Salut!
Just got back from Paris last night. It was a whirlwind weekend but so amazing and so worth it. I don't know many other people going to Paris this semester, but after seeing it all, I can't believe they aren't. It has so many wonders to see, history, art, it is actually incredible. We packed so much into basically a day that there was hardly even time for sleep. I can say that thus far I have yet to be in awe so many times in one day. I'm sure that'll change soon because we leave for our travel break on friday! I can't believe it is already almost here but it will be 2 weeks of travel (by train) to 4 countries. We are heading to Prague, Czech Republic onto Budapest, Hungary then to Vienna, Austria and finally Florence and Rome in Italy. I will probably have to do several blog posts following that trip. Currently I have a lot of work due before we leave, so I am not sure how long this post can be. There is so much to tell, it is almost overwhelming.
Okay. So we get there Friday around 5:30. About a 90 min flight. Now, it took us around 30 minutes to figure out the metro and RER trains but for the most part we really only messed up once (and we think, bought an extra ticket for no reason, oops). Our hostel was in Montemartre, right near the moulin rouge. Montemartre is one of the quarters and is known for *entertainment* (as in strippers, showgirls, sex shops etc) but is also where a lot of young people live and go out. Our pub crawl we did Saturday night actually met right near our hostel so that was lucky. Anyways, we to our hostel by metro, step outside and there is the Moulin Rouge. So cool. We then navigate to our hostel which was interesting and uphill. But all along the hill are markets, tons of them for seafood, fresh fruit, I wanted to eat all of it. Especially Watermelon, which I have not seen in the country of Denmark. Anyways, also a lot of the typical french cafes with people sitting outside casually and laughing. So cute. Our hostel room we shared with 2 other strangers, a man and woman, which at first we felt really awkward. We didn't speak to them actually at any point because we would wake up early leave, then come back change around dinner time, and come back late. Never talked to them when either was awake. Kind of bizarre, but then we realized they didn't know each other either so it wasn't a couple like we had originally thought. Cause that would have been awkward. So we changed and went to a nice cafe for dinner called Cafe de Luna (i think). I tried exercising my french abilities, though got really awkward and unsure and started speaking half english and half french. Basically what I spoke the whole trip. We split a bottle of Rosé and had some really good salad and then good meals. I got a steak of some sort with pommes frites (fries). So yummy. We were so full from dinner but then we headed out to some of the pubs along the street. Pretty casual, not much going on actually, until this one guy who was a bit sketchy showed us a place called O'Sullivans which was more of a night club. They played good American music and there was dancing so we loved that. Anddddd. We returned around 3am, woke up 4 hours later at 7, ate breakfast at hostel, hopped on metro to Versailles at 8. Tired.
By the time we figured out how to get to Versailles, it had taken about 90 min. It is around 40 mins from Paris center, but we were not right in the center so we had to do a lot of connections to get there. Actually was not too hard. I can say I am a lot more confident in train navigating now that I have had to do it in several countries and in different languages.
Anyways, we roll up to Versailles and you just are immediately dumbfounded at how amazing it is. So vast and it gets even better and more amazing once inside. We did an audio tour guide and navigated through it. The castle was home to Louis the 14th, the Sun King, and also to Marie Antoinette. Louis had decided he wanted to rule outside of the city, so he moved out of the Louvre and had this place built. The rooms were also so ornate and there literally was not one inch that didn't have detail on it. We saw the bedrooms of the king and queen, their counsel/court's rooms, and too many other ornate rooms to count. Every room contained the original paintings of Louis, other famous people, Napoleon, etc. I especially felt smart when I recognized paintings of Louis from my AP Euro textbook senior year of high school. Guess I did learn stuff from it? The Hall of Mirrors was especially cool and the ceilings were incredible. I can't imagine how hard it was to construct and decorate everything.
We were a little short on time in Versailles since we had to meet our Walking Tour of Paris at 1pm and leave room for navigating back/eating lunch. So although it was only like 90 minutes there we also went outside to the gardens. Designed so intricately and they go on forever. I can't believe that was someone's actual backyard. Not to mention, when we were there people were just casually going for runs through the landscape. Their normal life. No big deal.
