I am not totally sure how it happened.
Maybe because I wasn't expecting it, or maybe because it was strange to think that it was a reality...
But either way, going to Paris was absolutely and totally amazing, and this took me by surprise.
Okay, of course it wasn't all smooth sailing. My friend Selma and I took an overnight bus from Heidelberg to Paris. 11pm to 6am for around 7 hours in all. As I've probably stated numerous times on here, I am super bad at falling asleep sitting up. It was kind of the same on the flight to Germany--I had a 7 hour plane ride to try to get a good night's sleep, but I couldn't fall asleep at all. But actually, I managed to at least get a few hours of sleep on this bus ride, though I don't know how many, because I was drifting in and out. The bus was kind of crowded so it was hard to really be comfortable, and it was also rather cold. Every couple of hours they'd give us a 15 or 20 minute break at a rest stop, but those just annoyed me because they woke me up and made the bus even colder. And then there's the fact that I was in the bathroom when we crossed the French border so I missed it...but hey, it was cheap, and brought us where we needed to go. And man, we were really disoriented when we got there.
I had just fallen into a comfortable sleep when I was startled by the lights turning on. I looked around to see that we were in some kind of parking garage. I was so confused and, well, not ready to leave my seat that suddenly felt really comfortable. For a 7 hour bus ride, it was too quick. But we stumbled off and grabbed our luggage, realizing we had no idea where we were. We tried finding a place to sit but there was none, and McDonald's wasn't even open for another hour. So I stood and tried to decipher the Metro map in Rick Steves's book. Yes, thank goodness we had a Rick Steves: France book, because he's a genius and helped us out almost a billion times. By the end of the trip we'd just be saying, "hey, can I see Rick?" if we needed to refer to the book. Anyway, yeah, it was freezing and we were exhausted, so we figured out the metro and decided to find our hostel.
The Paris metro is actually rather efficient. There are tons of lines, which was helpful, and whenever we got to a stop we'd only have to wait 3 or 4 minutes for the next train to come. It was a bit smelly and really annoying how random people would come on a train and play music right in my ears (fun at first, yes, but I can't imagine dealing with that every day!) but otherwise it was really helpful. Of course, when we got off of our metro stop we wandered around lost because that's just what I do best. Unfortunately we found our way into the red light district of Montmartre, the happy neighborhood our hostel was in. Luckily nothing was open yet so we were able to turn right back around without any problems. Montmartre itself wasn't that bad, but it's where the Moulin Rouge is...so that should tell you all you need to know. We eventually found our hostel and got ourselves slightly more oriented before leaving our luggage to go explore.
I had seen something amazing on one of the free maps: the Cafe from Amelie was nearby! Amelie is one of my favorite movies, and it has a fabulous soundtrack that I've been listening to for years. I had no idea that the cafe from the movie existed in real life, but of COURSE I had to go see it. We got there and there was a big poster of Amelie in the window, so it was kind of obvious that it was a gimmicky place, but I didn't care. It didn't look exactly like it did in the movie, as I'm a nerd who knows these sorts of things, but it was still awesome. We had cappuccinos and croissants as we were desperately in need of energy.Selma was so tired that she even dozed off for a bit in the cafe...oops! Oh well.
After getting a second wind, we decided to go visit Notre Dame. The fun thing about Paris is that it rained. Well, actually that wasn't fun at all, but it kind of defined our trip. We waited in line outside the massive cathedral, wondering why we had to deal with getting soaked. Of course, it was around that time that we realized we were waiting in the wrong line. So much for getting a second wind! We decided to come back later, and we walked around near the Hotel Deville, which was actually beautiful despite the precipitation, and found a cheap restaurant thanks to Rick. It's funny because it was actually a pizza restaurant, and I felt lame for having PIZZA in Paris of all things, but then the pizza arrived. This is when I learned something very important: The French are the best at making food. It was better than any pizza I had in Italy, honestly. The crust was very thin like I like it, and the cheese was absolutely delicious. Walking aimlessly in the rain trying to find a restaurant was suddenly worth it. This was the first of many amazing meals in Paris...and yes, it was pizza.
