Rivers & Roads

Three days is NOT enough time to spend in Paris. I got back to Barcelona this morning and I left Paris feeling like there was so much more I wish I could have done even though we packed so much into each day. The city is huge and there are just so many touristy things you have to do when you are there and then so many non touristy things I wish we had done. But this just means I will have to go back!
     The hostel we stayed in was really great. It was a little far out of the city, about a 30 minute metro ride to the Louvre, but we got breakfast every morning and a Korean meal every night! It saved us a lot of money and it was delicious! We got there late thursday night, so friday morning we hit the ground running.
We started our day off at the Louvre because where else do you start? It was so amazing to finally see those pyramids in real life and to get to wonder around that building (which is so beautiful on its own) that is filled with so many amazing pieces of art that I have been learning about for my whole life. We spent a few hours in there but probably only saw a fraction of the work, so when I return I plan on spending a whole day just wondering the halls. After the Louvre we walked over to the Lock Bridge which was also pretty amazing to finally see in person. I had to put a lock on there for someone, so I put a little blue lock with Siena's name on there so that one day when she is out traveling the world she can try and go find her lock in Paris! After the bridge we walked over to the Notre Dame. For some reason there was this giant ramp and bleachers set up in front of the Cathedral which really spoiled the view. The only way to see the full facade was to be up very close to it, which kind of ruined  the initial beauty. But either way it was also absolutely incredible to see in person. The height of the ceiling vaults inside are breathtaking. After Notre Dame we have about two hours before we had to be back for dinner, so we decided to just knock out the rest of the monuments and walk over to the Eiffel Tower. It was actually great timing because the sun was just going down as we were walking up it and then once we got back to the bottom the lights came on and lit everything up. Seeing the Eiffel Tower, and all of these landmarks, is something I dreamt about doing my whole life and so the fact that I was really there and saw these amazing structures has still not really sunk in yet.

Saturday was supposed to be half of the day at Versailles and half the day wondering the streets for cool shops, but Versailles of course turned into an all day affair. I am not complaining though, that is a house I could get used to. We decided to bring a little picnic to eat out in the gardens, but it was a pretty cold and wind blown day so we only lasted about half an hour outside before we had to go inside. I knew that this palace was going to be massive, but you cannot understand the actual size of this place until you are standing at the back of the main building and all you can see for miles is garden after garden, followed by a huge pool of water, followed by a few more gardens. Then once you get inside, each room you step into is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen, until you get to the next room which is even more extravagant! The fact that this was at one point a place that someone considered "home" is something I will never be able to understand. Later that night we came back into Paris and wondered around Champs Elysees and saw the Arch de Triumph all lit up at night. Of course this is the point my camera decides to die also. It lasts a whole week in Morocco but can't handle three days in Paris.

The third day we went to the d'Orsay in the morning and I got to see many of my favorite Toulouse Lautrec's and Van Gogh's. The museum is very beautiful with the open space in the middle filled with so many beautiful sculptures. After we tried to go across the bridge and see some of Monet's lilly's but there was a 2 hour line at l'Orangerie which the other girls did not want to wait in, so we just walked around the gardens and back up the Champs Elysees. From here we took the metro over to the Jewish quarter where we tried to find a few thrift stores that we had looked up before coming. There were many in this area, all filled with more fur coats than you can imagine! Our flight was very early the next day, so from here we just went back to our hostel and called it a night. I am very happy with everything we acomplished in Paris but there are about 50 other museums I wish I could have gone to, for example l'Orangerie and the Pompidou, and so many other neighborhoods I wish I could have explored. But there is no doubt in my mind that I will return to Paris. Here are some photos: