Jessy and I woke up before seven on Friday walked to the Aerobus stop to catch a bus to the airport. Although it is a six euro bus ride... we failed to pay, completely by accident... we were slightly confused by the system... anyway after checking in at the airport and going through a bunch of security things, we ended up waiting for about 2 hours for our flight. When we boarded I had the pleasure of having a window seat right in front of the wing and Jessy had the aisle of the same row with an empty seat in the middle. The flight, which was a Ryanair flight, was comfortable enough. They don't give you anything for free, which was fine, and it is a little meh but it gets you where you need to go fairly cheap so I can't complain.
The flight arrived on time and we grabbed a bus from Beauvais to Paris (because our flight was to a station about an hour outside Paris). Once we got into Paris we took the metro to Belleville to meet up with Jessy's Sophomore year roommate who lives in Paris and studies at Le Sorbonne. However, we had some time to kill so of course we sat down and got lunch in a little cafe then went shopping... I got 10 euro boots! woo! Once we met up with Aline, we went to her apartment, where we were staying, which was in the middle or Paris' Chinatown... strange, and dropped off our stuff.
Then Aline had to do some work so Jessy and I grabbed the metro and went to the Musee d'Orsay... which didn't sell tickets after 5 and it was 5:10... oops. Needless to say we then just wandered through by the Louvre towards the Eiffel Tower along the river and through the Tuileries Garden. It was a long trek but getting to the Eiffel Tower right before the lights came on was well worth it :)
After that we met up with Aline and grabbed dinner. Somewhere in Bastille we went to this restaurant where Jessy and I got these duck, mashed potatoe, salad tower things. It was so good. Pictures are on facebook of all the food and such. Then we went back to the apartment and crashed...
Saturday we got up early and made our way over to the Louvre. We had from 9 to 12 to see as much as possible. The place is huge. However, we covered a solid amount of it. We finished with everything we wanted to see by 11:15 and went outside to take pictures and start our trek over to Notre Dame to meet up with Aline again. The Louvre was so cool. To see the Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa (which I think is a little too hyped up) and the other incredible pieces of art by Monet, Picasso, Cezanne, Jacques-Louis, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, and so many more. I was in awe. Rooms and rooms and rooms full of artworks, artifacts, and statues. It was incredible. One of my huge "wow" moments was when I realized that the Museum staff had taken all of that work out of the Louvre before the Nazis marched on Paris. They moved it ALL. That's insane. Including the Victory of Samothrace down those stairs?! Amazing. The museum itself is stunning. Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a place that big? A map would be needed to navigate through it and it would take over a lifetime to not only furnish the whole thing but just to become familiar with every part of it. Crazy. I was thinking that even though the museum is a world treasure, it would have been cool to have turned the Palace into a school or orphanage or something like that. Just a thought.
After the Louvre we made our way over to Notre Dame. The architecture on that building is so beautifully crafted. The inside is also gorgeous. The stained glass adds an entire different element. When we went inside, the Priests were holding prayer so the Cathedral resonated with holy song. It was indescribable. And the statue of Mary holding Jesus was in there! It was also really really beautiful.
Jessy and I also grabbed some food in there at some point. Then with Aline's expert guidance we wandered the streets around the Sorbonne and through the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was what I expected royal gardens (which it was) were like. An oasis. My first thought was of the Count of Monte Cristo and his massive party. Add some lanterns and a hot air balloon and this garden was that :) Plus some stairs and tons of people in amazing clothes of course. Ah I wish I was a part of that century. *sigh*
We stopped in this famous cafe for a dessert but they weren't serving until three and since we had a reservation at the Eiffel Tower at 4 we didn't have time to wait. But we stopped in and I took a card. It played a huge role in the French Revolution. Look it up :P
We wandered some more then headed to the Eiffel Tower for our ascent. Unfortunately the tip top was closed due to wind :( but we went to the second level which was just as breathtaking and exciting. I took panoramas of each side and they are on facebook so hopefully you all can go look at them and see what I saw. However if you get the chance, go. Because nothing replaces an experience like that.
After the Eiffel Tower Jessy and I went to the Arch de Triumph and the Champs Elysee (I can't spell it...). We wandered for a while then decided to head back to the apartment because we were exhausted. The day was sooo packed. We grabbed dinner at a local cafe then passed out.
Today (Sunday) we woke up early and grabbed the bus then the plane then the bus back to good ole Via Marsala, what we now call home. Walking down Independenza (the main road by our home) we realized a parade had come through. There was a ton of confetti and such everywhere! Hence my blog post title :P
Oh, and while in Paris/travelling to and from, I read an entire book... Don't worry only when I was about to go to sleep or travelling. It was amazing.
Hope all is well,
Ciao!
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