Paris - Part 2

We had about 6 hours to spend in Paris. That's it, well challenge accepted. Ryan and I fumbled our way to the main train station and found a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city. We figured this was our best bet to see as much as possible before we had to head back to another cramped 9 hour bus ride. There were some definite highlights, and as always the best way to tell you about them is to show you.

Paris Highlights

The Louvre - we were able to skip the long lines, and get in for free by using our student IDs. The Louvre is free to students, who knew? We saw the Code of Hammurabi, the Mona Lisa, Venus di Milo, and the skipped out of there.

In front of the Louvre

  

Notre Dame - This was actually my favorite place in all of Paris! It's so beautiful, and in such a scenic location off of the Seine river. Walking a short distance there is a bridge over the river covered in locks. Apparently this is not unique to this bridge, it's done all over Europe and Asia, but it's a really cute idea. You write your name and the name of your love on the lock, and throw the key in the river. If I was ever to do this, I would want to do it on this bridge over the Seine in Paris.

Me in front of Notre Dame

 

1. The Eiffel Tower -this was the worst part of my whole day. The solicitors there were relentless. I had a Jamaican man grab my arm and start braiding a bracelet on me. When I told him I would only give him one euro he exclaimed "But Miss America!!" haha Ok, so now it's a funny story, but at the time it was annoying. (You can kind of see the bracelet on my arm in the picture below.)

Using that High School French - my favorite moment was when I successfully ordered a chocolate croissant and water for breakfast. Ok, I know that's not that hard, but the cashier spoke no English and I got exactly what I wanted. Score one for Lacey!

This is my, "I can't believe I'm in France and spoke French!" look.

Learning How to Eat Snails - Ok if you know me, you know there was no way I was eating snails. Ryan ordered them as a part of our super French dinner. (I had croque de monseir and even creme brulee for dessert!) When the waiter brought out the snails it was with some crazy utensil neither of us had ever seen, so I asked the waiter if he would teach us. Which he did, happily! 

   

French Wine - best Savignon Blanc I have ever tasted. Period.

The Obelisk - This stands where the guillotine used to be. It's weird to think about all of the horrors, lives lost, and blood shed here.

The Ferry- I don't have any pictures of this, but I wish I did. On the way back we rode the Ferry and it was like a moving mall. It was full of restaurants and shops, it was actually a really fun way to travel. 

So this was my first trip to France, every glorious 24 hours of it. I had a blast, and while I know I didn't get to see everything I know someday I will drag Andrew there to knock some items off of my Bucket List.