Advertisement
Published: June 10th 2012
Edit Blog Post
Paris is one of the most romantic places I've ever visited, but I wasn't going there to be romantic. I was going as a suggestion made by my friend Zhara, whom I was visiting over the summer in Spain. This was my first trip to Europe and it was shaping up to be an unforgettable experience! Now I was adding Paris to my itinerary, I was so excited! The best part is that Zhara had been there before and she prepared me by making a "cheat sheet plan" of where to go, which hostel to stay at, how to use the metro, and how to spend my time. This really made a huge difference because it helped me get the most out of my short time there. The flight from Madrid to Paris was very short, and from the airport I took a bus to the city center. From there I had to hop on a Metro and find my hostel. My hostel was Auberge de Jeunesse Leo-Lagrange which is located in an area of Paris called Mairie de Clichy. If you are on a tight budget and are not opposed to using hostels in Paris, this one is pretty good
and the people there were super nice. I shared my room with a really nice Japanese artist, she was going out everyday to sketch famous monuments around Paris, she showed me her drawings and they were beautiful.
There was an unfortunate situation that happened on my first day. I accidentally left my bag on the metro, I was in a hurry and before I could go back for my bag the metro train doors had closed, and so my bag was lost forever. On a regular day I would have been miserable, but not this time, I was in Paris! I still had my money and my passport so not all was lost, and all I had to do was buy new clothes from a flee market near the hostel and everything was great! Now I have a bunch of "Parisian" clothes sitting in my closet that I wouldn't have bought otherwise.
On my second day I took a canal cruise tour called Croisiere sur la Seine for 11 Euros, it was a really nice relaxing way to see Paris after all the walking I was doing. Then of course I had to visit the incredible Louvre Museum.
I don't suggest trying to see everything in the Louvre on the first day, because it's too much and before long you will be dizzy and tired. I made it my goal to see the Mona Lisa and enjoy all the art a long the way. I was told you couldn’t take pictures of the Mona Lisa, but when I got there EVERYONE was snapping pictures of her, even with the flash on! I thought it was bizarre but I asked someone to get a picture of me and the Mona Lisa and it came out pretty awesome!
Seeing the Eiffel tower is a dream many people have, and It felt surreal to be standing in front of it. I took a hundred pictures of the tower, but they all look the same! The Cathedral of Notre Dame is stunning as well. The architecture is just unbelievable. Every time I spotted a gargoyle I thought of the Disney movie " The Hunchback of Notre Dame". And of course the inside of the cathedral is amazing too, I sat down in the church and took my time to admire the stained glass windows, the high ceilings and arches, and the
statue of Mary holding Jesus' body.
On the third day I went to Versailles using Zhara's cheat sheet instructions. From Paris it's a day trip and you have to take a train to get there since it's outside the city. Tickets to get into the Chateau are 30 Euros each plus extra to get into the palace but it was worth it. The gardens and fountains are just exquisite. I walked the entire grounds and took pictures of the beautiful landscapes and statues. You can tell that the kings who had lived there before lived in luxury, there's so much history here. By the time I finished walking my feet were in serious pain. I suggest you invest in some great walking shoes and bring lots of water with you if you are going in the summer, it was 100 degrees outside and a little girl passed out from heat exhaustion and was hauled off by paramedics.
On the last day I visited the Arc De Triomphe. I walked down Champs-Elysees to get there. The Arc is very special in that it was ordered to be built by Napoleon for the army. This was a perfect way to
end my first trip to Paris! What a beautiful city! Unfortunately, because I was on such a tight budget, I hardly ate any real French food, which I now regret.... not even a croissant! You don’t want to know what I filled up on lol but at least there's always the chance I can go back one day and catch up on all the awesome French food I missed... and more importantly, share this romantic city with the man I love most in the whole world, my amazing husband, Victor 😊
Advertisement
Tot: 0.657s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 33; qc: 132; dbt: 0.2034s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.6mb