For Christmas, I was shocked when my host family surprised me with a plane ticket to Paris. And I looked forward to it for the next four months. I booked a hostel in the Montmarte area with a great price and somewhat questionable reviews, and I'm glad I did. It was easy to find and SUPER cheap. One of the best things about the trip was I would be flying on Lufthansa out of Frankfurt Main airport (so thankfully no repeats of the airport issues the London trip). The flight to Paris was a short one, especially considering all the flying I've done in the last year has been 10 hour flights. So I made it to Paris without any bumps along the way and it wasn't until I was on a train into Paris that I realized I never went through customs of any kind, in either airport. If you're a reader of the blog, you know I am no stranger to dealing with customs and the hoops you sometimes have to jump through while traveling abroad. I wasn't worried about anything happening to me with immigration while I was in Paris, but I was worried about going back into Germany, without record of ever having left. That could be a problem. Luckily, nothing happened, turns out you can travel with in the EU without going through customs.
I made it to my hostel much earlier than I anticipated, which was good because it gave me time to explore Paris with most of the afternoon and evening. I decided to stay close to my hostel, since it was my first day in Paris (I knew I had a lot more walking ahead of me) and the weather was not ideal. Luckily for me, there was a church I really wanted to visit that was very close to my hostel-about a 15 minute walk. Only problem is that Google maps forgot to mention that this church was on a hill, so the entire 15 minutes was an uphill walk entirely made up of stairs and steep inclines. It was a short, but tiring journey; yet once I saw the view from the front steps of the church, it was well worth it. I could see all of Paris extended before me. Absolutely breathtaking.
basilique du sacre-coeur
please excuse the rain on my camera lens
paris!
eiffel tower!
there were literally thousands of these tiny gold hearts in the crypts.
old school confessional
stations of the cross.
i expected them to be a little more antique.
The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur was not only a beautiful church with breath-taking views of the city, it's pretty famous for another reason. This church has perpetual adoration; it's been ongoing for over 125 years. Woah! That was pretty cool to witness. While I was at the Sacre-Coeur, there was a priest available for confession. The last time I went to confession was last summer, so I figured, why not give it a shot! I wrongly assumed that most priests, especially those serving in such a highly visited church, would be multilingual. I figured that between my English, German, Spanish, and Italian, we would be able to communicate. Guess again! The priest knew very little English, but he didn't turn me away. He even blessed a medal that I bought as a souvenir. It was definitely the least formal confession I have ever taken, but now I can say I went to confession in one of the most famous churches in France, if not the world.
After visiting the Sacre-Coeur, I wandered around a bit while heading back in the direction of my hostel. After grabbing a quick dinner, I headed home because the weather wasn't improving and I wanted to get a good nights sleep because I knew I would be out and about tomorrow.
I woke up bright and early the next morning, enjoyed a delicious breakfast of tasty French pastries (I would like to mention that croissants definitely taste better in Paris, they were heavenly), and headed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. I knew it would be a long walk, but I just wanted to wander the city and enjoy the good weather!
(source)
So I wandered aimlessly for a few hours, taking in the sights of Paris. After grabbing some macaroons for a quick snack, and enjoying them at the base of the Eiffel tower, I headed to St. Michel's fountain to go on a free walking tour. I am SO glad I did! Not only was it free, but it's a great way to learn about the history of the city, and meet other English speaking tourists!
moulin rouge!
how cute are parisian streets?!
louvre!
jardin des tuileries.
seine river!
lion!
getting closer!
yes, there were people in that car and i took a creeper photo anyway.
anyone want to buy me one? i'll love you forever.
i didn't appreciate how amazing the eiffel tower was, until i was there.
amazing.
so yummy!
mint, vanilla, caramel with chocolate, and rose (my favorite!)
fontaine saint michel
one of my many pictures of notre dame
the former nazi headquarters of occupied france
see the bullet holes?
our tour guide asked if anyone saw anything odd about the building,
and i totally guessed right.
it reminded me of the buildings i saw while i was in berlin.
king henry iv
love lock bridge!
louvre (again)
jardin des tuileries (again).
another lion!
jardin des tuileries. one of my favorite pictures of the trip!
napoleon's tomb.
The walking tour was great; super informative and fun, I highly recommend it to anyone who goes to Paris! After the tour, some of us went to a cafe for dinner. For 11 euros, we could choose from a few entrees that all came with fries and salad and a drink. What a steal! Since I was in Paris, and feeling adventurous, I went with escargot. Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous, but you only live once, right?
dinners ready!
my escargot lesson!
my turn!
seriously, it was delicious. i ate it all. best thing i ate in france!
I also tried duck confit and frog legs (both were delish)! After dinner, I went with some other girls (H & L from Oregon and R from England) from the tour to the Louvre. We heard you get in free after 6:30 on Wednesdays, so we thought we'd give it a try. Turns out you have to be a citizen of the EU (thanks to my visa is I am), but we went anyways. The Louvre is something you have to do in Paris, even though the Mona Lisa was crowded and little, it was great to see it and the other famous artworks. So we headed back to the Louvre!
our secret side entrance that was actually closed.
thankfully there was no line at the main entrance.
mona lisa's posse
immature? yes.
awesome? yes.
By the time we were done at the Louvre, it was almost 10 p.m. and we were all so exhausted we went to our hostels. H, L, and I plans to meet up tomorrow for a trip to Versailles!
