The City of Lights

I just got back from my whirlwind weekend in Paris with one of my good friends from Florence. As some of you know, I tried to go to Paris in the middle of October but cancelled due to the riots – the riots were the French protesting a new pension policy being put into place. But I was happy that I finally had a chance to go with my good friend and see the famed City of Lights.

We landed in Paris at about six at night on Friday. It was already dark out and as we made our way out of the airport, it began to lightly snow (yay!). Piling into the waiting bus, we pulled out into the darkened highways surrounding Paris. As my friend fell asleep, I gazed out onto darken fields and farmsteads. Then in an instant, the scenery changed. Cows and crops turned into cities. After another hour, we entered into Paris city proper and were greeted by its most notable landmark, the Eiffel Tower. The symbol of France was all lit up and it was breathtaking (I had to wake up my friend – it was too cool not to see).

We had a rude awakening as we left the warm bus and entered the frigid Paris cold (Florence is a good ten degrees warmer). We gathered our luggage and made the trek to our hostel. When we were got there, we were greeted with a warm reception and our room key. We made our way to our room, dropped off our luggage and headed to the bar/restaurant downstairs (it was now approaching 9pm) and got some dinner. After dinner, we headed back upstairs and climbed into bed and fell asleep, anticipating the day ahead.

Saturday dawned bright and chilly and full of promise. Filling ourselves up with fresh baguette (the French are locavores too!), we bundled up and headed out. Our hostel recommended a free walking tour and we decided that since we had limited time in the City of Lights, that it would be a good idea to have a guided tour that showed us all the sights. A native English-speaker (he was from Canada) who was studying in Paris led our tour – he was AMAZING!

We got the meeting point a bit early so we explored a famous landmark that was nearby – Notre Dame. It looked smaller than I expected, but I was so wrong when I walked into it. The façade makes it appear small, but the church is very long. There were stain glass windows everywhere, all done in brilliant pinks, purples, and blues. It was awe-inspiring. What made it even cooler was that they were setting up all their Christmas decorations; it gave the whole day a festive vibe. I have never seen anything more beautiful in my life.

Notre Dame

Our tour meeting time came around and we began our epic walk around Paris. We saw famous buildings (like the judicial building that the French people took back from the Nazis) and the site where a Templar Knight grand master placed a curse upon a King and a Pope (they tried to steal all the Templar’s money by convicting them of heresy but the curse led the King and Pope to their deaths… never ever make a Templar Knight angry). We saw where the Institute of French language, where all words are entered into the French dictionary. We saw the outside of the Louvre (so exciting!) and the infamous glass pyramid. Seeing the Louvre fulfilled a lifelong dream and I was so happy that I actually got to see it. After there, we saw a palace where the French Revolution was started (Let them eat cake!) and the opera house where a famous play is based.

Our last stop was the Eiffel Tower. Apparently the French did not want to build it because it is ugly (thank goodness the architect did not listen). It was the most beautiful skyscraper that I have ever seen in my life. I have always thought that the tower was painted black, but it actually is bronze in color. It was really interesting to see that it was actually a different color than I thought. As we were about to leave, the lights were turned on, and we stayed to take pictures with it all lit up.

The Eiffel Tower

Our marathon day was completed with a trip to a little café where we ordered bowls of French onion soup (minus the cheese for me) and glasses of champagne. We went back to the hostel to change and relax for a little bit and then we were off to see the Moulin Rouge theater and we ate crepes at a little restaurant (chocolate-filled and sugar coated, yum to the extreme). It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Waking up early the next day, we ate breakfast, checked out of the hostel, and put our luggage into lockers. Then we headed off to the Louvre! Since it was Sunday at 10am, the line was short and we were through security in a jiffy. My friend and I got in for free by showing our visas – EU residents between the ages of 18 and 25 (including temporary ones) get to go into the Louvre for free! It was a very exciting day. Due to the lack of time, we did the speedy Louvre tour, which meant only one thing – the Mona Lisa!

As we walked through the Italian wing of the Louvre (which is HUGE), we stopped and admired the beautiful art adorning the walls. It was incredible to see canvases the size of whole walls and think how the artist painted it. It was also cool to see other painting done by famed Italian artists, like Giotto. My friend and I had just gone to the Uffizi the week before, so it was cool to see more works by these famed painters.

We finally made it to the room holding the most famous painting in the world. And there she was. She is not as small as I had heard. What makes her seem small is that about 15 feet and some glass separate the public from that famous smile. It was really incredible to gaze upon the face that has brought about so many queries about its creator. It was so cool.

Hello Ms. Mona Lisa!

Sadly, we had to wrap up the museum tour and head back to the airport to go back to Florence. I was really sad to leave Paris. I had an amazing time and saw some incredible things! I can’t wait to go back!

Au revior (or as I like to say, Ciao!)