The plan for the 4 days I had in Paris was to get as much touristy sightseeing out of the way on Thursday and Friday as possible, so I could spend the weekend catching up and doing more local activities with my friend Josh, who is studying there this semester. So, Thursday night, after mastering the spiral staircase, I went straight to the Eiffel Tower to meet up with an evening bike tour. We rode all around the city to see the buildings lit up; stopped for ice cream at a famous homemade ice cream shop (I got melon and mango); and took a boat tour that included bottomless cups of red wine. It was a fabulous introduction to the city.
On Friday, we tackled the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and picnicked in a park at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
By that night, Josh had finished all of the papers he’d been working on, so we met him down by the canal, where over cheap bottles of wine, he got to know my friends, and we got to compare life in Paris versus Ireland.
The next day, my travel companions went to Disneyland (seriously), and I met up with Josh. We spent a while sitting outside a café, sipping espresso and making up stories about the people passing by on the street. Then, he took me to Sainte-Chappelle, an absolutely breath-taking church built to house the crown of thorns. It’s virtually all stained glass and if you visit it without getting a crick in your neck, then you have either missed something, or have exceedingly strong occipital muscles.
I also got to see the tiny little apartment he lives in, and he showed me around his neighborhood, Monmarte. In the heart of the red light district, his place is about four blocks from the Moulin Rouge. I’d probably have to say that my favorite part of the Paris trip was when we trekked all the way up the hill (Monmarte – mon – mountain – get it?) and looked over the city. It was stunning and photos really can’t do it justice.
On Sunday, my travel buddy and I got up much earlier than Josh would ever dream of on a Sunday, so we went around town ourselves. We ended up eating an indulgent breakfast in a very posh part of town, followed by window shopping everywhere from Dior to Tiffany’s.
As we moved from shop to shop, our sticker shock never seemed to decrease. €2,500 for a handbag, €800 for sunglasses, €4,000 for a dress…. *sigh* It seemed the only thing that could pull us out of our we’ll-never-be-able-to-afford-high-fashion funk was falafel. Good falafel. We met Josh in the Marais, a part of town known for its homosexual Jewish inhabitants, hip shopping, and fabulous food. He took us to an apparently famous falafel shop, where we waited in a huge line to get our hands on our own pitas filled with tiny falafels, salad, magical eggplant, and a mysterious combination of sauces. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city, taking everything in. Finally it was time for me to start packing up my things and head to the airport with Josh.
For more photos of Paris, click this link: Spring Break Part #1 - Paris
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