A weekend in Paris

This weekend, I went to Paris with eleven other girls in my abroad group. We had a long weekend and were very excited to visit Paris! We took a late flight from Madrid Barajas on EasyJet to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. I was surprised to find Madrid’s security less intense than in the United States. We also did not have to pass through customs. I was a little disappointed to not get another stamp in my passport! But, we later found out that when traveling within the European Union, you do not have to pass through customs.

We all arrived at Charles de Gaulle tired and a little disoriented. None of us spoke more than a few words of French, so we struggled to find the train from Charles de Gaulle into the heart of Paris. Thankfully, a few English speakers directed us to the train and we hopped on just in time!

After about a twenty minute ride, we had to transfer to the metro to get to our hostel. The metro we needed to catch just arrived at the platform and all twelve of us girls rushed to board. We didn’t know that the Paris metro doors close quickly and Candice almost got crushed! Two men had to pry the doors open so she could get out. We all freaked out—it was terrifying!! Thankfully, the rest of the ride passed peacefully and we exited on Rue Crimee to find our hostel.

We stayed at St. Christopher’s Inn, which is a hostel chain in northern Europe and the U.K. I was a little nervous for our first hostel experience, not really knowing what to expect! Annoyingly enough, our reservations got screwed up and all twelve of us couldn’t stay in one big room. So, there were two doubles, three girls in a six and then five girls in a six. When we went to our room, we were surprised to see our random sixth roommate had already settled down. Only their things were there and we were speculating whether it was going to be a guy or a girl.

Since the mystery roommate’s identity was yet to be determined, we were careful to lock our valuables up before going out to grab a bite to eat. We ended up getting kebab, which we found out was prevalent on the streets of Paris, taking it back to the hostel common room and chatting with some Australians before going to bed.

Then, we all wound down and climbed into our beds, only to be awoken an hour later by the arrival of the mystery roommate. I was convinced it was a guy, and I ended up being correct. First, he munched on chips for a good half hour before proceeding to candy, which he would unwrap loudly, eat, and then repeat. Finally, he seemed to be full and went to sleep. But then, he shouted loudly in his sleep in his native tongue, scaring all of us senseless. I remember waking up and being paralyzed with fear.

When we woke up the next morning to start our Parisian sightseeing, we all talked about his nighttime antics. To start our journey, we first had to master the metro, which ended up being very easy. There are large maps in the Paris metro stations, where each line is color coordinated. So, we’d use a map we got from the hostel and match it up with the metro map and trace out where we wanted to go. The Paris metro is also very clean and efficient; it was definitely the best way to get around the city.

First, we went to the Champs du Mars and climbed the Eiffel Tower. I know it seems touristy and cheesy, but I was literally in awe! I’d seen so many pictures and seen it in movies, but the Eiffel Tower really is amazing in person. It was really windy that day, so we could only go up to the first level. I was shocked to find a restaurant, ice skating rink and a shop up there! Who knew?!

Next, we met up with Kristen’s friend Meghan, who’s doing Loyola’s program at AUP in Paris. She took us across the Champs du Mars to Rue Saint Claire to get lunch. The food was amazing! I had French onion soup, baguette, hot goat cheese salad and white wine, followed by amazing Nutella and banana crepes we bought from a street vendor. It was freezing that day, so we walked with our warm crepes and headed towards the Louvre.

We walked through the Tuileries, which I’m sure are just gorgeous in the spring and summer. But, the statues and topiaries were still beautiful! However, we were anxious to make it to the Louvre because it was frigid outside! The Louvre is stunning on the inside; besides the paintings and sculptures, the building itself is a work of art, both inside and out. We strolled through a few galleries—it would have been impossible to cover the whole museum, it’s enormous! We saw the most famous works in the Louvre, the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory. The Mona Lisa was behind thick glass and so much smaller than I expected. It looked even smaller juxtaposed against this huge painting on the opposite wall.

After a few hours at the Louvre, we went to Angelina’s, one of the best pastry shops in Paris. We had the most delicious hot chocolate there! On our way back to our hostel, we walked across Pont Neuf and stopped by Notre Dame. Mass was being said as we toured inside the Cathedral, but it just added to its sacred ambiance. We walked home along the Seine, which was beautiful at night. For dinner, we met up with the rest of our group at a fondue restaurant, recommended by my friend Briana who studied in Paris in the fall. The restaurant had cheese and meat fondue, accompanied by all you can drink wine in baby bottles. It was a lot of fun!

We started off our next day by visiting the catacombs, which were created a result of overcrowding in cemeteries. After descending nearly 19 meters underground, we came to walls and walls of perfectly arranged bones. It was very eerie, but interesting. The bones went on for what seemed like forever and I was very ready for some fresh air after being stuck in a tunnel with dead people for an hour. We then visited the Musee d’Orsay and admired van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Cezanne, and Gauguin. Although we were pretty tired after walking around all day, we mustered some energy for shopping on Les Champs Elysees and to see Le Arch de Triomphe. Later that night, we met up with Meghan and she took us to a cool bar, which was in the basement of an 11^th century cathedral.

On our last day in Paris, we made our way up to the Monmarte district to see the beautiful Basilica of the Sacred Heart and the Moulin Rouge. We finished off our Paris experience with a café au lait and macaroons in a charming street side café. After three days of touring the amazing city of Paris on foot, we were exhausted and ready to head back to Alcala!

At the Eiffel Tower

Beautiful Pont Neuf

Shamelessly enjoying our crepes

The Arch d'Triumphe

Going into the Louvre

The Eiffel Tower at night--gorgeous!