Last weekend was my first trip this semester outside of Spain, and it was definitely my favorite one so far! I honestly didn’t have a lot of huge expectations for Paris, thinking it was probably overrated and too touristy, but everything we did there was so fun.
My friend Gabi & I spent all day Friday at Disney Land Paris. We laughed our way through the four theme parks (Discoveryland, Frontierland, Adventureland, and Fantasyland), riding the various rides, trying themed food, stumbling upon a giant parade, shopping through all of the souvenirs, and watching the beautiful fireworks/lights show at closing time with the other thousands of Disney fans. The weather was chilly and the decorations featured pumpkins & leaves & autumn colors, so it was the first day this semester that really felt like fall. I loved it!
On Saturday, we visited the more typical tourist destinations of the city. The Eiffel Tower was an amazing first stop! We climbed up the 650+ steps to the second floor to look over the cityscape. I learned that Parisians originally hated the new chunk of iron, thinking it ruined the ambiance of their beautiful metropolis, but have grown to appreciate it as a hallmark feature.
Our next stop was the Louvre, which I could have spent days exploring. It is the biggest art museum in the world and houses countless ancient artifacts and fascinating descriptions. We walked through as much as we could in 2.5 hours: Greek sculptures, Renaissance paintings, the Mona Lisa, Napoleon’s palace rooms, Hammurabi’s Code, ancient Persian walls and artifacts, and fragments of sculptures from the first empire in the world (Mesopotamia, 2000+ BC). I definitely geeked out about all of the history. It was such a rich place full of information!
Saturday night we stopped by the Luxembourg Gardens to relax and watch the sunset. It was a lovely break since our feet were so tired!
Later, we went to a fancy “fine dining” dinner and tried escargot (it was delicious), found the lock bridge (which is now illegal but not really enforced), and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle over the river. It was magical!
Sunday morning consisted of crepes (so delicious) and visiting the Arc de Triumph. We learned that the Arc was commissioned by Napoleon, features the names of major battles, and lists hundreds of names of generals (the underlined ones died in battle). There is also a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to pay tribute to those who died in WWI.
Overall, Paris was marvelous and I enjoyed all of the variety of things we did! The metro system made transportation easy, our Airbnb was comfortable, and we were able to get around without speaking more French than “bonjour” and “merci.” Definitely a weekend I won’t forget!
Cora the Explorer 