The City of Light

I'm not sure, but I don't think it's possible to sum up Paris in one blog. It follows the trend of the city really: not enough time to get everything done. Spending eleven days in Paris? You need more. A day in the Louvre? You need at least two. Versailles in five hours? You need six. So, one blog? You need at least two, but we'll try for just the one.

I've really enjoyed my stay in Paris. The hostel is not bad. It's got a decent location and its easily accessible to the Metro. I spent the first five days in a six bed mixed dorm. Then my friend and I moved into a room where we each had a single bed but it was just me and her. The six person dorm was a good way to meet new people. I made a few good friends on this trip.

My basic rundown of Paris is this:
Day 0: Arrived :) We settled in and found out that we were the first in our room. Two sisters from South Korea arrived later, followed by a guy from Indonesia, and finally a guy from the States. Eventually, the two Korean girls and the Indonesian guy moved out and we got three Austrailian guys to add to our international room.

Day 1: We visited Gare du Nord and Gare l'Est which are both really big beautiful train stations. We spent our time walking around our area and down the canal as well.

Day 2: We went on a free walking tour of Paris. It was three hours long and well worth it. We were able to see Jardin des Tuileries (a beautiful garden with a lot of statues and some fountains), the Obelisque (a 'gift' from Egypt according to the French . . . the Egyptians aren't so sure), and St. Michel's fountain in the Latin Quarter among other things which we were then able to go back and visit later. After the tour, we explored the Petit Palais, the Christmas Market, the Champs-Elysees (the most distinguished shopping street in Paris), and finally the Arc de Triomphe. As we were walking back, we were able to watch as they turned on all the Christmas lights after dark. It was beautiful.

Day 3: Christmas day we spent around the hostel because not much would have been open. We had Christmas dinner at the hostel which consisted of Fois Gras, Roast turkey, dessert, and champagne. Then, we got together with some of our roommates and hung out in the lounge for a social Christmas drink.

Day 4: On our way to the Eiffel Tower, we came across a giant golden dome. We found Napolean's final resting place. Along with that, there is a French military museum. We wandered through that for a few hours before going to visit Napolean. We finally made it to the Eiffel Tower, but as it was Boxing Day the queue took about two hours to get into the tower. It was really cold in the queue, but the wait was worth the effort, because the view from the Eiffel Tower at night is breath-taking.

Day 5: Notre Dame is a giant Cathedral that is actually located on an island where the Seine splits and surrounds it. It has beautiful stained glass windows and the accustics are phenominal. Later we returned to the Eiffel Tower (which only took 45 minutes in the queue) and we were able to go all the way to the very top. It was very cold and extremely windy at the top but the view was still worth the trouble. We were also able to see the light show that the Eiffel Tower is currently putting on for their 120th year celebration.

Day 6: The Louvre. The size of the Louvre is unbelievable! There is so much to see that it literally cannot be seen all in one day. There is more than paintings in the Louvre. There are sculptures and ancient artifacts. The Egyptian display is very well organized and the vast collection of items that they have is great. A lot of emphasis is placed on the paintings of course. Especially the Mona Lisa. The crowd in front of her was massive. There are so many other famous paintings as well. It is worth seeing and spending as much time as possible in. Thanks to one of our friends, we got there early and were able to avoid the infamous queues that are spoken of about the Louvre. If you get there early, chances are good that it will most definately pay off.

Day 7: This was supposed to be a museum day and then follow on to a tour of the Montmartre District. However, the weather had different plans. By the time we had gotten anywhere, my shoes were soaked. So, I opted to just go to the Musee Rodin and then go home. The Rodin Museum has a lot of famous statues. The most reknown perhaps The Thinker, followed closely by The Gates of Hell and The Kiss. There is a great manor house with a very large garden behind. There are sculptures in both the house and the gardens and both are well worth seeing. The queue to get in only took about 35 minutes. I enjoyed this museum a lot. From one side, you could see The Thinker, the Eiffel Tower, and Hotel Invalides. It was a pretty good day even though the weather tried to make it otherwise.

Day 8: We got up early and went to the Catacombs. The queue was very long and most of that had to do with the fact that the Catacombs, for safety reasons, can only allow 200 people in at one time. The Catacombs are mind-blowing. Its hard to think about how many people are buried there. The air was really heavy down there but it was amazing. Afterwards, we headed back into the day light (after 83 spiralling stairs) and made our way to Musee l'Orangerie where Monet's famous Waterlilies are kept. The paintings are huge! They also wrap around a circular room. There are two rooms that hold the Waterlily paintings and then there is an exhibition downstairs. Les Enfants was the exhibit theme and we saw artwork pertaining to children from people like Monet and Picasso among others.

Day 9: The Palace of Versailles is worth the trek out. We got our tickets online the day before which guaranteed that we only had to wait in one queue, which actually moved fairly quickly considering how long it was. We explored the gardens first. There is a canal that we walked down on our way to Marie Antoinette's house. Its all very picturesque. We then made our way back to the Palace and had lunch before going into the palace itself. The Hall of Mirrors was my favorite part of the Palace. There were so many chandeliers and the room was so light. When we got back to the Hostel we bundled up to go back out for New Years Eve. The original plan was to go to the Eiffel Tower and watch the countdown there, but halfway there the Metro station we switched trains at was really packed so we ended up walking the rest of the way. We got along the Seine and decided to just stay and watch from there. We had champagne and it was a good time. After the countdown and it was officially 2010 we made our way to the Champs-Elysees. Afterwards, we had to walk about halfway home before we could find a taxi. It was a long trek and we were all really tired, but it was a good night.

Day 10: I got up fairly early and packed all my things. I had breakfast with a couple friends and then headed out with one for a trip to Sacre Coeur. Sacre Coeur is in the Montmartre District. Sacre Coeur is also located on top of Paris's only hill. Its a white cathedral and it is truely beautiful. The fresco on the ceiling was gorgeous and the stained glass was breath-taking. I think that it is quite possible that Sacre Coeur is more beautiful than Notre Dame (but don't tell Notre Dame). I then made my way back to the airport and flew out to Barcelona. I was sad to leave because I feel like there is so much that I didn't have time to see. But, I figure this gives me a great excuse to come back to The City of Light.