Well, as you may have guessed by the title of my post and my intro, I have just been to Paris, France! Meghan, Molly, Elisabeth, Deirdre, and I left for the first leg of our journey to Paris (a 3-hour bus ride to Dublin Airport) at 1:00 am. Even though we tried to give ourselves ample amount of time to walk to the bus station, a few of us ended up sprinting with our backpacks through Eyre Square and the crowds at the local pubs. We eventually did make it to the bus with literally two minutes to spare. The bus ride seemed to pass quickly and we arrived at Dublin International Airport ready to take on Paris. There, we met up with a friend of Elisabeth and Deirdre, Max, who was on the same flight as us. I was very excited about this trip because it was our first time visiting a country that did not speak English. I was even more ecstatic because I got to use my French speaking skills to help navigate the group. After shuffling around the Metro from the check-in place to our apartment in Montmartre, we were all sufficiently worn out. Besides being tired, we were also starving. Luckily, our apartment was conveniently located on a street with a pâtisserie, restaurants, and a Metro stop. So we went to a small restaurant where I had un croque monsieur (grilled ham and cheese sandwich). Next, we rested up for a bit at the apartment, which even had a balcony!
Elisabeth and me on the balcony (photo credit to Molly Hale)
My sleeping bag - so comfy! (photo credit to Elisabeth Barrett)
After some solid sleeping time, we woke up and met up with Deirdre and Elisabeth's other friend Paul who also happened to be spending the weekend in Paris. We took the Metro towards the Latin Quarter and found a nice place to have a meal (I had Gnocchi). We walked around for a bit and then headed back to the apartment to plan the next day. On Saturday, we got up, went for un pain chocolat, and went to our first stop - Sacré-Cœur. The view was stunning and quite the experience.
We were able to walk around inside the church, where we lit candles - something that Molly, Meghan, and I have been trying to do every time we enter a new church. Our next destination was Notre Dame de Paris, which will be celebrating its 850th anniversary. The beauty and stature of the building is unmatched. Having just spent a semester in a French class where we described different cathedrals, I was mesmerized by the sheer size and detail of Notre Dame's facade. Here are some photos:
I was also able to light another candle here:
Even though I had been to Notre Dame a few years back, the beauty was still majestic. What my family and I did not do last time, which I highly recommend, is climb the steps to the top. This was my favorite part of our Paris adventure. For what seems like a minimal fee, you can see one of the most spectacular views of Paris. The pictures certainly do not match the actual sight but they do give you an idea of the city of love from a new perspective.
Sacré-Cœur
After Notre Dame, our next stop was the Louvre. However, by the time we got there, it was closing. In order to take advantage of every bit of daytime we had, we did take photos of the outside!
Meghan, Elisabeth, and me
After we realized that the Louvre was closing, we went to Angelina's in order to get some hot chocolate (or chocolat chaud). We were told that Angelina's had the best hot chocolate. I did not have any myself but I did taste some of my friend's and I can honestly say it was the best I have had. The sun was setting, which meant that it was time for something everyone was looking forward to: a river tour (on les bateaux) down the Seine. We had a great time seeing all the buildings along the Seine while hearing a bit of history from the bilingual guide.
Molly, Meghan, me, and Deirdre on the river boat! (photo credit to Elisabeth Barrett)
Oh hey, Eiffel Tower!
We then headed back to our apartment where we relaxed and figured out our plans for the next day. On Sunday, we got up and went to the Louvre (after we had our pastries of course)! The building itself was pretty impressive let alone all the artwork on display.
Mona!
Elisabeth, myself, and Mona!
Coming out of the Louvre, we walked down to Place de la Concorde and headed toward La Tour Eiffel.
Meghan, myself, and Molly!
Battling a now snowy Paris, we traveled via Metro towards L'arc de Triomphe and les Champs-Elysées. I was finally able to get some macaroons from Ladurée (shout out to Tess Gonyer... sooooo delicious!!)
Oh hey, L'arc de Triomphe!
Meghan, Molly, and me
This was by far the best way to end our Paris adventure. I believe that Paris looks most beautiful at night, so this was just icing on the cake. I was very pleased with how easy the Metro was to use. We were able to get from one place to the next quite easily with our 10 tickets (which I would suggest doing, if staying for a weekend). I hope to be back in Paris soon because it is truly impossible to see all of it in one weekend, as is true of any major city. However, we truly did a great job and I would not have changed any of it!
À bientôt!
"That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me." - Midnight in Paris
