Paris, je t'aime

I spent this weekend in beautiful Paris, and wow, it was amazing. We left Nantes at 6:30 am and travelled by train to Paris. When we arrived, we checked into the hotel. Luckily, our room was upgraded and we weren't crammed into a twin sized bed! We went up to the roof and were astounded by an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower and the Notre Dame. The view of the Parisian skyline was beautiful from the roof.

After leaving our luggage, we left to explore Paris. Our hotel was right by the Notre Dame, so that was the first stop. This cathedral puts the churches in the United States to shame. If I could go to a place as spectacular as this, I would go to church every Sunday. Inside, there were magnificent stain glass windows, giant statues of saints, and rows and rows of chairs. We circled the church, admiring the brilliant architecture, and we even lit prayer candles.

Our next stop was the Louvre. Gillian really wanted to see the Mona Lisa, but I was not so sure at first, but I'm glad we went. This place was huge. Honestly, words cannot describe just how big it was. There are thousands and thousands of pieces of art, as well as an entire shopping mall and dining area (literally an entire mall, almost as big as Fashion Square back home in Scottsdale). My favorite section was the Ancient Greek section because of the marble statues. When we were done at the Louvre, I was exhausted. We walked over 20,000 steps and climbed 21 flights of stairs. But Gill and I were determined to see everything Paris had to offer.

Next, we went to the Arc de Triomphe. This is the arch at the end of the Champs-Élysées. We really wanted to go to the top for a great view of Paris, but could not see an obvious crosswalk to get to the Arc. So, we stupidly decided to j-walk with some Germans we met. I swear, one of us was going to end up in the hospital! Cars were swerving around us and honking like crazy! After about 10 seconds of pure terror, we made it across. We wandered around the Arc and admired its beauty, and found the ticket booth. It was underground at the end of a tunnel that came from the other side of the street. Such irony, it was hilarious. We missed the entrance behind us, while we were staring at the Arc.

After we almost died at the Arc de Triomphe, we decided to explore the shops along the Champs-Élysées. It was beautiful! I think everything must've still been decorated for Christmas because every tree that lined the street was draped in thousands of twinkling lights. There were a lot of high end stores, like Tiffany's and Mercedes, but

there were also normal stores, like Gap and the Disney store. We almost made it all the way down one side of the Champs-Élysées, but decided to call a cab back to the hotel because our feet were killing us. Luckily, there were many places to eat near the hotel, and we stopped at a café for dinner.

To finish the day, we went to the Eiffel Tower. It still amazes me exactly how tall this thing is! It's much bigger than you'd think. We bought a ticket to the second floor (the top was closed), and took an elevator. The elevator doors opened to a spectacular view of Paris at night. With the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower and the twinkling lights below, I was astounded, once again, of the beauty of Paris. In addition to the incredible views, there was a restaurant and an ice skating rink. Yeah, an ice rink on the top of the Eiffel Tower. Who

knew they could even put one there!

The next day, Gill and I decided to take it easy, since we were exhausted from the previous day. We took a bus tour of all of the main attractions of Paris. The tour showed us everything we saw the day before and more. My favorite thing was the famous opera house that inspired the Phantom of the Opera. Then, we took a boat tour along the river, Seine. This tour gave a little more history of France as well as a different perspective of Paris. The tour finished at the Eiffel Tower and we found a delicious café nearby. I ordered a hot chocolate, cheese omelette, and Nutella crepes. What could be more French?

After lunch, we took the train back to Nantes. I really loved Paris. It's

just so beautiful and there's so much to discover in all of its alleyways and cobblestone streets. I hope to go back there one day, and explore even more.