City of Love

It feels like forever ago, however, last weekend I was lucky enough to get to spend three nights discovering Paris. I am not quite sure what exactly I was expecting Paris to be, nevertheless, it was not what I expected. Don't get me wrong, it was incredible, it was beautiful, it was marvelous, it just wasn't the Paris I had imagined.

We arrived to Paris late Thursday night only to discover that it MUCH colder than we had expected it to be. As we were sitting on the side of the road, overcome with excitement, we were also huddled together, trying to preserve any warmth we could find; we were terribly under-dressed. After at last finding probably the only taxi driver in the city who would illegally drive 5 people, we took a short ride to the Aloha Hostel. As we got out of the taxi, we stood breathless in the street, the Eiffel Tower was directly behind our hostel.









We entered to find that the Hostel wasn't too bad, except for the public shower situation, which was awful. After finding our room and choosing who got each BUNK BED!?! we went out in search of food. Being used to the Spanish ways, we expected all restaurants to be open at 11:00, however, our only option ended up being a Japanese restaurant. It was actually AMAZING. After a long day of travel, we decided to go back to the hostel and call it an early night. After being in bed for about twenty minutes, we were startled by someone BANGING on our hostel door. Terrified, we all pretended to be asleep, our only comfort being that we had remembered to lock the pad lock... the banging stopped, we sighed out of relief, and then our door opened and someone entered our room. He walked in, put down his stuff, asked us to please not lock the pad lock again and left the room. He was our sixth room mate. I have never been so thrilled to find that a strange male is my roommate, however, I was happy that's who he was, rather than some psycho who was breaking into our room. I actually slept well Thursday night.

Friday morning we woke up early, excited about beginning our first day in Paris. We walked down the street from our hostel and found a precious little cafe, where we would eat breakfast every morning. The woman who owned the cafe was a wonderful french woman, who spoke little English, however, was patient and kind with us nonetheless. Our breakfasts were wonderful, consisting of fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, omelets and croissants.... :) what a wonderful way to start the day. After a long, relaxing breakfast, we set off in search of the Champs Elysees. This area, running right alongside the water, was wonderful. Though it was overcrowded and a bit touristy, it had the beautifully dressed Parisian women who were ALL LEGS, the Louis Vuitton store that was about six stories tall, the cutest little cafes ever, and just so much life. We spent hours just walking, watching, appreciating, trying to soak it all in, and then finally came to the end, where we found the Arc de Triomf. It was unreal.

From here, we set off for the Eiffel Tower. Once we got to the area, we ate a LONG lunch at a wonderful French cafe, then went to get in line for the Eiffel Tower. After sitting in line for about an hour and a half, we were told that the top of the Eiffel Tower was closed, therefore we decided to leave, and come back the next day. So we went back to the hostel, took a nice two hour nap, then got ready for dinner. Due to a lack of planning, we set off with no place in mind. It was cold, it was late, and we were hungry, so we went to this small place on the corner. Little did we know we were asking for our first taste of the rude, snobby Parisian. The menu was impossible to read, with few choices available, and our waitress was absolutely awful. Though I have no idea what she said to the tables around us, it was clear that she was mocking us, and that we were once again being referred to as stupid Americans. Despite her awful attitude, we enjoyed our dinner, then found a small local bar, where we stayed until closing time.

Saturday morning, after ignoring our alarms several times, we woke up a little later than expected. After quickly getting ready, we got breakfast at our small local cafe, went and got picnic supplies, then set off for our second try at getting to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Once again, the  top was closed, therefore we could only go halfway up. Though a bit disappointed, after walking up about a thousand steps, we realized that even this view was amazing. It was a bit foggy, and extremely cold, yet Paris was still completely breathtaking. The entire time I was up there my legs were quivering a bit as a result of a slight fear of heights, and my heart was racing. I just could not fathom the idea the hundreds of years ago, without an of the technology we have today, people built this tower as a gift. A gift that would be celebrated as one of the most famous tourist attractions for all the years to come. It was absolutely unbelievable to me. 


