Most people go to Paris with their boyfriend/girlfriend because it is known as the city of L-O-V-E. I went alone, and to be honest, I'm glad I was able to explore alone. In the end, I was able to fall in love with myself.
When you hear how beautiful Paris is, you can't truly understand until you've been there. No picture can capture the beauty, the winding streets, and the people.
I was absolutely shocked to find out the French people are some of the nicest I have come across throughout my travels across Europe. They are warm and friendly and I am convinced they are some of the happiest people on the face of the planet, and why shouldn't they be? They get an average of 6 weeks vacation a year, free health care where doctors will even come to your house if you don't feel up to going to the office, the food is phenomenal and the language literally makes you want to rip off your clothes and fall into the arms of a well dressed Parisian man... Too bad I didn't meet any that were available.
Saturday I woke up in the wee hours of the morning while the rest of my house was peacefully sleeping and rushed off to Kings Cross. I was so early, in fact, that they bumped me up to the train leaving at 8 AM instead of 9 AND - get ready for it - put me in first class! I was so excited because I have neither traveled in first class before nor been bumped up randomly. They served breakfast and everything.
Travel Tip - If you get to Gare de Nord be prepared to stand on line for at least a half hour to get tickets for the underground. Have change in euros. Each ticket costs 1.70 if you get a single, and a booklet costs 12 Euros. The tickets are just little strips of paper and you need to keep track of which ones are used. It's very messy. Silly Frenchies.
When I finally made it to Sarah's stop on the subway it was as though I was in a dream. I climbed up the stairs, suitcase in hand, and looked out at my surroundings. Cars were on the correct side of the road (yippee), people were bustling around on the streets, there were French cafe's and, just like out of a movie, there were big fat snowflakes falling on the ground.
After a few minutes of searching, I saw Sarah and Cassie! I gave them both huge hugs and we started to walk back to Sarah's apartment. The less glamorous side of the snow falling was the brown slush all over the sidewalks and road making it slippery and too dirty to roll my suitcase. So, there I was in Paris, slipping and sliding while holding a suitcase that had way too much clothing in it for a simple three day weekend. But hey, have you met me? I am clumsy and can't pack correctly.
Here's the basic list of my itinerary:
Saturday - Montmarte, the hill with a cathedral on top that overlooks the entire city of Paris.
The street filled with sex shops and the Moulin Rouge
Sunday - The Eiffel Tower, L'Arc De Triomphe, Champs Elyesses and La Grande Roue
Monday - The Louvre
Montmarte
The scene simply cannot be caught on camera.
It is too beautiful to put in one picture. In this case, seeing is believing.
I always made fun of people's albums that had tons of pictures of the Eiffel Tower because, after all, everyone knows what it looks like and it looks exactly the same in every picture. When I got there, I had to put my foot in my mouth and I finally understood - you just keep taking pictures because you can't actually believe you're in Paris staring at it. I almost started crying when I first saw it (yeah, I'm a girl). But it wasn't just because I'm a girl. My whole life I have dreamed of going to Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower. There I was, independent and I was looking up and I realized I had made it. I had made it and I got there with the money I had worked and saved for. Happy Birthday, Miriam.
L'Arc De Triomphe. It was beautiful at night, but it was even more beautiful after walking down Champs Elysses for a few hundred meters...
On the streets of Champs Elysses. One thing about traveling alone that is a serious issue is finding people who you trust to take your picture. I went for the obvious choice of the Asian tourists. After all, they always take tons of pictures so I guessed after much practice they would be able to and I was correct.
Le Grande Roue. Basically, the French version of the London Eye.
Stealers.
And these are just some other pictures I took... Enjoy!
You'll have to wait for the pictures I took in the Louvre. I have yet to upload them. When I got back to London I had to write a paper due Tuesday, and then one that was due today. I'll have them up by this weekend and make a short post about the Louvre.
9 days left in London. I can't believe it's almost over!
Cheers,
Miriam