame. 

  Marielle in the park finishing Pride and Prejudice 

Seriously, one of my favorite things about going to all these different places is to see the different types of architecture, each city has its own style.  France was very...French! haha, almost victorian looking, I loved the curved tops.  

That night we decided to head over to the Louve because it's free for young adults on friday nights.  The whole visit turned out to be a little crazy just because the Louve is such a massive museum and we got lost more than once.  Above is the triangle at the entrance of the Louve, its so cool and it always makes me think of the Da Vinci Code haha. 

One thing I noticed about the Louve is that there were artists sprinkled everywhere, they would be sitting in front of paintings or statues drawing the art that they saw.  It gave a cool feel to the whole museum, just all very artsy.  The paintings were beautiful, I love going to art museums because often times the art gives you a glimpse into a time that no longer exists.  I like looking at a painting or a statue and thinking about the story behind the art or the life that that piece is trying to represent.  The Louve was obviously a very good place for that, and of course a good place to see the Mona Lisa!!

Not the size that most people imagine, but still very stunning to be in front of.  The Mona Lisa is apparently the most recognized painting like ever. 

Dinner consisted of home made stir fry and obviously a baguette and cheese.  This trip I really went crazy taking pictures of every French food that I ate, most are included in this blog post.  Food is just so fun to take pictures of! Too bad I don't actually eat any real meals because I'm too poor, but I hope that you enjoy the pictures of all the delicious treats. 

Saturday

We started out the day with a yummy French breakfast of coffee and croissants and then headed back over to Notre Dame.  We decided to go up on top of Notre Dame which I was actually really glad we did because it was my favorite part of the trip!  It was cool to be chillin on the set of Quasimodo's story.  Also most famous monuments in Paris you can go to the top of and look at the city, we figured that one was enough for time and money sake.  After a long walk up stone spiral staircases we emerged at the top to not only a gorgeous view of the city but also an amazing collection of unique gargoyles.  They were on almost every corner of the top of the building and each one had its own personality, all very cool.  After our tour of the top of the building we went downstairs into the church itself, which was magnificent.  The only downside was that... it is Paris, which means TOURIST CENTRAL. Literally it was a mob scene in there, I did a quick run through, and then was on to the next thing. 

Oh what? Is that the Eiffel Tower in the background? OMG I went to Paris. 

Seriously so beautiful and Becca was very knowledgeable so it was nice to have her point out different parts of the city.  

Oh damn, so gothic and cool and Notre Dameish! 

We went to Shakespeare and Company which is a relatively famous English bookstore, and in the 1920's was a gathering place for many writers including Ernest Hemingway.  The store was super cute and gave you that old bookstore feel where you just want to sit in a massive leather chair and read a good book. 

Paris street art! 

Then we headed to the Sainte-Chapelle to get our stain glass window fix.  This Chapel was built in 1248 for King Louis IX and the stain glass depicts the bible from Genesis to The Apocalypse, amazing right?  It was literally 360 stain glass, we stood their just imagining the amount of craft that had to go into making it.  My only wish was that I could see it with the sun shining through the windows, that must be a truly jaw dropping experience.  

I GOT A CREPE, I actually don't think I've ever had a real crepe.  Obviously I knew what they were, but I'm glad my first one in Paris, complete with Nutella and bananas. Yummm

Next Stop: Eiffel Tower! Once we got to the tower I instantly turned into a little girl screeching and running around.  Obviously a million pictures were taken but since this blog post is already picture heavy I picked these two.  The Eiffel Tower was build as an entrance way for the World Fair, I'm finding that a lot of the cities I go to have a monument that was built for the World Fair, which I hadn't realized was such a trend. That aside, Eiffel Tower = fantastic. 

French man, in Paris, with a beret? Had to. 

So we attempted to go to the Musee D'orsay which is another art museum that's filled with some amazing impressionist artwork including Monet.  But when we got their not only did not have my passport that would have gotten me in for free, but it was closing in half an hour.  I was pretty upset that I wasn't going to be able to go in, so while Marielle ran around the museum, Becca took me to drown my sorrows in some superb Creme Brulee.  Check that out.