After admiring the view for about an hour, we took the steps back down to the bottom (I could finally take deep breaths again), and we set out to find the perfect spot for a picnic. The picnic was wonderful, consisting of several baguettes, brie, fruit, and mixed nuts. It was sunny, the temperature had finally risen enough to allow us to take off our winter coats, and all around us people seemed to be feel of joy, and loving life; we were as well. We went from laughing at nothing at all until we were completely breathless, to sharing the stories of who we are, where we come from, and why. It was as though we were characters in a movie. It was surreal.

After basking in the sun for a little, trying to digest all of the food we had just eaten, we set off for the Notre Dame. Running to try to catch the metro, getting a bit lost, and having to change trains several times truly made us thankful for the transportation system in Barcelona, which is SO much better than one in Paris. At last, we got to the Notre Dame, and once again, I fell in love with a Gothic Cathedral. It was absolutely amazing. I was determined to go here because my grandmother had told me how beautiful it was, however, I wasn't expecting it this. My favorite parts were the stained glass windows; oh what I wouldn't give just to have one of those in my home...
From there we went to the Louvre. Because it would take days, which we didn't have, to make it through the museum, we just admired it from the outside, then continued onto the Boutique Shopping. Here, I was a bit disheartened by the fact that everything I saw, I wanted, however, everything I saw also was WAY outside of my price range. It was still fun to look. It was here that I finally saw why Paris is just about the number one shopping city there is. The stuff was so unique, so beautiful, so intricately designed and made, I just wanted to take it all home with me. Because I couldn't, however, we left, and ended up stumbling upon what would be my favorite part of Paris... the lock bridge.

The railings along the bridge are all covered with locks of all different shapes, sizes, colors, ages, etc.. and each one is engraved with its own special message. The purpose of the lock bridge is to engrave a lock with the initial of you and your loved on, to lock to to the bridge together, then to come back one day in the future and remove, or simply find your lock. My heart grew warm from all of the love there was on that bridge. There were couples walking all along it, and thousands of locks reminding Paris of all the ones who had already come and gone. I can only imagine all the stories belonging to this one spot. All the love, loss, promises, and heartbreaks that have taken place there throughout time. I wanted to know them all, to hear them all, to write about or read about them all; I never wanted to leave.

After going back to the hostel, showering in the most awful, as well as coldest showers I have ever been in, and getting dressed, we took a LONG taxi drive to the "hip, fun" part of Paris, where we heard the best night life was located. Ironically, we found the one Spanish restaurant in Paris, where we ate the BEST dinner and had the BEST wine. The woman who owned the place was so sweet, and we stayed there for hours, enjoying a full four course meal with yummy bread, appetizers, a main course, and a DELICIOUS dessert. From there, we went down the street to a VERY fun bar, where we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.. that is until I was confronted by a guy who was wondering if I wanted to participate in a porn video. After giving him an awful glare, and telling him "absolutely not," we realized it was 2:00, therefore time to go find a taxi home.

Unfortunately, because the taxis refused to drive five of us, three of the girls got in a taxi home. I opted to stay with a friend and wait for the next one, not realizing that there wouldn't be another free taxi for at least an hour. As we were nervously waiting, we witnessed a drunken street fight, were confronted by some extremely drunk Parisian guys, who refused to leave us alone, and offered a couple rides from guys driving by. I rarely get nervous in these situations, however, seeing as I know little to no French at all, and was in a completely foreign country, I was a bit shaky. After waiting on the side of the road, shivering, praying we would get home safe, and trying to avoid the sloppy drunks, we finally got home around 3:30... Better late than never.

Sunday, after our last breakfast at our sweet cafe, we walked a bit, then set off to the airport. It was very nice to experience excitement over returning to my Barcelona home. Though a part of me was hoping that this plane would take me back to my home, my family, my puppies, a part of me was also very excited to be back in the now familiar and safe Barcelona. I'm really starting to love it here.

Miss and love home and all of you more than you know. Enjoying my last nine wonderful European weeks, and then CANT WAIT to see you when I get home.

XOXO