Paris, France: Yay or Nay?

If I had to describe Paris in one word I think it would be ‘emotional.' When Zach, Julia, Quinn and I first got off the train and onto the Metro (subway) we were actually a little scared. It was dark and rainy and the Metro compared to the Tube in London was filthy and filled with graffiti. We hopped off at the stop closest to our hotel and after trudging through deep puddles of mud we made it. We booked a room for three people originally and added one more thinking we could get by without any problems. Well, Sylvian the desk receptionist had a different perspective. The most frequently used word in his vocabulary was ‘no’ and he had no problem saying it to us over and over again. After a lot of chatting calmly and a little bit of anger from Zach (shocking, I know) we ended up just having to pay around 40 euros for another room. Sylvian actually used the words, “You’re in France now, not America.” This about sums up the night:

In the morning Julia and I were upgraded to a new room with a king size bed, so it all paid off! The first day a group of us walked around for about 9 hours, avoiding pick pockets and small children wanting money, and snapped some beautiful pictures!

Our first French friend

Beautiful artwork

Eiffel Tower

Disco ball for Bastille Day! 

Tasty pastry!

Kisses

From underneath the tower

Goofing off on our long walk

The Flame of Liberty. It sits right near the tunnel in which Princess Diana passed away

We accidentally spent 15 euros on bulk candy in the street

Love padlocks on the bridge

There was a carnival!

The Louvre 

Mona Lisa

Ran into Adam...we were being pushed by the crowd wanting to see the Mona Lisa, but snapped a picture anyway

Venus de Milo

Julia finally replaced her broken umbrella

Zach and I walked through the carnival and got some churros!

Happy birthday pizza

The next day was Bastille Day! We celebrated with more walking around and fireworks by the Eiffel Tower. It was the most beautiful fireworks show I have ever seen and made the weekend trip completely worth the lows we experienced.

Snail

Arc de Triomphe

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Book sale going on across from our hotel

Their afternoon before fireworks...Troy and Connor

Charlie

Euchre with Zach, Eric, and Erica

The pictures do not do the show justice...it was disco themed and I think we were the only ones doing the motions to the YMCA

Today we took our time getting up and checked out of the hotel before noon. We went (window) shopping along the expensive strip and I made it a personal mission to pet every dog I could because they were all so cute. I gave myself an extra point for finding a Dalmatian. 

Our humble abode

Had to get a baguette in Paris! 

France was an amazing trip. From the language barrier, to breaking my purse, to the pastries, to the holiday it was an eye opening experience and I will never forget it. I will especially never forget the time that I had to pay to use the bathroom, and the other time I accidentally slipped through without paying...they just about wiped my butt for me. Too much info? Nah.

Needless to say, I appreciate London and the kindness I feel everyday from those around me. It is definitely good to be back for another week.

Updates to come, with love!