Paris, France!

Mollie, Me, and Micah (From Left) in front of the Louvre

No city in the world is like the romantic and beautiful city of Paris, France! On arrival, I got my first glance of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, which seemed to be a dream that was staring me in the face as our coach bus drove around it to give us a quick view of the landscape we would soon explore! As we pulled up to our hotel, I was anxious and excited to see how we would be spending our weekend in France! Creatively, I chose to ask one of the girls I had met from the Brighton study abroad group to room with me in the hotel so that I could start to get to know this group more and make more friends. I had met Micah, Mollie, and Crystal in Rye and had spent the afternoon with them. 

After getting settled in our hotel room and finding out our next meeting time, Mollie and I explored our room! Our room was so small, the two twin beds that we would sleep on were practically pushed together, there was about two inches between the beds! We also found a way to turn television shows that were in French to English so that we could watch TV and actually understand it, although after all that work we both fell asleep after dinner without barely watching any shows! We met up with the entire group of study abroad students to take a trip on the Bateaux, which was a river cruise on the Seine to see all the major sites of Paris! Although it was freezing, Mollie, Crystal, and I couldn't help but stay on the rook seating to look around and take pictures of all the scenery. (On left) I also took a selfie on the boat, just to show that I had my best Paris fashion on my first exploration in Paris! 

After the ride, Mollie, Micah, Crystal, and I found a Crepe Cafe where we all ordered different crepes and tried each others, just so we could get a taste of each to decide the best one! They were all so good, my favorite being the dessert crepe! Yum!

The next day we had a delicious breakfast in the hotel(for free!) before we headed on our way to climb up the Eiffel Tower. Our hotel was only about a ten minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, which we also got walk through Champ de Mars, which is a large flat open are called Grenelle, which was reserved for market gardening.
 I paid four euro to walk up the first two flights of the Eiffel Tower, then you have to take a lift up to the very top! It was exciting, invigorating, and nerve-racking all at the same time. There are three levels, each level you can walk around ll sides of the Eiffel Tower! The are restaurants on the first level and second level, which used to be a very famous place for well-to-do people to gather and socialize. Unfortunately, I was only able to spend about ten minutes at the top before having to make my way back to ground level. 

1st Level

The view was so captivating, and each level, even though I was looking at the same views every time I walked around each side of the tower, seemed to be even more beautiful and breathtaking!

1st Level

History of Eiffel Tower: The design was originated by Maurice Koechlin and Emile Nouguier. Foundations started on January 28, 1887. It took over two years to complete and opened for exposition on May 6, 1889. Nearly 1,896,987 people came in the first year. On the second level, the french newspaper, Le Figaro, had an office and printing press. On the third level there was a post office. Today the structure stands 324 meters tall (1,063 ft) and was the tallest building in the world from 1889-1930. The tower had a permit to only stand for 20 years, to be dismantled in 1909, but the City of Paris took it over and it was officially declared a historical monument in 1964.

Climbing the Eiffel Tower, on 2nd Level

Looking down at que of people from 2nd level

View at 2nd Level

View at top

View at Top

After visiting the Eiffel Tower and trekking back down to ground level, we shared some frites (fries) before heading to the Les Invalides, Napoleon Bonaparte's place of burial.

We took a quick picture before getting back on the coach bus to drive through the red light district, where we passed Moulin Rouge! 

Then we had some free time to explore the small shops and bargain markets when we got to Sacre Coeur, the beautiful Sacred Heart Church. After making the long walk up the stairs to the entrance of the church, Mollie and I walked around the church before going back down to grab lunch at a small french cafe! We both had classic subs on french bread! Then we shopped for awhile, which I found the cutest Paris scarf to match my new tote bag! We even saw a street performer, who wasn't very good at staying still, and did not look any better than Goldmember from Austin Powers in all gold. 

Our next stop was Notre Dame, where we got a quick walk of the inside before heading to the Louvre, where Mollie, Micah, and I went to see Mona Lisa! 
To get to the Louvre, Mollie, Micah, and I walked through the Tuileries Garden, which was filled with beautiful and historic sculptures and art pieces of important figures and famous works. We passed through the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. The larger and more famous Arc de Triomphe is located in a straight line all the way down Champs Elysees (all long way down this historic boulevard). The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel was made between 1806-1808 by the Emperor Napoleon I on the model of the Arch of Septimius Seerus in Rome. We actually got into the museum free of charge because we were study abroad students! 

