Thursday, May 7th 2015
I made my way to Brussels Zuid and climbed onto the very nice Thalys train. I had all intentions of writing my blog post. I even took my computer and put it on the tray table. But, in no time at all, I passed out, face first on top of my computer. But magically, the next thing I knew, we were pulling into the train station in Paris! It was so fast! Becky and I met up, after lots of confusion a bit of difficulty, in Paris Nord, which is the biggest train station in France. I discovered later, it is really large! From there we walked to our apartment for the weekend, stopping at a cute café to have a crepe for lunch. Mine was filled with cheese and quite yummy! Our accommodations for the weekend was super cute studio apartment in Paris. We certainly lucked out! |
This afternoon we saw some of the biggest sites in Paris! We started by walking to Notre Dame. The church was beautiful and the outside was very impressive. But, I have seen so many churches! This one did stand out though as quite impressive. We then made our way to the Eiffel tower! We were determined to make it to the top. We decided to be adventurous and take the stairs up the first two flights. And these flights are not just like flights in my house, but take you a good halfway up the Eiffel tower. It was quite a lot of steps but totally worth it. The view from the second flight was very nice. I could point out so many different places in the city, with Becky’s help. We then waiting a bit too long to buy tickets to the top. When we finally got to go, we climbed into the elevator, which had an amazing view as it climbed one of the four legs of the tower. Surprisingly, the view from the top didn’t feel terribly different form the view from the second flight, although from the elevator ride, we could tell the difference. There was an exhibit on different tall buildings from around the world. It felt really rewarding and exciting to be able to say that I’ve been to some of those places. Although there is so much more of Europe to go, I am proud and excited by what I have been able to see. |
Afterwards, we went North to find dinner. I got to enjoy some traditional French food, like these fried fish balls for an appetizer and duck for a main course. It didn’t end up being one of my favorites, but the food was ok. We made it back to our apartment and were exhausted and went right to sleep.
Friday, May 8th 2015
This morning started with a visit to the Jewish quarter in Paris. It was just one specific street that was filled with Judaica shops, Jewish bakeries, and falafel stands. We stopped by a bakery and we each got a pastry. Mine was half apple half poppyseed. The flavor truly sent me back to the Jewish cooking at home. It made me think of haroseth and apple cakes. It was really delicious. We picked up some falafel to go for lunch and made our way. We walked down one of the main shopping streets, jumping in and out of stores. Although we didn’t end up finding anything, it was great fun to enjoy the wide streets and fun shopping atmosphere in Paris. |
We then made our way to the Louvre. It was beautiful and just like I’d imagined! I felt like I was in a scene of the Da Vinci Code. The museum was so large! There were some amazing statues and rooms that were so enjoyable just to sit and look around. I found the Mona Lisa, although it is crazy how well known and popular this one tiny painting is. We then enjoyed a wonderful Paris afternoon in the park before walking down the main shopping street Champ de Elise. That was what I imagined Paris to be like. Big wide streets, with fancy shopping. It was great fun to walk around and see everything. We saw the Ark De Triumph before making our way back to the Eifel Tower. We got there right in time to watch it sparkle! It was absolutely beautiful in the night and it was so enjoyable. It was a magical Paris evening. |
Saturday May 9th 2015
Today we took a trip to Versailles. It was fantastic. The gardens were amazing and beautiful. We wandered around as they went off to beautiful classical music. I could only think how amazing it would be to ride around in a golf cart with my grandmother and look at all of the gardens. The Palace was also fantastic. It was so insanely beautifully decorated. The most amazing thing was how in each of the queens rooms, all of the upholstery matched the carpet and wallpaper and it felt so overwhelming, but pretty. The rest of the Palace was fantastic and the chandeliers were so beautiful. For dinner we had some amazing crepes! Yum! And for lunch I had a croissant with a quiche. I finally got my French croissant and it was amazing. |
Sunday, May 10th 2015
Today was our last day in Paris. We started at the second most famous church. There was a mass going on as we went in, but it was actually incredibly beautiful to hear and made an amazing atmosphere for walking around the church. I really enjoyed it. The choir was beautiful. We then walked around the art district before getting lunch. I had a fantastic piece of lamb with potatoes and a tart. It was delicious. That afternoon we wandered around a few museums, went shopping and enjoyed a lovely dinner before going to the train station to come back to Belgium. |
One thing I did notice and really appreciate about Paris was the wide streets. So many of them are divided roads with walkways and gardens in the middle. Many even have playgrounds and benches. It really added a lot to the city and made it very enjoyable to walk through.