Anyway, we gathered up our courage and went back to Notre Dame, waited in the correct line, and went inside. Of course, it was beautiful and impressive. I don't think it was as impressive at Saint Peter's Basilica, but I don't think anything could ever top that. My favorite part was the stained glass windows, which were huge and beautiful, of course. After doing some more walking around, we decided to finally go back to our hostel and take a much-needed nap. I felt a little homesick (and soaking wet, of course) for some reason, but after waking up, I was totally ready to see more of Paris. We took the metro and found another Rick-ommended restaurant near the Eiffel Tower. We were excited because we had yet to catch a glimpse of the tower. We thought that when we exited the metro, we'd just see it immediately...but we didn't. We thought that after turning a corner we'd see it...but we didn't. We finally just gave up and went to the cute little restaurant for a late dinner. It was simply delicious, and the price was right. I got salmon, with a really good salad to start with and an amazing cheesecake for dessert. It wasn't the typical kind of cheesecake--in fact, it wasn't a cake at all, it was more of a pudding...but it was simply delectable. I'm telling you, those Parisians know how to cook.
And so, we finally found the Eiffel Tower, and we had to stop walking once we caught our first glimpse because it looked so beautiful all lit up at night. It was just so amazing to see. I mean, the Eiffel Tower is the symbol of France. It's always associated with anything French, like in TV shows or movies when characters would go to France, they'd always end up by the Eiffel Tower somehow. I know this isn't really news to anyone, but it was just stunning! We took perhaps a billion pictures, each of slightly differing quality, and watched the hourly blinking lights, totally amazed. Upon walking closer, we found something awesome: BEARS! To celebrate the peace between Paris and Berlin, there were two long rows of large fibreglass bears, each one representing a different country. They were all decorated by artists from that country, and they were so cool! The official description says, "The United Buddy Bear are primarily about their message - a message of peace, international understanding and tolerance among the nations, cultures and religions of this world." Umm...what could possibly be more perfect than that?
After being hypnotized by the tower, we were ready to go to a party my friend invited me to. She lives in Paris and is pretty cool, so I was definitely interested in going. Unfortunately, when Selma and I got there, we realized quite quickly that it wasn't exactly our scene. Not to go into details or anything, but apparently Parisians are harder partiers than we realized. So, we ducked out kind of early, because we're slightly more laid back...and enjoy getting sleep, of course. Naturally, that wasn't easy. It was raining when we left the club, and we had no idea where we were (lucky us, the metro was closed for the night) so we searched for a taxi. We searched. And searched. I know we could've called, but I read it was more expensive to do that...so instead, we searched. And searched. In the rain! It was kind of sketchy, and not an experience I want to repeat, but in the end we found a taxi and it was all fine. But, we were definitely ready for sleep...kind of awkward though, because our hostel room was a double, which meant we had to share a bed. Negative points for you, hostel!
Luckily, we woke up without a Planes, Trains and Automobiles situation, and were eager to get the free breakfast that the hostel provides. It was actually pretty good--a croissant, a mini baguette, jam, butter, and your choice of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Did I mention that Parisians are awesome at food? Because they really are. Then we took showers. The bathrooms were really what made this hostel less than desirable--there was one toilet per floor, and by toilet I mean toilet. A tiny room big enough just for one person and a toilet. Yikes. And there was only one shower for people who didn't have them in their rooms, so we had to awkwardly go down the stairs in towels to take showers. Oh, culture shock, you fiend. So yeah, this was our really full day in Paris. In short, we went through the royal gardens, the Louvre, down the Champs-Élysées, over to the Arc de Triomphe, and back to our hostel to collapse.
Basically, the gardens were astounding and vast, despite the fact that it was cold and cloudy. The Louvre was amazing, of course, but it was so huge that I feel like we didn't see a lot of it. Of course, we saw the Mona Lisa, and it was just as small as everyone told me but I didn't care! Plus, students get in for free, so hey! Then we walked back through the gardens to get to Champs-Élysées, which is this huge avenue of shops...the biggest shopping area in Paris, to be exact. The road ends at the Arc! At the Champs-Élysées we grabbed sandwiches because we had walked a LOT and were starving, and then treated ourselves to a splurge: fancy pastries! I had a pistachio eclaire. Can you guess how it tasted? And after this little rest, we poked into some stores looking for souvenirs...and that's when I saw them. The shoes, the shoes that I'm in love with! My camera unexpectedly died in the middle of the day so I don't think the pictures I will upload to my Shutterfly soon will have them, but Selma took a ton of pictures, so they will be shown. I'm obsessed with them.
