Ever since the 7th grade when I chose to take French instead of Spanish, the goal was to get to Paris. Last weekend, I was able to fulfill this goal, and it was even better, because I got to do it with my boyfriend, Jake, who was visiting for the week.
Because I don't have Friday classes, we were able to catch an early morning flight last Friday, and spend most of the day enjoying Paris. The first thing we did was go to The Louvre. The Louvre is free for residents of the EU, which means I got in for free with my student visa. I had heard horror stories about the lines, but for some reason they really weren't that bad Friday morning, we were basically able to walk right in.
The thing about the Louvre is it's huge. I know I'm not breaking any ground by saying so, but it really is impossible to see it all in a day, or even a weekend. Since we wanted to have ample time to explore the actual city, I printed out a "visitors trail" from the Louvre website (http://www.louvre.fr/en/routes/masterpieces-0). Basically, it's a walking guide of the top 10 masterpieces you must see at the Louvre, like the Mona Lisa. While it would have been awesome to see everything in the museum, that wasn't plausible for this trip, so I'm glad I printed this itinerary out in advance. The trail took about 1 1/2 hours, after which we were exhausted, so we went back to the hotel to nap a bit before dinner. (hey, it was an early flight!)
Because I don't have Friday classes, we were able to catch an early morning flight last Friday, and spend most of the day enjoying Paris. The first thing we did was go to The Louvre. The Louvre is free for residents of the EU, which means I got in for free with my student visa. I had heard horror stories about the lines, but for some reason they really weren't that bad Friday morning, we were basically able to walk right in.
The thing about the Louvre is it's huge. I know I'm not breaking any ground by saying so, but it really is impossible to see it all in a day, or even a weekend. Since we wanted to have ample time to explore the actual city, I printed out a "visitors trail" from the Louvre website (http://www.louvre.fr/en/routes/masterpieces-0). Basically, it's a walking guide of the top 10 masterpieces you must see at the Louvre, like the Mona Lisa. While it would have been awesome to see everything in the museum, that wasn't plausible for this trip, so I'm glad I printed this itinerary out in advance. The trail took about 1 1/2 hours, after which we were exhausted, so we went back to the hotel to nap a bit before dinner. (hey, it was an early flight!)
After dinner, we went to the Eiffel Tower, which is even more beautiful at night, because it lights up. We walked around for a bit, and then called it a night.
On Saturday the first thing we did was L'Arc de Triomphe. This is another thing where a student visa gets you in for free! The view from the top gives you a beautiful view of the city. We walked around the Champs-Elysee for a while, and then went back to the Eiffel Tower. This time, we went to the top. It wasn't free, but it was worth it. It was sort of surreal being at the top of the Eiffel Tower, when I've wanted to go to Paris for so long. But because it was mid-March in Paris, it was also sort of freezing and wet. So we got our pictures, walked around for a bit, and then came back down to where the winds weren't so harsh.
For dinner on Saturday night we met up with Jake's friend Ian who is studying abroad in Paris for the semester. It was interesting to compare his study abroad experience with what I'm doing down here in Aix. He's living in an apartment in a huge city with other students, and I'm living in a much smaller city with a host family.
Sunday morning we woke up at 4am to go to Charles de Gaulle airport, and back to reality, Jake back to Washington D.C., and me back to Aix. It's weird that this place is now my "reality". When I finally got back to my room, I was bombarded with all of the homework and studying I had to do. It's midterms week here at IAU, so I probably didn't pick the best time to plan a trip to Paris. Even so, I don't regret it at all. Studying abroad has definitely had it's ups and downs so far, but Paris completely lived up to the high expectations I had. I've decided to go back for the bulk of my spring break, because two days just wasn't enough. Today is the first day of spring, so hopefully that will come soon! Now, off to study for my last two midterms.