Paris, city of loooove. 

We stopped by the Louve real quick so we could get some daylight pictures, I wanted the reflection in the water :)  Also to the right is the LOVELY Becca, it was so awesome visiting her.  She lives in a tiny one room apartment nestled on the top floor of her building with a view of rooftops and in the distance Notre Dame, it was very Paris. 

Above is the Lock Bridge, when people come to Paris with someone they love they write their names on a lock, attach it to the bridge and then throw the key into the river.

Sunday

We decided to take the hour trip out to see the Estate of Versailles where Louis XIV and other French royalty lived.  The palace was absolutely amazing, their were gold gates welcoming guests followed by some very impressive architecture.  One thing that Louis wanted to be incorporated with a lot of the building was the symbol of a sun because he thought of himself as the sun.  He was very full of himself and reveled in attention from others.  The one downer about our trip here was that I made the rookie mistake of forgetting my student visa, yet again, so instead of getting into the palace for free I had to pay 15 euro.  After getting over my initial frustration, I decided that I was just making a donation to the cause.

This is the chapel that's in the palace, this is the upstairs area where King Louis would sit during services, he liked to be on the balcony.  One interesting fact is that on the lower level, during the services the King had all of the people turn their chairs to face him because he didn't like having anyones back to him.  As you can see in the picture the ceiling has some amazing paintings and this was a common trend throughout the entire estate, all the different rooms had such intricate paintings.  A lot of the times the rooms would have a theme like "Hercules Drawing-Room" and the paintings on the ceiling would depict whatever that theme was, it was awesome.  

Above is the Hall of Mirrors, probably the most popular room in all of the palace.  It's a long room that runs the length of the back of the building, one side is lined with windows and the opposite side is lined with mirrors.  It's really amazing and insanely decorated, actually all of the palace is kind of insanely decorated, interior design has surely changed.  Regardless it was pretty and had countless statues, chandeliers, and paintings.  Quite a sight. 

Our reflection in the hall of mirrors! 

This is a picture of Marie Antoinette's bedroom, which was very extravagant.  The picture is of a couch and the mirror above it because I thought it showed the room in the best way.  Versailles was also full of tourists so it was hard to get a good picture without any people in it.  But in the back you can see her bed and also a large wooden chest, which was her jewelry cabinet. 

The gardens were huge and I probably could have spent the rest of the day wandering around it but since we were short on time and it was still cold we just took in the main view.  I can only imagine what it looks like in the summer time, they were some lucky kings and queens. 

Croque Monsieur, I legit remember learning about this specific dish in high school and wondering what it would be like. Finally got one :) It's basically just toast, ham, and cheese French style.  

Marielle and I jumping at the Arc de Triumph! 

We walked down the main shopping street Champs Elysees, didn't buy anything because everything is very high end, but it was pretty and a good way to see another aspect of Paris.  Below is a picture of the Abercrombie and Fitch make sure to note the golden fence, male models, and roped off line.  We could smell this store a block away. 

Before we had to run off to begin our long 20 hour trip back to Sevilla, we made one more stop at Jim Morrison's gave.  Marielle and I are both pretty big Doors fans so it was really cool to be able to see his grave.  Next to it was a tree covered in quotes, messages, gum, and carvings. It was pretty cool to stand their and reflect on who Jim was and his role in American music.  I particularly liked the song lyric someone wrote which was "People are Strange." After contributing our own little something to the tree we were off. 

The Lifestyle

It's kind of difficult to go these famous enormous cities for a weekend or a couple of days because there is just so much that you want to see and in reality it's impossible to see it all.  It can be a little discouraging when you realize that only half of your to-do list is actually going to be accomplished.  It's a constant battle between being able to do things in a timely fashion and still enjoy and absorb everything you are doing.  But on the 6 hour bus ride from Madrid to Sevilla I reflected on the trip and I'm happy with what we saw and what we accomplished.  I guess that make shift meals, 20 hour travel times, sleeping on floors and in airports, and taking midterms 2 hours after getting home is what being young, poor, and in Europe is all about.  So bring on the love!!

Morocco Tomorrow :)