Three Years Led Up to This

When you ask a child where their dream destination is, most might say Narnia, but others will surely say Paris, France. If you ask me, I’ll say the same. That is why despite having gone in March (maybe April?), I decided to head over to Paris one more time. The good thing about this trip, however, was that I would be staying with one of my best friends who happens to be doing her semester abroad in Paris. Not only that, but the best part about this entire trip was that I went on a three-hour train that cost me only €30. Traveling within Europe on a budget is easy when you buy tickets early enough.

Once I was in Paris, I had to meet my friend at her job. This was because I was staying at her place, so she needed to give me the keys. Once we caught up a bit, I left and found her apartment on the other side of Paris. I got there pretty late so I knew I wouldn’t be going out that night. I was already pretty exhausted, so I got ready for bed, pulled out the air mattress, and went to sleep.

The following morning, I went with my friend Delia to a nearby bakery and OH. MY. GOODNESS. This was the best bakery I had ever been to. Everything was flavored perfectly with not too much sugar. These were the best pastries I had ever tasted. The French really know how to run a bakery and I’m here for it. Of course, I spoke in French because three years of studying were not about to go to waste. After having breakfast, I went to the nearest metro station (of which there are many) and took the metro to a linguistic museum. It was an interactive museum that taught you about where languages come from and how they develop over time. Trust me, it sounded a lot more fun online, but I must admit it did not live up to expectations. I tried really hard not to leave in less than 30 minutes because I wanted the workers to think I was looking at everything.

After this, I went over to the famous Luxembourg gardens, which thankfully, were a ten-minute walk away. I went and walked around this enormous park for about an hour. There was so much to see, and those benches were so comfortable, so I did spend about 30 minutes sitting down. Afterwards, I realized that I did not have any big plans for the day. In fact, that linguistic museum was the only thing I had planned. Therefore, I realized that I could now do whatever I wanted. Therefore, I decided to start making my way to the one thing I had been wanting to see since the previous time I went to Paris – The Eiffel Tower. Was the walk extremely long? Yeah, sort of. Should I have taken the tram or bus or metro? Also yes, but you must understand that I had nothing planned for the day, so I had all the time in the world.

When I finally arrived at the Eiffel Tower, I was drenched in sweat. However, I found a bench that was in the shade, so I was able to cool off in a matter of 15 minutes. I was so in awe of the Eiffel Tower. Pictures and videos do not do it justice. This tower is MASSIVE in person. I tried taking good pictures, but my phone made the tower seem a lot smaller. I will admit that I started at it for a little too long, as I spent about an hour sitting on that benching taking the tower in in all its beauty. However, I realized I needed to leave, but at that point I had just walked across the city, so I was extremely tired. Therefore, I decided to head back to my friend’s apartment, but when I called her, she told me she wasn’t there. She shared her location with me, so I went over to the bar she was at. It was here that I met some of her friends and they were all super nice. Somehow, I went from meeting her friends at a bar to going with them to the other side of Paris to get a tattoo. After this, they decided they wanted to party, but I was too tired, so I instead opted to head back and call it a night.

The next day, I woke up and once again went over to the same bakery as the morning before. Then I got on the metro and went over to the tour de Montparnasse, which is one of the highest observatories in Paris. From here, I had 360-degree views of the entire city of Paris. I must say this was a gorgeous sight to behold, and I got many good photos of the Eiffel Tower. If there is anything I should complain about, it was the fact that I went so far high that I completely lost cell reception, and it did not come back for at least another 30 minutes after I was already back on street level. But regardless, going to the top of the tower was so worth it and I definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Paris.

After having done this panoramic experience, I went over to the Champs-Elysées, the most famous street in Paris. Here I saw stores and boutiques for the brands I could only every dream of shopping at. And yes, I got to see the world’s largest Louis Vuitton in person. And honestly the only reason I saw it was because I was on my way to McDonald’s, and the Louis Vuitton was right across the street. After having my lunch for the day, I went a bit further down the street to marvel at the Arc de Triomphe. This too was massive, and photographs do not do it justice.

It was still early in the afternoon by the time I was done, so I decided to walk once again to the Eiffel Tower. However, this time I stayed on the other side of the Seine River, taking in the tower from a different perspective. I was so enamored with the view that I went back later that night just to see it glow and sparkle. I arrived back to that spot on the Seine at around 10 pm, but then realized that the tower was not even glowing, much less sparkling. I had to stand in that exact spot for one entire hour and waited for the sparkling to start. Although my legs were dead, I will say that it is 100% worth it. It was an unforgettable experience that I took too many photos of. Regardless, I had a fun night taking in the city of Paris in all its glory. However, I had to rush home because I knew I needed some sleep. After all, I was going to be waking up at 4 am the next morning to head to the airport for the second part of this eventful week.