As previously stated, this was our weekend in Paris! Let me just preface with saying that Paris did not disappoint and after going I am dying to return at some point. Absolutely beautiful city, people, sights, the language, everything. I can't pinpoint the exact moment...but I fell in L-O-V-E!
We left here Thursday night and arrived at our hotel in the Saint Michael area (pronounced San Michelle). What's the first thing we did? Hit up the crepe stand of course. Nutella with banana and whipped cream = to die for. We also walked over to Notre Dame at night to check it out and to see what we had in store for tomorrow.
extra nutella on my crepe! merci :)
When we woke up to start our adventures on Friday morning, Kara, Andrew, and I overslept but made our way down the street to meet the gang to get some croissants and hot chocolate to start out our day.
what my diet consisted of for the weekend #croissantaddiction
Our first stop for Friday was Notre Dame- literally right across the street from our hotel! How to begin to describe Notre Dame? There aren't many words that do it justice but I had chills when I heard the choir singing and I couldn't stop staring at the beautiful architecture and stained glass. God was definitely present here. How is it possible that this building is over 900 years old? I was even lucky enough to stay for mass! Cross that one off my bucket list. This was definitely one of my favorite places we visited! The pictures sum it up pretty well since words fail...
selfie. had to.
notre dame
so intricate and beautiful
Next we stopped for lunch to warm up. Just aonther preface about France- it is MUCH colder there then it is in Spain right now! Being outside for most of the day had us frozen to the bone near the end of our day…but it was totally worth it! Afterwards, we talked towards the Pantheon and also enjoyed the sneak peak of the Eiffel Tower from around the corner. Then we strolled towards Luxembourg gardens and although it was winter and not all of the greenery was in full bloom and beauty, it was still unbelievably gorgeous. We had fun trying to recreate photoshoot scenes from Mary Kate and Ashley's infamous movie "Passport to Paris"...as depicted below.
mk and a have nothing on colleen and i
Next we went to St. Sulpice church which was absolutely gorgeous (Church from the Davinci Code) and grabbed some more chocolat chau (hot chocolate)... I failed miserably at trying to pronounce French words this weekend, but the language is so beautiful I couldn't help but try! Then we passed by the most amazing macaroon/pastry shop that is famous in Paris and it was obvious why after we ate our macaroons- they were absolutely heaven sent! The line was also out the door when we went in, an indicator that this place is not going out of business anytime soon.
everyone tried a different flavored macaroon...lemon for me!
heaven.
Next on our list was the Louvre! we strolled over and took a ton of pictures waiting for 6 pm when its free for students to enter after that time on fridays. How can I even begin to describe the louvre? Such beautiful architecture, and art! I feel like using the word beautiful doesn't even do any justice. I could only begin to marvel at what I was seeing. Mid-marvel, I bumped into my best friend from back home Miss Emily Allen! Seeing Em made me feel so at home, and made the Paris trip 100 times better. With all this adjusting, having someone I am so familiar with made me so comfortable and we had so much fun this entire weekend :)
hi sevily! best friends worldwide
the Louvre
We ended our evening walking to the Monteparnasse skyscraper- the tallest in Paris! It was amazing seeing the city all lit up at night and we were even lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Eiffel tower glittering on the hour. I honestly don’t think I will ever see something so spectacular for the rest of my life.
have you ever seen something so beautiful? no wonder people get proposed to on this thing.
We ended our evening/insane day with a nice sit down dinner with some tasty pizza and of course red wine- it was DELICIOUS! I spoke too soon because our evening did not end here. Lindsay-my sorority sista- came to meet us! We came back to our hotel and she was waiting in the lobby for me J We all decided to go out and get a few drinks at the Canadian bar around the corner that she showed us. After being a little homesick, talking to Lindsay about studying abroad, life in Paris and Spain, and our friends and loved ones back home, I was so happy to catch up and feel like I am at home even when I am halfway around the world. I couldn't be more blessed to have such amazing sisters in my life. If you’re reading this- I love you Lindsay!
Day 2 started off strong at the Eiffel Tower- with Lindsay leading the way for us as our native Parisian tour guide and Emily and her friends with London alongside us it was a start to a great day! The Eiffel Tower is ENORMOUS! I guess you can't really tell how big it is until you're right there in front of it. I still can't believe we were there in front of it! Another thing I could truly only marvel at. I also brought along with me my "roaming gnome" known as Mr. Pricklepants (depicted at the bottom). Thank you John Pinkham (this is your shout out in case you were wondering) for lending me his company while I am abroad. Stay tuned to see where else Mr. Pricklepants will pop up this semester.
repping alpha phi worldwide with linds
dear paris, can i put you in my pocket and keep you?
#yaboyworldwide
After having some MORE hot chocolate, we made out way to the Arc de Triomphe, and then we strolled down the Champs Elysees. One of the most famous shopping districts in the world…obviously I coveted everything I saw. Including most everything inside of Louis Vuitton. 3 floors of obscene fashion and absolute perfection. I died and went to retail heaven.
thou shall not covet, thou shall not covet. repeat. repeat.
After some serious lusting, we all sat down to a very late and large lunch along the Champs Elysees- it was nice to get off our feet! We did plenty of walking this weekend. My feet, legs, and butt are all physically hurting from all the hiking/walking! All the better...I needed to work off all of those crepes and yummy French food anyway.
After dinner, we went to the world famous Moulin Rouge district! Not as sketchy as people make it out to be, but I don't think I would want to walk around there alone super later at night. The lights were soooo pretty! Why can't everywhere be like Paris? So much history, so many fun things to do and see.
can we be a part of the show?
Lastly, Lindsay took us all on a big hike up the hill to the Sacred Heart church. I’m so bummed we couldn’t take photos inside because it was so beautiful, but it also had a beautiful view of the city at night too! My photos didn’t turn out very well here but it definitely was a sight to see. Lindsay said she lived right nearby, and I have to say I was extremely jealous that she gets to have that lovely view every day! After saying some sad goodbyes and giving mil gracias to Lindsay for being our tour guide for the day, we trudged back home and packed our bags and headed to the airport. Wah! I'm also quite upset that they didn't stamp our passports...I wanted a Paris stamp :(
Although our flight didn't leave the next day until 7 a.m. we decided that sleeping at the airport might be a good idea to save money. Can't get more college then that. So, we slept...or attempted to sleep for about 5 hours in a little nook. After freezing our butts off, and being completely sleep deprived, we all woke up and got on the flight and passed out and woke up in Madrid 2 hours later. This sleepover completely ruined my sleep schedule. I arrived home today and slept for about 7 hours during the day...so it's about 5 a.m. here right now and I am about to go to bed for the night. Good thing I don't have class until 4 tomorrow.
First day of school! First day of school! I feel like a little freshman again. I can't wait to meet all my new amigos in my classes and to see what my semester will be like! More updates to follow this week on school. Also, super excited that Abi Getto is coming to visit Madrid this weekend- it's my turn to play tour guide!!!
Had a fabulous weekend, but am thinking of and missing all of my beautiful friends and family! I'm sending out a huge batch of postcards tomorrow so watch your mailboxes :)
l'amour toujours,
Mademoiselle Carolyn
No comments:
Post a Comment