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Published: February 2nd 2009
Eiffel Tower
(From my first trip to Paris)This weekend my roommate Rachel and I took our first trip to a surrounding city. It was our first venture out of Brussels since we had gotten here two weeks ago. Now, anyone that has been to Brussels knows that it is an incredible city. But anyone who has been here also knows that after a little while, you need out. The bureaucratic/ business nature of the city is enough to make anyone want to get out for a little while, especially when you consider that Paris is only an hour and 20 minute train ride away. So, that's what we did.
Now I know you would all love to see all the great pictures from our trip, but alas, I somehow forgot to pack my camera and left it in our apartment. Who does that? Who goes to Paris and doesn't even think to double check to see whether or not they have their camera? Uhm...well...me. Luckily though, Rachel took enough pictures for both of us. I will steal some from her and put them up as soon as we get a cord to connect her camera to a computer.
In any event, here is the rundown of
Eiffel Tower
(Also, not from this trip) our trip to Paris:
FRIDAY: We left right after work. Bags ready and tickets in hand, we boarded the 7:15 p.m. train to Paris. As soon as we got there we met one of my former French TA's who had moved to Paris a few months ago to become an au pair. She had made dinner reservations for us at a nice, yet affordable, Italian restaurant close to our hostel on Montmartre, my favorite place in the city. Montmartre is a hill in the middle of Paris where perched on top sits the beautiful Sacre Coeur Cathedral. After dinner we walked up to the Cathedral and took in the most beautiful view of Paris at night with the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the background.
SATURDAY: Oh goodness, where to begin. Saturday we did almost everything there is to do in Paris. We woke up very early in the morning and took the metro from Montmartre down to the Notre Dame Cathedral. After walking through it we begin our day's journey along the Seine river. We walked from Notre Dame, past the Louvre, and made our next stop at the Musee de l'Orangerie, an amazing museum that Monet designed
Notre Dame
The first stop in our super packed Paris day. to house his famous Water Lilies. From there we took a nice little stroll down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. After climbing the some 284 stairs to the top, we decided we deserved a rest and took a nice river cruise down the Seine. The cruise stopped right in front of the Eiffel Tower which was perfect as that was our next destination.
After about an hour and a half wait, we made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. By this time it was just barley becoming light back home in Kansas. Saturday was also my dad's birthday, so I used Rachel's phone and called my dad to wish him, in true Parisian style, Bon Anniversaire (in other words Happy Birthday) from the very top of the Eiffel Tower. Can't say that happens everyday. 😊
After we got off the Eiffel Tower, we went back to Montmartre to do a little shopping before going to see my former French TA sing at a local bar. She has an absolutely incredible voice and it was so much fun getting to watch her again. The only downfall was that the bar she sang in was
the home of a cat and dog, both of which liked to hang around, a lot. The cat especially like laying on tables nearby us. We spent the evening laughing, listening to great music, and sneezing.
SUNDAY: I started my Sunday off at Sacre Coeur, which I truly believe is one of the most beautiful churches in all the world. Somehow we very intelligently ended up being in Paris on the first Sunday of the month when most of the museums in the city are free. We spent the day admiring Greek and Roman sculptures at the Louvre, viewing impressionist paintings at Musee d'Orsay, and contemplating the meaning of the modern artwork at the Centre Pompidou. All for free. Talk about luck.
By this point we were exhausted and very much ready to be back in Brussels. Our train back wasn't until 9:25 p.m. which meant we finally made it back to our place around 11:00 p.m. Just in time to go to bed and get up early for work the next morning. Though the weekend was incredible, we were both excited to come back to Brussels. Back to the bureaucracy and business. Back to what we now
The Louvre!
We got in for free! call home...kind of.
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