Life Across The Pond: je ne parle pas du français

On Friday morning, I left for my first trip out of England! We began our trip to Paris, France at 11:45am.This one was organized by AIFS (my study abroad program) so it was nice not having to plan everything out, and we even got the trip for free! We took a bus to the train station and took the chunnel over. My Dad kept telling me about how cool the chunnel was and how you go under water and all of a sudden you're in France. Well, although it was a quick trip (just two hours) my ears were popping like CRAZY the whole time...worse than an airplane! Time went by so fast by being with my friends, that I didn't even realize we were underwater! It just looks like a normal tunnel, so I guess I wouldn't have noticed, but it's still really weird to think about...that we were underwater...and it could collapse on us at any second....oy

We got to Paris around 5:00pm and that night around 6:30, we left to take the metro to the Seine River near the Eiffel Tower to go on a boat cruise to tour the major attractions all lit up at night. The metro is a little confusing, and I definitely like the tube here in London better, but we got there okay and walked up the steps to the street and right away we saw the Eiffel Tower lighting up the sky. It was truly unbelievable. What's amazing about my trip to Europe is how many things I get to see that I have only seen in pictures. I could have never imagined that I would actually get to see them in person, and yet that day has come and gone already. You could honestly never feel the way I felt unless you go to see it for yourself. It was an experience I will never forget when I saw it for the first time.

As we went down the river, we got to see the Eiffel Tower (when the lights flicker at night too!), Notre Dame, chapels, bridges, etc. It was great that we were able to do this on our first night, while letting it all soak in that we were actually in Paris. It was only a 45 min. boat ride, but by the end of it we were so exhausted. We grabbed a bite to eat (consisting of a ham & cheese sandwich where the cheese was on top of the bread, ham in the middle, and it was only toasted on one side...and a crepe for dessert) but then went right to bed.

Saturday morning we got up and out by 8:45am for a bus tour around the city which was great! Our tour guide was really good.We got to see everything and even got to get out at some points to take better pictures. I've really found that bus tours are perfect for short trips like this where you get to see a lot in just a few hours. It ended at the Eiffel Tour, where we got tickets to go up to the second floor without having to wait in the mile long line! Another amazing experience. We could see everything from up there, even though we didn't get to go all the way to the top. After that, we walked to the Louvre, which was HUGE! It was mind-boggling how big it was.They said that if you were to walk around the whole thing, looking at each piece for just 30 seconds, it would take 3 months! So clearly, we weren't able to see everything, and we even got lost finding an exit, but it was so beautiful and interesting to see the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, etc. that I didn't even care being lost among such amazing art.

Sunday, we got up early again to go to Versailles.To be honest, I didn't even know what Versailles was before going. I just decided to go there because my friends wanted to go and I didn't know what else to go see. I don't know if it was because I didn't google-image it, or because it was this amazing for everyone, but seeing Versailles was the most breathtaking thing I have ever seen in my entire life. I can't even put it into words. My pictures don't even suffice. My advice: Go to Versailles the first chance you get!! I loved it so much that I think I might head back in April. It was one thing going through the actual Palace, but to go out back and see the gardens. Oh my goodness, it was so gorgeous that it looked fake, even in person! Sorry, I just can't get over how beautiful it was...but I think you get the picture. The gardens are so big that we didn't get to see Marie Antoinette's château so...all the more reason to go back!

By the end of that trip, it was time to grab some food and head back to the hotel for our bus back to the station. If we didn't go to Versailles, I would have said Paris was kind of a let down for me. It was nice seeing the sites, but I have to say that the people were very rude, it smelled really bad, and I was terrified of being pick pocketed the whole time with all the warnings! Maybe I was just over tired, but it was slightly disappointing and I was very happy to be back in London last night! All-in-all though, it was a great trip, and a very memorable experience. I guess I must have had a great time if I want to go back despite the sketchy area with homeless people everywhere....so I'd recommend it, but please. Go to Versailles!!