The Journey Begins...

Our back packing adventure began at St. Pancras station in London where Olivia, Deanna, and I caught the chunnel (train under the English Channel) to PARIS!! Once we arrived in France, we found the home of Rachael, our Australian host. Her apartment was in this really beautiful area removed from the busier parts of the city. May 1^st is French Labor Day so a lot of things were closed, but we were able to find a restaurant. One thing that works well here for food and cuts down on costs is this formula, where you get an appetizer and an entrée or an entrée and a dessert for about 13 euros. Also I forgot how much I missed free bread coming to the table. And in France that means baguettes so #winning!! So we all got an appetizer and entrée for a really good price (and lots of delicious food!). After a highly unfortunate event regarding a pigeon and my hair (if anyone was wondering, I have decided the French pigeons are even worse than the ones in London. Also you really should always carry toilet paper or napkins with you at all times. So glad I had those) we wandered around. And stumbled upon Notre Dame. You know, casual. After seeing this gorgeous church, we decided to walk down the Seine. Since it was a holiday and it was dusk, the streets were almost empty and the city was magically beautiful. I can fully understand why it is the most romantic city. We walked on the street and down by the river and saw many of the sites. The last major landmark we saw was the Eiffel Tower (if we had been walking on the other side of the river it would have been the first we would have seen!). Seeing it all lit up was so amazing. We then headed back to the apartment to get some sleep.

Luxembourg Garden

Thursday, after my first pain au chocolat (I had 3 while here!) we tried to go to the Museo d’Orsay but realized the line was too long for our plans for the day. So we walked over to the Luxembourg Garden which was completely in bloom. It was gorgeous. We grabbed baguette sandwiches there and then walked by the Louvre. We had decided not to try to do this museum because of price and that it is so crowded – although it would have been amazing to see the famous pieces in there, it would involve lots of standing around. We then headed back to Notre Dame for a free English tour and ran into Brent and Knox while there. This tour ended up being 2 – 2 ½ hours and I now know so much about the history and architecture of this beautiful church! Did you know it used to be painted? The kings on the front were red, green, and yellow. So weird to think about! We even somehow managed to get onto the alter, which was so pretty. And saw a marriage proposal in front, which was pretty cool.  After this tour, all five of us walked down the Seine towards the Metro and headed to Sacre Coeur church to see probably one of the best views of the city. We climbed 300 steps to the top and saw a breathtaking view. We also saw a fantastic street performer who juggled a soccer ball and climbed a lamppost. He was probably the best street performer I have ever seen. After that we ate dinner in a cluster of outside cafes and places where paintings were being sold. The French onion soup was fabulous! We then split up again and Olivia, Deanna, and I headed to the Eiffel Tower. On the Metro there some men played instruments - Metro performers! At the Eiffel Towere we bought a bottle of wine from a vender and sat in the grass of this park looking up at this famous landmark. It was probably one of the most perfect moments ever. Seriously. This was a perfect moment full of memories. We sat there for over an hour it was so wonderful.

So excited to be at Versailles!

Friday we headed to Versailles where, although we bought our tickets ahead of time, we still waited over an hour to get in. But it was worth it! The palace was absolutely beautiful and the gardens were so neat! After walking through the rooms and feeling overwhelmed by the beauty, we headed back into the city where we picked up kebabs from a place Olivia’s mom had recommended. They were very good. We then went to the Museo d’Orsay. Although we sadly did not get to see the Monet and Renoir because it closed, we were able to see Van Gogh’s pieces. Last year we studied Van Gogh extensively in my Humanities 120 class and it was really cool to see pieces that we had specifically looked at. Thanks Centre College for making us take classes that let us further appreciate such beautiful artwork!! The pieces there were fantastic!! We then headed to the Champs Elysse and saw the Arc de Triomphe. We ate at a café and actually went back to the apartment fairly early to look over our stuff and make sure everything was ready for our departure the next morning. We also wanted to rest since it will be a few days until we have time to really take it slow again.

Sacre Coeur

So basically Paris was amazing and I think that this city is fantastic. Also I can sort of get by with just a few French words/phrases to order and communicate with locals. We only ran into friendly, helpful Parisians which was wonderful and not really expected. Also, a tip from the wise. If you print a ticket, make sure the barcode prints as well. Otherwise there will be issues. Also the book of 10 passes is the least expensive way to travel if you are here for a few days, as they work on the Metro and buses for a very good price. Also once you understand the underground system all others make sense. Thanks London!!  Now all aboard to the next stop on this tour of Europe!!