We just got back from a trip to Paris and it was AMAZING. I seriously loved it so much. We were there for 3 days and I wish we could have had at least one more day there. But it was just the best. We definitely wore ourselves out by walking so much.
Monday we got up at 3 am to catch the train at 5:40. It was a long day. We slept the entire way to France and then got on the coach and headed to Chartres Cathedral. It was really cool. It is currently under renovation to be preserved, but we still got to go inside. I fell asleep for a little bit during the lecture we were having in there. The stain glass was beautiful and it is a very impressive old cathedral.
Rose Window at Chartres
After the cathedral we went to Fontainebleu Chateau. Napoleon stayed here a little bit. It was really grand and neat.
Taylor Ann, Melissa, Annalise, Mallory, Me, Lauren, Hayli, Kathryn, Sydney
Brooke and I wore our matching shirts, they are just different colors :)
And when you take selfies on my camera, they get put up on my blog.
We then checked into our hotel and finished the rest of the night. We were all exhausted, tired, hungry and disoriented because we couldn't speak French so tensions were a little high. But once we made it to the Eiffel Tower that all disappeared. It was seriously so magical to be in such a beautiful place. I was in awe and couldn't believe that we were actually there
These girls are the best. Austen, Annalise, Sydney, Taylor Ann, Melissa, Mallory, Brooke, Madeline, and I.
So happy to be in Paris that we had to get a jumping picture.
This was probably one of the best things of Paris. The baguettes. I LOVED THEM! Just ask my friends, I think I had 3 in 2 days and then decided that maybe I should try a crepe and a panini. But I loved them so much. I probably spent a lot of my money on them.
I thought this sign was funny. There were rules about playing futbol in the park.
The highlight of the whole trip was the river tour. Dad told me when he was here to do it. So we paid and were on a boat and saw Paris at night. It was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen. I still can't get over how exquisite it was.
All of the old buildings were lit up and I just can't get over how amazing it was. The Eiffel Tower also glitters every hour during the night and that was spectacular.
It was our first night in Paris and we were not sure how to use the metro so we had to ask a few people. Being out in Paris late at night was a little scary, but it was also felt a little rebellious and fun. We made it safely and all was well, even though we got in really late.
Tuesday again we woke up earlier than our bodies wanted us too and ate breakfast. I had a chocolate croissant that was amazing. The food in France was just phenomenal. But we went to Versailles. The palace is huge. It was built by Louis XIV "The Sun King." We stood in line for 2 hours and went through only a small portion of the house. I can't even imagine what it would be like to live in a place as exquisite as this.
I have learned so much in history classes about this place that is was surreal to be there. The Hall of Mirrors was pretty grand and beautiful. Despite the thousands of other people there, it was an amazing place!
Grand Staircase. PS: Does my hair look longer?
You can't go to Versailles and not go in the gardens. For some reason they made us pay that day, but it was worth it. The gardens are quite spectacular.
The gardens are huge and we didn't have a chance making it to all of it in one day and do the other things that we wanted to.
Shannon, Brooke, Me, Mallory, Madeline with Versailles in the back.
We were typical tourists and copied the statues there. Versailles was amazing and we didn't even cover most of it. Will have to be a go-to again place.
After Versailles we went back into Paris and saw the Notre Dame Cathedral. We amazingly found a drinking fountain. Go Paris! Drinking fountains are virtually impossible to find in Europe.
Notre Dame was beautiful, we didn't have a ton of time to really look into it, but we did go inside and saw how amazing it was. There were a lot of people there worshipping and that was really cool to see. They would dip their finger in water and put it on their forehead and then do the cross and kneel and pray. That was interesting to witness.
After Notre Dame we walked down Champs d'Elysees. I told you we went all day. But we walked down this famous street to get to the Arc de Triomphe. That was really cool. It's a monument that Napoleon built to commemorate one of his victories.
So pretty!
We went up to the top and the view was just fantastic.
We make crazy faces in all places :)
But we weren't done yet. It was only 9 pm. We had to keep going! So we went back to the Eiffel Tower and waited in line to climb up. It was way discounted price and we only walked up to the second level, but the view was still great and the tower was beautiful. We were up there when the lights were on and glistening.
We finally did the top and it was just fantastic. I seriously love Paris. We walked all day and were absolutely exhausted. We were on the metro to come back home and missed both trains and Brooke almost started crying and we were laughing hysterically we were so tired.
The next day my legs still hurt but we did the best that we could. We went to the Louvre first. It is so big and impressive. We saw the Mona Lisa, and I wasn't that disappointed by that and the Venus de Milo. It was so cool. We also saw a lot of famous paintings that we were studying in class.
Here is a Renoir.
After the Louvre, before we went to the d'Orssay we ate lunch on the Seine River. It was beautiful
Then we walked to the Lock Bridge and that was really fun and cute. We didn't put a lock on the bridge, but it was fun to be there. I didn't get any other pictures because we weren't allowed to take pictures at the Orssay museum. But this museum has all the impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. So we saw a lot of Renoir, Manet, Monet, Van Gogh and others. I loved this museum. The paintings were so beautiful and I couldn't believe that I was there viewing them in real life. It was just amazing. We then went to the Orangiere where Monet has his Waterlilies paintings. By then I was dying but kept going. The painting was amazing and we were headed out again to the Opera House. Finally we got to the train station and the lady at customs would not let us pass because we didn't have our student letters to get into the country (even though we were already granted a student 6 month visa) So she was pleasant and 5 people missed their train. Thankfully I made it and got home in time to write in my journal, shower and sleep. It was the first night in London that I have slept without waking up. It was the best. Class was a struggle today cause I was so tired, but I took a nap and I feel great. I wish I had one more day in Paris to enjoy things more, but I want to go back. It was just so beautiful. My heart will always be in Paris.
Au Revoir
Rachel
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