When we tried to do a picture at the Arc, it was a mess. The best place to take a picture, believe it or not, was right in the middle of the road. Sounds dangerous, but a bunch of people were trying to get pictures. It was actually quite annoying, because some people were just so pushy and rude while Selma and I politely waited our turn. Yikes. But in the end, we accomplished it! And our day was finally complete, for the most part. We were EXHAUSTED. We were thinking of going to a club, but we were simply too tired, so instead we relaxed at our hostel and went to a sketchy McDonald's. I guess after all of the delicious French food, McDonald's was even more disgusting to us, and it simply didn't taste good at all. Oh well, I got over the heartache pretty quickly! After another slightly awkward sleep in our double bed, we tried to wake up early-ish, because we decided to visit Versailles on Sunday.
We really were tired, though, so we didn't get the best head start. We enjoyed another free breakfast and eventually got on the 45 minute train to Versailles. We got there later than we wanted to, around 10 or 11 I think, and it was PACKED. The first Sunday of every off-season month meant free admission, which sounded great to us...until we realized how chaotic it was! We waited in line in the rain for at least an hour, and the line seemingly had no direction, but eventually we got into the palace. I realized instantly that I'd never been in anything similar to a palace, because this was the first time I'd ever seen something so grandiose. You'll see in my pictures (which are a bit crooked for some reason--I'll attribute it to the tons of people jostling me and whatnot) that everything is huge and gold and fancy. As I write, I feel like I keep using the same words over and over again. I don't know how else to describe things that are huge and beautiful and fancy. I can't emphasize it better for some reason. You'll just have to see when I upload them, which is hopefully soon. And the gardens outside of the Versaille were....huge! And beautiful! And fancy! Too huge and too cold to walk through, though, so we just took a bunch of pictures and avoided getting in a fight with a swan before leaving the palace area to find lunch.
Since it was Sunday, a lot of places were already closed, which was annoying. Darn Europeans. So, naturally, we went to an Italian restaurant. I got vegetable pasta, and it was delicious, of course. I'm sorry for saying the same thing over and over, but it's true! And we finished our food just in time to catch the train back to Paris and the Eiffel Tower. We went all the way to the top on the Eiffel Tower, and there are three words than can be used to describe it: cold, windy, astounding. We went right before sunset so we saw the view during daylight, sunset, and night. Paris really is the city of lights. And really, I don't want to go into too much detail about it, because I don't want to spoil it for you. You have to do it once in your lifetime, it's incredible. I was in shock. And it wasn't even scary either, even though I was expecting it to be, because it's so high. But hey, I didn't drop my camera, so it was a success!
Oh yeah, and while we were waiting in line to go up, there was a wacky street performer. This guy was wearing a mask of a creepy old man's face and just walking up right behind people and scaring them. It was hilarious, and I was just glad I wasn't a victim...so if you ever go there, watch out for that prankster. And then just enjoy from the sidelines like we did. After descending, we went across the way to Trocadero, where you can get a great view of the tower from over the river. We got Nutella crepes and just talked about how much we enjoyed life. It was pretty awesome. And finally, to close out the evening, we went to Chipotle. Yes, THAT Chipotle, the American Mexican food chain. And you know what? I was not impressed. I love burritos more than most people, but this was more expensive than Moe's, AND they don't have queso AND their chips have a weird lime flavor. What's up with that?? I guess that's what I get for getting fast food in Paris, sigh.
But anyway, we went back to our hostel and crashed right away after another long but fulfilling day. Our last day in Paris went by really quickly. We spent the morning doing last minute souvenir shopping, which I find super stressful, and seeing Notre Dame again. We ate lunch at the same place we went the first night, and I got a cheese omelette, of course. I wanted to bring some French cheese back with me, but all of the Fromageries are closed on Mondays. Just my luck, but I shall always remember the camembert fondly! And after getting serenaded by a random guy on the Metro, we were ready to board the bus for the long trip back home.
It wasn't nearly as bad as it was on the way there, because the bus was much warmer and there was more room to spread out. And just to top it all off, I managed to catch the last tram back home in Heidelberg. So I'm sorry if this blog seems a little rushed and monotonous, but I'm leaving for Prague very early tomorrow morning. I just knew I had to get my Paris entry out before going to Prague, because otherwise I'd be all sorts of confused.
I hope you enjoy reading this from time to time. And once again, Paris was absolutely amazing in every way (okay, the French ARE a little snobby, but it's forgivable) and I want to go back. It's one place in Europe you DEFINITELY have to go, and I'm really glad I did...with a friend, too, so everything was slightly easier! Until next time, folks, au revoir!
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