Paris

I just recently got back from a 3 night trip to Paris with my friend and flatmate Brooke and I cant even begin to describe what an amazing time I had.

We took off on the morning of the 11th and arrived just after 10 in the morning at Beauvais airport. We didn't know this at the time but the airport was actually about an hour drive away from the city centre, so if you ever plan on flying to Paris via Beauvais make sure you have a ride into town. We had booked a shuttle a few days before so we were all set.

We stayed at the Hotel Moris Grands Boulevards and that was the best decision we made. It was situated in the center of town right next to a metro and we had the room to ourselves. If we had booked a hostel it would have not been much cheaper, it would have been away from the city, and we would have had to share with many people. It wasn't time for check in yet so we put our bags down and hit the city.

The first thing we did was take the metro to the Eiffel Tower. I have seen many and more pictures of this but nothing can prepare you for such an awe inspiring sight. We got off the metro, climbed up the stairs, turned a corner and there it was. We were pretty far away and still I had to crane my neck up to see the top. We walked across the square and the street and arrived at the base. each of the four legs was a building where you could buy tickets. It was cold and cloudy so there weren't very many people there and we didn't have to wait too long in line.

You have to take two separate lifts to get to the top and they are packed full of people. We went so high that we literally disappeared in the clouds. From the top it was hard to see out too far but it was still incredibly beautiful. We took many pictures and had a lot of fun. If there were such a thing as past lives I think I worked on skyscrapers in one of mine because I was very comfortable being up so high, in fact I wanted to go higher. After a while my hands became numb despite the gloves I was wearing so we decided to go back down.

By then it was time we checked into our hotel. there were a couple of bad reviews online about the walls being too thin and the room being too small but it was just perfect for us. There were two comfy twin beds a view of the courtyard, and a bath, a real actual bath. Brook and I were really excited about that because we only have a tiny shower in our flat. It then became our plan to each take a bath that night sipping on French champagne and eating chocolates.

Next stop: Shopping.
We went to the Galeries Lafayette and looked around at the incredible luxury imagining the day when we can afford to drop 500 Euro on a simple cocktail dress. The first floor was about a quarter of a mile square and it was entirely filled with shoes. The second floor was just as big and housed makeup perfume and jewelry. The next three floors held different styles of clothing and we had a good time picking out really ridiculous clothing and laughing at the extortionate prices. We looked for a restaurant inside but found they were all just as expensive as the clothing so we wandered around looking for a good place to eat.

We found a cute little pizzeria and I had BACON PIZZA, no lie. My French is extremely limited so I thought it was supposed to have ham but it was actual bacon, and it was so good. That was probably the most unexpected meal I've ever had. Also, bottled coke is so much sweeter in Paris, so we had a lot of that. After dinner we wandered around for a bit. It was a bit rainy but somehow the moisture kept it from being too cold. Paris at night is stunning. It is lit up with Christmas lights and decorations and reminds me of a little village except it goes on forever.

We got the champagne and chocolates and went back to the room and stayed up all night drinking and talking, didn't manage to get that bath though.

The next morning we accidentally slept in late so we rushed out to seize the day. It was much clearer than the day before so we took full advantage of it. We got ourselves lost trying to find a Lolita store for Brooke. Lolita is a type of dressing very popular in Japan which projects ultra-girly innocence and there was one such shop in Paris. We had fun looking at all the super cute dresses and accessories and Brooke bought herself some super cute socks.

A funny thing happened while we were still looking for the store, a homeless lady approached us begging for money. We told her sorry but we didn't have anything for her and she kept at us. We told her we had no cash only a card and she said you can buy me food with your card then, I couldn't believe her gall, that has never happened to me before. Finally she gave up but I was getting so frustrated with her. Other than that, most people were incredibly nice and helpful, and even better, everyone spoke English.

After that we went to see Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle. Sainte Chapelle was the single most gorgeous room I have ever seen and it was good we went on a sunny day because the light streamed in through the stained glass and thousands of colors lit up the room. It seems a little silly but tears actually welled in my eyes when I saw it.

Next we walked all the way to the Musee d'Orsay only to find out it was closed on Mondays. I was bummed because we had walked all that way and poor Brooke got blisters all over her feet and I didn't get to see a museum. That's OK though cause I'm sure I'll get another chance. We walked just a little way farther and hopped on the giant Ferris wheel in the Place De La Concorde. It was sunset by then so we got to see the city lighting up. It was so cool to look at the Eiffel Tower and other various monuments from there. The traffic in the square was incredibly packed, we were so surprised that anyone could drive in those conditions, but there they all were below us, honking away at each other.

We went back to the hotel to get all dressed up for a fancy dinner. We went back to the Eiffel Tower to get night pictures and had dinner at a nice restaurant. I had steak with Bearnaise sauce and wine and for dessert we split chocolate macaroons with raspberry, it was all so delicious.

The next day was Disneyland! we hopped on the metro and about 45 min later we were there. Disneyland Paris is SO cool. It has five lands: Main street, Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Discoveryland. Like the one in SoCal it had rides like Indian Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion but each were different in some way. Haunted mansion was much scarier with a sort of killer bride theme and more corpses, also I didn't see a hidden mickey in the ballroom. Indiana Jones was based on the Temple of Doom and most of the ride was outside. Both Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain went upside down, which was scary on Space Mountain because you're entirely in the dark. The park was so empty, we never waited more than 10 minutes for a ride. And we ended up doing everything twice. I thought I saw a hidden mickey in Pirates in the treasure room but was unable to get a good picture. We took tons of pictures, rode the rides, watched the parade and shopped. One weird thing about Disneyland Paris was that it closed at 7 pm instead of 9 or 10 like we expected, but by then we were done and ready to go home anyway.

For our last dinner in Paris we went to a Creperie, which we thought was only fitting. We each had savory crepes and for dessert we split a chocolate, banana and apple crepe which was very bizarre but tasty. We went back to the hotel, each had a bubble bath and some more champagne and watched the movie Stardust in French. Foreign language actually improved the movie, which was cheesy and stupid to begin with but we had fun making up funny dialogue and guessing what would happen next. We did the same thing with an old episode of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman which I swear featured Fabio.

It was loads of fun but it was over way too soon. We woke up the next morning and got ready to go home. The weather must have sensed our moods cause that morning it was gray and dreary again, but our time had come. We got home in the late afternoon and I spent the rest of that day and the next trying to finish my essay. I turned it in today and I am so happy and relieved to finally be done with school until mid January.

Pictures soon to follow, thanks for reading.