After Versailles, we headed to Paris on the train. We had to navigate to Saint Michel in the Latin Quarter (a lot of students live here). Latin quarter was basis for intellectual thought in Paris hundreds of years ago. Everyone spoke Latin there, so that's where it got its name. We had a bit of trouble finding our tour but we did. We probably asked a lot of french people some stupid questions. For lunch (before tour) I had some quiche and a tarte au sucre. Basically bread and sugar, so good. Also It was nice to have starbucks at relatively normal prices.
SO our walking tour was 4 hours long. Paris is huge so it is difficult to cover all of it. We saw, basically, Notre Dame de Paris, The Latin Quarter, Ile-de-la-Cité, Pont Neuf bridge, The Louvre, Palais Royal, Haussmann's Renovations, Eiffel Tower (from a distance), Tuileries Gardens, Les Invalides, Académie Française, Opéra Garnier (from far away), Musée d'Orsay, Pont Alexandre III, Napoléon's Tomb (from far away), Assemblé Nationale, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe (from far away also), Grand & Petit Palais, Place de la Concorde.
These places are by no means right near each other. It was a long day. Also we enjoyed the tour a lot and reliving all of the history behind every place. Our tour guide was probably about our age, a little weird, but spoke loudly and was very knowledgable. My feet were killing me by the end of it but I felt fulfilled. We were upset that we didn't go right up to le tour eiffel and arc de triomphe so after the tour ended around 4:30 we took it upon ourselves to walk there. I love history so it was so neat being able to experience it. The tour included an obselisk from ancient egypt that the French basically stole in the 1800s. It was so surreal to see actual egyptian writing from so long ago. The obselisk stands at the sight where Marie Antoinette and Louis the 15th had their heads chopped off, formerly the guillotine's public location at the time.
Also I never knew that statues of men on top of horses have a certain symbolism. For instance, if the horse is standing completely with 4 legs on ground, the person riding them died of natural causes. If two legs are raised, the person was killed or wounded in battle. Apparently this is true for most cases. Also during World War II and the Nazi occupation so many of the statues/memorials in Paris were destroyed. There is only one building (with bullet holes in it) that is evidence of that destruction.
I feel so grateful that I was able to see all these sights and for free! We decided to do the same company's pub crawl that night, the one near our hostel, for 12 euro. We ate some dinenr at an Outback-like restaurant except styled to the American west and Buffalo Bill haha. We got burgers that were really good along with some good french fries. The burgers' bun was so good, it was made out of what I would call tater-tot buns. So it was potato. Never thought of that, ingenious.
For the Pub crawl, they brought us to 4 different pubs and then a nightclub. By chance, it was also the night of the World Rugy Championship and the two in the final: France and England. The bars were so over-crowded and pack and rowdy and full of chanting frenchmen. Intense, but cool to see and experience. I never knew Rugby was so huge there, but it is. And anything France vs. England is always intense...France won, got even more intense! But finally the pubs cleared out a bit and we were able to relax/actually sit down.
We had to wake up at 6:30 the next day so actually got like 4 hours of sleep. We had to take a taxi home which was not too expensive except he started the clock right when we got in then sat there for a good 3 euros worth while he "looked" up our hostel. He didn't know english, so finally I told him to just bring us to the moulin rouge and drop us off. Again, casual.
Our flight was in the morning Sunday and was delayed a bit. We were actually dead in the airport but were home at 2pm in Denmark. I have a lot of work this week so I was glad to get home early. France, overall, was so amazing. I can't pick a favorite yet out of Denmark, France, Scotland, and London..but it was probably the most informative trip. I enjoyed learning about the sites I saw in addition to seeing them. It made it about 10x better/worth it.
I can't wait for our 2 week trip which is so soon. It's a bit stressful to think about and the trains I chose probably will get all messed up but I can't wait to see so many places. It is 5 of us: Britt, Jenni, Tara, and Deirdre and I.
Wish us luck because we will need it haha.
Au Revoir,
Hilary
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