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Published: February 26th 2008
I never really got a chance to explain our Paris trip, so here we go:
My friend Rose and I went on the same flight as several other people in our program, but we didn't see them again after getting off the train. We were so busy sightseeing that we had no energy to try to meet up with anyone else. We got to Paris around 10am and made our way to our hostel. A guy sitting across from me on the train heard us speaking English and so he asked us where we were from, etc. He ended up being a student who went to school near our hostel and he showed us how to get there from the train station. The only downside is that he wanted my number and instead I gave him my email and he won't stop emailing me... I'll learn someday.
The hostel was... well... a hostel. I won't go into detail because my mom would kill me if she knew that I actually slept in the bed, but we were so exhausted that we slept like babies both nights. I will say this much. The "shower" was basically a closet. You opened a door in the hallway and there was the shower. It was shared by the entire hostel. That would be six floors of travellers... thank God the French don't shower often.
We spent the first day seeing Notre Dame and part of the Louvre. The Louvre is free for anyone under 26 from 6pm-10pm on Fridays, so we took full advantage. It was too bad that we were so tired, because we could have easily spent the entire four hours looking around, but instead saw some of the paintings and headed out.
Day two was spent sightseeing again. We started off at the Eiffel Tower where we couldn't seem to find the actual tower until we turned around (we were sleep deprived) and then had breakfast at a little place near the tower. We also went to St. Germain area where the "intellectuals" of the 1930's hung out and lived. It was my favorite part of the trip as well as my favorite part of the city. It is very hip, but also has a lot of really neat little shops and restaurants. We got a crepe filled with Nutella from this little stand and I immediately became addicted to Nutella... it is a dangerous addiction.
Day three was spent going to the Palace at Versailles and wondering around Paris some more. Unfortunately the line was too long to go into the Palace so we just walked around outside it a little. It is so huge that it would have taken the entire day to get through it and we had to be back to catch the plane. On our way back we couldn't get our metro passes to work (the metro system in Paris is terrible) and so we just got on the train. We soon found out that it was because we didn't have the right kind of pass... and we were charged 40 euro. I guess the trip couldn't have been flawless.
We got back late Sunday night, both of us with a new-found love of Paris. The French were not the snooty type that I thought they would be and actually were nicer than a lot of the Spaniards I have encountered. We were treated really well other than one chef that was sitting in his restuarant who made fun of Rose's speaking... but we just walked out. I read George Orwell's "Down and Out in London and Paris" before going, and the one thing he talks about most is how mean French chefs are, so it didn't surprise me much. Overall it was a wonderful trip, and I will definitely be going back again someday.
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Amy
non-member comment
I love it
I love paris!!! Sounds like you had a great time!!! I WISH I could come over there with you but it's so damn expensive. Miss you like crazy! I know you are having the time of your life so I don't even have to ask. Oh, and I'm a brunette now...hehe