Awe Paris… I may have been dead tired the entire time, and be in desperate need of a pedicure due to the damage you did to my feet, but you sure were an adventure! If you didn’t know I left one week ago to study abroad in France, and I started my adventure off in it’s capital, Paris. Let’s get one thing straight here. Paris is definitely over romanticized. I feel like it’s pictured to be this beautiful, perfect place, and although it can be very beautiful, it’s low key disgusting.
The toilets are super weird, there is graffiti EVERYWHERE, and the metros small like poop. But, that said Paris does have that certain je ne sais quoi, that makes you low key love it by the end of your trip. Would I live there? Lord no. But getting to see things that I’ve always dreamed about seeing (like the Eiffel Tower and Versailles) was an incredible experience. However didn’t get to see the Louvre, because they were on strike (very french). Here’s what I did my first few days in Paris:
Day One
What I saw:
- Institut du Monde Arabe
- Notre Dame
Best thing I ate:
- Crème Brûlée (my all time favorite dessert)
Not a lot of super cute photos were taken day one. I was super jet lagged, and we only started exploring around 2 PM. We got a beautiful view of Paris from the Institut du Monde Arabe and did a little walking tour around the city. We also got a chance to see Notre Dame, which is still beautiful even after all the damage.
Day Two
What I saw:
- Montmartre
- The Eiffel Tower
- Colonnes de Buren
- The outside of the Louvre
Best thing I ate:
- Gnocchi
Such a crazy, busy day! We saw and did so many things, I’m not sure I can remember them all. First we attempted to go to the Louvre (as mentioned earlier didn’t happen), and we checked out the Colonnes de Buren. We then had the afternoon and evening free to explore on our own, so we headed over to the Eiffel Tower. First of all, I’m not sure why but it was WAYYYY bigger than I imagined. We rode the elevator to the top and we got to see such an incredible view of the city. We then walked to Trocadero (the perfect place to get pictures in front of the tower) and ate some crêpes. The french and I are very much in agreement on the perfection that is Nutella.
Afterwords, we found our way over to Montmartre (Old paris), and it was definitely one of my favorite parts. Much less touristy, and full of adorable shops. We ate dinner their at an Italian restaurant, and I had the BEST gnocchi ever. We ended up returning to the Eiffel Tower that night to watch it sparkle in the dark.
Day Three
What I saw:
- Musée Picasso
- Musée Jacquemart André
Best thing I ate:
- A gelato flower with a macaron on top
A pretty boring day in the grand scheme of things. We visited two museums, Musée Picasso et Musée Jacquemart André. Personally not a huge Picasso fan, but the Jacquemart Museum was pretty beautiful. It was set in their once home, which the wife donated to the state of France when she died. However, if you’re are visiting Versailles during your trip to Paris, I probably wouldn’t waste my time here since it’s not much compared to Versailles.
Stay tuned for part two! Hopefully I will get it up soon. À bientot!