my life is an experiment: Bonjour from France!

Bonjour! I just got back to Rome from a weekend in Paris and it was too spectacular to put into words. It's such a romantic city- the people, the food, the smells, the architecture, everything. My flight left at 6:25 a.m. on Friday morning and it was the first time I've ever come close to missing a flight. I checked in online the night before but when I got to the airport, the airline company also makes you check in in person, so after waiting through security, they sent me all the way back to wait in the check in line. The gate closed at 6:05 a.m. and I got there at 6:03 a.m., I'm not even exaggerating. So I ended up making my flight and sleeping the entire way to Paris (I had to wake up at 3:45 a.m. to catch my flight, so I was beyond tired). I got to Paris and the first thing I noticed was the cooler temperatures. In Rome, it's been overly hot and humid, so it was great to be in a mild temperature with no humidity.

I took a taxi to my hotel because I figured I was in Paris and had to take a taxi at least once, despite what they say about them. My ride only ended up costing €6, which isn't bad at all. I dropped my stuff off at the hotel and decided to just find the Eiffel Tower by spotting it and walking in the direction. Well 5 kilometers later, I got to the Eiffel Tower and the beauty was well worth the walk. I spent a good hour just taking pictures and exploring, then I stopped and got a crêpe. I walked back to my hotel and took a little nap then went back out and found Avenue des Champs-Élysées where I did some shopping and stumbled upon the Arc de Triomphe. I came at the perfect time because the sun was setting and the light was incredible around the monument.

On Saturday, I woke up early and went to the Louvre Museum where I spent a few hours, although I should have spent a few days. I have never been in such a large museum! Somebody could spend an entire day there and not see everything. It's simply incredible, everything from the architecture of the building to the vast historical significance it holds. Maybe some of you are dying to see all the pictures I took at the Louvre, but I'm sorry to disappoint you. I have this belief that when in a museum, you should try to absorb everything as much as possible. Taking pictures of everything doesn't force a person to immerse his/herself into the history of the museum. I visited the Louvre to absorb as much knowledge about art and history as possible, not to waste my time taking pictures instead of enjoying it. I took a couple pictures, I even got one of the Mona Lisa, but other than that, I was pretty limited.

After that, I got on the metro and went to the Eiffel Tower with hopes of taking the elevator to the top. While waiting in line, I befriended a man standing next to me from India- his name was Najmal. We were both in Paris alone so we decided to stick together and we spent the rest of the day exploring the city. After we went to the top of the tower, where, by the way, I DRANK CHAMPAGNE, we went back down and he bought me a crêpe (I can't get enough of them). Then we took a boat ride down the Seine River for an hour. After that, we stopped and drank a glass of wine next to the river and then rented some bikes to ride around. Apparently I'm terrible at riding a bike because I fell and it was really embarrassing! But I got back up and we found a restaurant farther north where we got drinks and ate traditional French food (we asked our waiter to give us some good French food). I'm so glad we found each other because I wouldn't have had half as much fun in Paris as I ended up having! I'm so thankful for the company and hospitality that Najmal provided, we had a great day together!

Well, I guess that's all I have to say about my trip to Paris. It was wonderful and I can't wait to go back. I recommend it to anyone and everyone. It's completely different than Rome, but I love both of them equally. Next weekend I go to Athens, Greece, so lots more pictures to come!

As always, thank you for reading!