There is over a 1,000 years worth of art and sculptures in the museum, which would take even an average person 26 years to see every piece in the museum! Although the museum was large, the climb up the first set of step was definitely worth the breathtaking sight of the "Winged Victory" at the top of the staircase, which is a second century BC marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike, discovered in 1863, said to be made in 190 B.C. As we kept walking up the stairs, we had a mission to see one certain piece of art, but on the way I also got a glimpse of Aphrodite, Renaissance paintings, and finally, the Mona Lisa!
 I was in awe with excitement and unreality that I was mere feet from this extraordinary and stunning painting, which indulged me to take a selfie!
 We were actually lucky to get to see the Mona Lisa, in time before the museum closed!
We decided to walk up Champs Elysees, the historic boulevard full of famous and posh shops and restaurants, to the Arc de Triomphe, which ended up being a very long walk that took at least an hour! In the end, the walk was worth it because of the view of the Arc de Triomphe at night and the chance to be crazy enough to stand on a median in the middle of a busy four lane street in Paris to get a picture! As we started back towards the Eiffel Tower to find a place to eat dinner, we knew that we wanted to find a place for Italian food. Obviously, we knew there were many places to eat and our hotel was close to the Eiffel Tower, so we used the beacon to find our way there. The beacon sends out two bright light beams that pivot all the way around the Eiffel Tower, bright enough to see from miles away. When we got to the Eiffel Tower, we took a short walk through under the tower, gazing up at it's magnificence as we made our way one block over to a place called Pasta e Pizza. Micah, Mollie, and I all got what we wanted; in which I got a delicious bowl of spaghetti bolognese and also tried a slice of Micah's margarita pizza, which was delightful too! Before going back to the hotel, we decided to go back to the Eiffel Tower to stop at one of the food trucks that sells desserts, which we shared churro sticks covered in chocolate sauce!! Hit the spot! Despite the entire day being a thrilling day, I really badly wanted one of the light-up mini Eiffel Tower souvenirs that the street vendors were selling. Everywhere you went street vendors selling souvenirs and toys were following you trying to get you to buy their items. It is weird that these vendors can usually be seen anywhere you go, except when the police arrive, they disappear in just minutes, usually unseen before you even see the first police officer. 
After declining offers all day from vendors and knowing I got most of what I wanted in Paris, I still badly wanted to bargain for a mini Eiffel Tower that light up in multiple colours. The first vendor I tried to bargain with wouldn't take less than five euros; but eventually after trying two other vendors and bargaining one vendor from five to three euros by showing him I only had three euros left in cash, I got my light-up mini Eiffel Tower! It took effort, persistence, and even a little trickery to get the vendor to take my offer, but I learned the trick was to walk away and then usually they would run after you trying to offer a better deal, until you talk them down to the price you want to pay. Subsequently, the whole time Mollie and Micah are sitting back watching me walk back and forth between different vendors, eyeing me up as I trying to bargain, and observing all the tricks I used to finally get the souvenir! They died laughing when I finally walked up with a huge smile on my face and  the souvenir in my hand like a proud and excited child! I even got a picture with my mini Eiffel Tower, scaling up to the real Eiffel Tower. 



The last day in France, our study abroad group went to the Palace of Varseilles, which was an astonishing palace that I also got admittance in for free for being a study abroad student! Score!
 I spent all of four hours that we had to explore the palace, visiting the Grand Apartments of the King and Queen, the Chapelle Royale, Salon de Venus, the Formal Gardens, the Hall of Mirrors, the apartment of the Dauphin (the crown prince), and the Trianon Palace and Marie-Antoinette's Estate. The entire palace was stunning, so much to see of the awe-inspiring and overwhelming amount of history, elegance, and art. 

Outside the front of Palace of Varseilles

The Formal Gardens

Chapelle Royale (Royal Chapel)

The Gardens of Varseilles were once the Domaine Royal de Varseilles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover almost 2,000 acres of land, much of which is landscaped as the classic French Garden perfected by Andre Le Notre. The garden contains over 200,000 trees, 210,000 flowers planted annually, 50 fountains, 620 water jets, and 58 acres of the Grand Canal. 



The Chapelle Royal, begun in 1689, was the fifth chapel for the focal point of Louis XIV's and was to become one of the largest royal chapels at Varseilles. 

The Great Hall of Mirrors

The Great Hall of Mirrors is the principle and most remarkable feature of King Louis XIV's third building campaign of the Palace of Varseilles, was constructed from 1678-1684. The architect, Jules Hardouin Mansart joined three rooms from each apartment as well as the terrace that separate the two apartments with the construction of the Hall or Mirrors. The principal feature of this hall is the seventeen mirror-clad arches that reflect the seventeen arched windows that overlook the garden. Each arch contain 21 mirrors, totaling the number of mirrors to 357 used in the decoration of the hall.

During the seventh century, the hall was used daily by King Louis XIV when he walked from his private apartment to the chapel. At this times, courtiers assembled to watch the king and member of the royal pass and might make a particular request to the king at this time. In successive reigns, the hall continued for family and court functions. Embassies, births, and marriages were celebrated in this hall. 


Undoubtedly, visiting the sites of Paris and going to Palace of Varseilles was one of the best trips I have gone on so far! I absolutely enjoyed every minute of being in France, besides the rude and pesky French who were no help in understanding things sometimes. Although the language was a barrier, I did learn a lot of going to a country with a foreign language and how I would be able to adjust, engage, and understand the culture and country during my travels. I also enlightened me to how to communicate in a foreign country and how to catch on to the unknown language. In the end, going to France definitely and me want to travel other places in Europe!