An American in Paris

WOW!  What a week!  I did so much that so many people only dream of.  I unfortunately did not have access to my blog while I was in Paris, so I am going to update my entire week in one big gnarly frickin' post (Those two words are very important to my roommates and I).

On Monday we left the centre bright and early and rode our coach to Dover to catch a ferry to take us across the English Channel.  We got to see the famous white cliffs of Dover, and they were beautiful.  After we got off the ferry, we were in France!  On our way to Paris, we stopped at a couple WWI sites.  The first one was the Vimy Memorial.  It was beautiful.  They have actual trenches from WWI preserved  that you can walk through.  They have cemented over the sandbags on the side to protect them, but that is all.  The two sides were so close here.  When one person stands on the British side, and another on the German side, you can hear one another talking.

The Vimy Memorial

DAY ONE OF PARIS

We arrived at our hotel that evening, dumped our stuff, and went out to see the city.  I was so lucky because one of my good friends here did a study abroad in Paris before, so she can speak pretty good French and knows her way around!  On our first night, we got crepes on the street and then took a boat tour down the Seine.  It was so fun to sit back and see all the major sights in Paris on our first night.  After that, it was pretty late and we were exhausted so we went back and slept.

Laura Clayton and I on the Seine

Laura, Ali, Brittany, and Niki on the boat tour

DAY TWO OF PARIS

On day two, we woke up bright and early and went together as a group to the Chartres Cathedral.  It was absolutely beautiful, as most cathedrals are here.  This cathedral is one of the oldest forms of gothic style cathedrals, and I believe it's bigger than Notre Dame in Paris.  We had a little time to wander around the city as well.  We got a sandwich for lunch, and I learned how much fun it is to say Bonjour and Merci and any other French words I might know!  I always got so excited when I could say something in French.

 

After leaving Chartres, we went over to see the palace at Versailles.  It was soo unbelievable.  It was insanely massive, and so ornately decorated, and had acres and acres of incredible gardens.  This palace is where Marie Antoinette lived.  You can go in her room she slept in and see where she had to escape through during the French Revolution.  The quilt is the original one she had!  It was so much fun to see how beautiful it was.  And I loved the Hall of Mirrors.  It was gorgeous! 

Ali, Lizzie, Brittany, Laura, Lauren, Maryann at Versailles 

The Hall of Mirrors - I think they needed some Windex back then...

After we left Versailles, we went and met up with some friends who went somewhere else, and went walking down the Champs Elysees, to the famouse Lafayette shopping center, and then to eat at the AMAZING French restaurant called Cafe Constant.  Seriously, I cannot explain in words how delicious it was.  I got a rib-eye that was so tender I could cut it with a butter knife.  Unfortunately, we didn't take pictures.  We wanted to blend in with the locals (if that's even possible).  Afterwards, we went and hung out beneath the Arc de Triomphe.  We talked for a long time, and then went home when they kicked us out!  I was a great day!

DAY THREE OF PARIS

On our third day, we woke up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and went off to see the Louvre!  This day was Bastille Day, however, which is the French Independence Day, so it was CRAZY!  Here are some pictures from the Louvre:

Me fighting the crowds to see the Mona Lisa

Laura explaining the painting to us.  Love it!

It started pouring rain all at once, and everyone ran under the little arch by the Louvre, it was so funny!  So I took a picture of me in the rain in the empty courtyard of the Louvre.

After the Louvre, it was POURING still, so we went to this cafe named Angelina's to get some of their hot chocolate and pastries.  OMG, they were so good!  My family will be happy to know that I got some of the hot chocolate to take home.  It's amazing.  

After Angelina's, we went to Musee D'Orsay.  This museum was so cool.  It is in an old train station and has loads of Impressionist art.  I loved it!  I saw a lot of Monet, van Gogh, and others that were all so beautiful.  Unfortunately, no photography was allowed!

We then went to Musee Rodin.  This was really neat as well.  They had a bunch of Rodin's sculptures outside in this beautiful garden area.  They were so neat, he had so much detail in what he made.  

After this museum, we went to grab more food (we basically ate our way through Paris), and went to the Arc de Triomphe to climb to the top!  It was an incredible view from the top, and so neat!

After climbing the arc, we went to grab dinner, and then went to stake out our spots for the Bastille Day fireworks that go off behind the Eiffel Tower.  They were sooooo amazing!  Really, could there be a more picturesque thing than fireworks, the Eiffel Tower, and good friends?  I think not!

Niki and I saving seats within the insane crowds!

DAY FOUR IN PARIS

On our last day of Paris, we only had a half a day before we left to go to Aimens, France.  We woke up, packed, ate breakfast, and headed out.  We started out going to Notre Dame Cathedral.  It was beautiful, and it is so iconic.  I loved it!

We then went to the Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore.  This place is famous because it is where tons of famous poets have lived before they got famous, and there is still poets who live there today.  They have a lot of old antique books that are worth a whole lot, and they also have normal books as well.  It was a cool shop!  Also, while Niki and I were waiting outside for some other people, a woman came up and took pictures of us for a travel magazine!  Cool!

We then went to get one last crepe, and went back to our Hotel to catch our coach to Aimens.

In Aimens we went and saw the Cathedral there, and kind of took it easy.  Nothing much to report about that!  

DAY FIVE IN FRANCE

The next day, we drove back to London.  On the way we stopped at a few WWI sites and memorials.  They were all really neat.  

This was a really neat memorial.  It had a bunch of names written all over who died in WWI.  I found about 3 Mead's, and a couple Warner's, which are my family names from England.

We got to put a memorial cross at a grave we chose.  I put it on one that was "Known Unto God" meaning that they are unknown.

Me standing out in the French countryside!

At last I have come back home to London, and am exhausted!  It was an excellent trip, and I enjoyed it all!  

Picture credit to Laura Clayton, Niki Huntsman, and Brittany Austen