Anyway, Kyle, Noelle, and I took the train for five hours to go to Paris, France a couple weeks ago. When we arrived we checked into the Hotel le Terrage. It was a little ghetto, but the beds were super comfy. We then headed to Sacre Coeur, Church of the Sacred Heart, and afterwards walked around a little, ate some lunch, and headed to the Moulin Rouge.
Stairs to the Sacre Coeur
Sacre Coeur
Noelle and I
This is my favorite picture.
The next morning we hopped on the Metro to the Avenue des Champs Elysees. We walked down the street towards the Arc de Triomphe and took some beautiful pictures. We also got to see part of the daily ceremony concerning the Eternal Flame/Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the center of the Arc.
After the Arc, we walked to the Eiffel Tower. We got some beautiful pictures, and we wanted to go up of course. But the top was closed due to congestion. There were just too many people up there, so instead we just took some more pics. But while we were taking pictures, all of a sudden there was a stampede of black men who had been trying to illegally sell us junky little trinkets. The police were chasing them down, but it was really scary for a second. Kirsten said she felt like Simba from the Lion King. Hehehe.
We decided to head to the Luxembourg Gardens then for a picnic and to walk around. The picnic was a success, but instead of walking around, we sat down in some chairs in front of the Luxembourg Palace and just lounged in the sun. None of us were opposed to this because it felt so nice to just sit down for a little bit, especially in the sun.
After the gardens, we hopped back on the Metro to head over to Notre Dame. We took some cool pics outside and then went inside. There was a small ceremony going on which was neat to see, but I thought it was a little strange that all the churches we saw in Paris, including Notre Dame, had coin machines that flatten your coin with a picture on it, like ones at the zoos in the States. It was still beautiful inside nontheless.
After the church we came back to the hotel to nap, and then it was time to get ready to go out because it was Kirsten's 21 birthday, and she felt like dancing :) We ended up going out around 12:30. We thought it would totally be late enough, but of course, we were the first ones at the Disko once again. Super embarrasing of course, but after a little while, others started showing up as well, and before we knew it, the place was packed and we were dancing like crazy. We ended up dancing until 4:30 in the morning, but I think we all had a good night, and hopefully a good 21 for Kirsten.
The next morning we took the Metro to Porte de Clignancourt where a huge flea market is held every weekend. There were a ton of cute clothes and shoes, but nothing really popped out at me, so I didn't spend any money there. But we found out later that there was an entire other section to the flea market under the bridge that we missed out on. We were all a little bummed about that, but the others all found their Paris keepsake that they were looking for.
Afterwards we went back to the hotel, got some lunch, napped, then headed to the Musee du Louvre. We got there around 4:30, and unfortunately they were closing in one hour, so we did not go in. We decided to come back the next day, but we got some pretty sweet pics outside.
We decided to hit up the Moulin Rouge again then because the others really wanted to see it. I should also mention that the Moulin Rouge is right in the middle of the Red Light District, so we also saw our fair share of advertisements for live shows, private dances, and the like.
Silly Kirsten :)
I ended up just buying a black, wool beret at one of the souvenir shops, but I forgot to get my picture with it while we were in Paris :( Anyway, after the Moulin Rouge, we headed over to the Bastille monument, but it was a little lame, and there wasn't anything around it, so then we headed back to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. We took some sweet pics, and then before we knew it, the tower started sparkling. None of us knew about the light show, but we were so happy we didn't miss it because it was definitely my favorite part about the whole trip. It only lasted for five minutes, but it was beautiful.
Bastille Monument
Light Show
The next morning we headed back to the tower to finally go up it. We waited in line for about two hours, bought our 12 euro tickets, and then we were finally at the top. It wasn't breathtaking or anything, but we all knew we had to go to the top before we left Paris.
After the tower, we took some sweet mustasche pictures in front of it. My camera died sadly so I didn't get any pictures, but hopefully I can get someone else's pics, because they were pretty sweet. We also whipped our hair of course in front of the tower, and then we headed to the Louvre once again.
The line ended up being pretty long, so Kyle, Noelle, and I decided to go to the Musee d'Orsay, the impressionistic art museum down the block because Noelle really wanted to see it, and it was closed on Mondays, so since it was already Sunday, it was her last chance to see it. We knew we could see the Louvre the next day because we were leaving later than the other girls. They had class on Monday, so they were planning on leaving really early, but we weren't leaving Paris until five.
So off to the Musee d'Orsay we went. It was very lovely inside, with lots of famous artists, including Monet. We couldn't take pictures though. Then that night after we all met up again, we decided to go get some dinner around the corner from our hotel at Pomm. I just got dessert because I had already eaten, but I ordered Creme Brulee, and it was basically the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. Definitely order that if you're ever in France. Yum!
The next morning, the girls were gone, and the three of us headed back to the Louvre for the third time. But this time we were finally going in. It was absolutely gigantic! And the whole thing was a maze. We only saw the main pieces, and it took us two hours to see those. If you wanted to see all 35,000 pieces of art in the Louvre, it would take more than two weeks. Geez louise!
We saw the Code of Hammurabi, many Egyptian and Asian antiquities, including the Colossal Statue of Ramesses II, the Venus de Milo, Medieval Moat, The Winged Victory, the Wedding Feast at Cana, The Consecration of the Emperor Napolean I, and of course, the Mona Lisa. The Louvre was absolutely gorgeous inside though. Each section was designed and decorated differently, but my favorite section was the Egyptian one and then the Greek. If I had to choose a favorite piece it would probably be the Venus de Milo or the Winged Victory. They were both beautiful.
Code of Hammurabi
Asian Section
Medieval Section
Old Medieval Moat
Egyptian Section
Egyptian Jewelry. The rings were gorgeous.
Combs and Mirrors
Colossal Statue of Ramesses II
Pharaoh's Tomb
Venus de Milo
Greek Section
Roman Section
Greek again
The Winged Victory
I just thought this painting was beautiful.
Wedding Feast at Cana
It's gigantic. You can see it on the far wall in two pictures below.
Mona Lisa
Line to see the Mona Lisa
Consecration of the Emperor Napolean I
I really liked the Louvre, but the line to see the Mona Lisa was one of the most ridiculous things of my life. You'd think people would have a little more respect considering the surroundings, but I swear I was in a mosh pit. I had to pull out the elbow a couple times, but I'm mostly disappointed because by the time I got to the front I just wanted to take my picture and scram. So I didn't really get to take the painting in for all its glory, but it is what it is I guess.
After the Louvre we were going to go to the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned, but we had a little trouble finding it, and we were basically dead at this point because we had been on our feet for almost five days, so we just sat down in a cute park and napped. It was a nice end to a lovely weekend in Paris.
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