Paris!

I've been slacking off!

For the last one I'm going to do about the week of Mid-Term break, let's talk about Paris, which we did for a single day.

We got up extremely early, wandered our way to the train station, and took the 3 hour journey into Gare du Nord. Once across the channel, we were above ground for the majority of the trip, and the early morning offered some very pretty views of the French countryside.

Once we reached Paris, we exchanged some money and searched for some breakfast. We shared crepes and an omelet, both of which were excellent, although the service was far from it. When we finally managed to get our check and get out, we made our way along Rue Saint-Denis down to the Seine River.

From here, we could see the top of Notre Dame, so we decided to head in that direction. I did not realize that this year marks the church's 850 year anniversary, so I was very impressed by that. It was awesome to be in the presence of something that awesome, never mind the subject of a classic Disney movie!

From here, we made our way back to the river, eventually finding our way to the Pont des Artes, a bridge completely covered in locks placed there by couples, so naturally, we found a small padlock and made our own addition to Paris!

Then we continued west along the river, finding our way to the Louvre. Although we didn't have the time to go in, it was pretty cool to see the iconic pyramid exterior in person!

After a quick lunch, we found our way to the Eiffel Tower. Again, it would've been cool to go up, but even if we hadn't been under time-constraints, I probably wouldn't have wanted to stand in that line, although I would like to go up it someday.

Finally, we made our way to the Arc de Triomphe, and wandered down the Champs-Elysses for a while before picking up the subway back to the train station. Although I was less than impressed by the subway system after having so much experience with London's "Tube," it was a very fun day.

I did feel a bit out of my depth, similar to Amsterdam, about being around so many people who are speaking another language, and I didn't feel as comfortable with the city itself as I do in most places. However, I would like to go back and do some more in-depth tours someday, and maybe follow that up with a vineyard tour!