Picturesque Paris!

This past week was one of the more memorable weeks of my study abroad semester because we had a week off from school for fall break!  With an entire free week, my friends and I decided that going to Paris and London would be a lot of fun!  Our first stop was to the beautiful city of Paris, France!

We arrived in Paris Monday evening and immediately started using the Paris metro system.  At first it was a little confusing, but we eventually got the hang of it (well thanks to Jade).  We were lucky enough to have Jade's best friend from Washington show us around.  She is fluent in French and has been studying in Paris for a few months now, so she was able to navigate us through the big city.  

We started off our first full day in Paris by going to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral.  We were amazed at how beautiful this cathedral was.  Luckily for us, they let anyone inside to walk around and take pictures, so we took full advantage of that.  One of the things that stood out to me were the amazing glass windows.  They were absolutely gorgeous and were found all over the cathedral.  

After visiting the cathedral, we decided to wait in the hour and thirty minute line to climb to the top of the Notre Dame.  We had heard from multiple people that the view from up top was the best view of Paris, even better than the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, so we figured it was worth the wait.    Boy were we not disappointed!  The view was incredible.  It was amazing to be up so high and look down on all of Paris!

Jamie, Jade, Me, & Katie from up top

After visiting Notre Dame, we decided to do some exploring in the nearby area.  We had lunch at an adorable cafe with the best soup and sandwiches!  I'll tell you Italy needs to step up its bread game.  All of the bread at the Italian restaurants is stale and dry, but the french baguettes are INCREDIBLE.  That was my weakness.  The bread was out of this world!  After lunch, we spotted a frozen yogurt shop!  After 2 months with no frozen yogurt, this was a pleasant surprise.  We couldn't pass up this opportunity!  They had the most delicious tart yogurt and any topping you could desire.  I went with my usual strawberries, blueberries, and chocolate chips!  Yum!!!

After exploring for a while, we decided to head to the Eiffel Tower.  I think this was the highlight of the Paris trip for me.  All my life I have wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower and now my dream finally came true!  It was more beautiful in person than I could have ever imagined.  I think we visited at the perfect time of the year because all the trees were changing colors and the leaves were everywhere.  Fall in Paris is absolutely breathtaking!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day.  Jade and I look like sisters!  

The whole gang- Megan, Alex, Me, Jade, Katie, and Jamie 

I didn't know this until I visited, but there bears all around the Eiffel Tower which represent every country.  We found the United States bear and had to take a picture with it.  We're proud to be Americans!

This is a funny picture.  We were trying to take yet another group picture, but the guy who was taking it for us suggested that we jump in the air.  It turned out pretty cute!  Jumping for joy because we love Paris!

After soaking in the beauty of the Eiffel Tower, we headed to a really old and famous cemetery.  It was unlike any cemetery I have ever been to..it was a really cool experience.  I think it was fitting to visit the cemetery since it was the day before Halloween.  Definitely a little spooky!

The next day we started off by going to the famous Pantheon, which was walking distance from our hostel.  From there, we headed towards Luxembourg park! 

So all of us girls really wanted to try a macaroon!  None of us had ever had one before, so we figured Paris would be the perfect place to try one!  I tried a chocolate macaroon and I thought it was delicious!  It almost tasted like a brownie!  Alex tried the salted caramel macaroon and she said hers was just as tasty!  I definitely would have a macaroon again some day!

This is beautiful Luxembourg park in Paris!  This was one of my favorite places!  It was absolutely gorgeous.  Pictures definitely don't do it justice.  If I lived in Paris I know that I would come here all the time to just sit and relax.  It's the perfect place for families to come and bring their kids too.  We were lucky to be there on a beautiful sunny day!

Here's all of us girls enjoying the beautiful park together!

After hanging out in the Luxembourg park, we decided to take advantage of the spectacular museums in Paris.  Of course, there is the famous Louvre, but we only had such a short time in Paris and we heard the Louvre was insanely crowded, so we headed to the Museo d'Orsay.  

This museum was filled with the works of artists like Van Gogh, Monet, and Seurat.  It was really interesting to walk around and see all of the different artists' works.  

Conveniently located near the museum was Paris' famous lock bridge!  We had no idea until we walked on the bridge to take a picture.  This was something Jade, Katie, and I had always wanted to do, but we had completely forgotten about it while we were in Paris.  Thankfully, we ended up on the bridge and we were able to purchase a lock and hang it up!

This was our little red lock.  We decided to write AJK (Alex, Jade, Katie) forever Paris '12 on it.  Hopefully one day we'll be able to come back to Paris and find where we put it.  Coincidentally the lock came with 3 keys, so we each decided that we want to keep one of the keys and get a necklace made with it.  I can't imagine this study experience without both of them.  We have had so much fun together and I am confident that our friendship will truly last forever.  Even though most people put a love lock on the bridge with their boyfriend or husband, there isn't anyone else I would rather share a lock with than them.  

We're proud of our little lock!  It is definitely a symbol of our friendship and how nothing can come between us and it will last us for the rest of our lives!

That night was Halloween!  Europe doesn't go all out for Halloween like America does, but we still managed to have a good time.  Alex and I decided to wear our masks that we bought in Venice, with a fur vest and black dress.  We wanted to dress up, but not too much!  It turned out really cute and we had a great night exploring the Parisian bars and clubs!

Happy Halloween from Paris!

Our last day in Paris was Thursday.  We were sad to leave, but we decided to make the most of our day since we had a later train to London.  We all wanted to see the famous Arc de Triomphe, so we had some breakfast and headed in that direction.  Luckily, a storm had just passed when we reached this famous monument.  We were lucky to have blue skies and a rainbow on its way!

After visiting the Arc de Triomph, we walked back to the metro and found an adorable crepe stand.  Since we were in Paris and hadn't had a crepe yet, we felt a little pathetic and realized we had to stop and get one!  Everyone got nutella & banana, except me because I can't have nuts, so I went with a strawberry jam & banana crepe!  It was delicious.  There's nothing like walking through a beautiful park with a crepe in hand! 

Paris was one of my favorite places I have ever been.  3 days was not nearly enough in this amazing city.  I got a feeling in Paris that I haven't had anywhere else.  I love Italy, but part of me wishes I could study abroad in Paris as well.  I loved the people, the food, the culture, the history, and the amazing monuments and parks.  I hope I will be back someday soon, but until then, I'm grateful for the memories I made and the pictures I can reminisce on.