A three-day weekend well used. My trip to Paris was well worth it!
I left Marburg at 11:35am on Friday, got a connection in Frankfurt to Paris. I got in around 5:00pm, but had to wait around for Urna to get off work so she could get me. I tried to walk around the city a little to kill time, but I was suffering a little culture shock so I opted to just sit in the station and wait. Once she picked me up, we grabbed some dinner near the station and then went to her apartment to change quickly. We were going to meet up with some of her friends and go to a club. Once we finally met one of her friends, it was around 11:30pm and no one really felt like going to the club, so we opted to go to a little café right by the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards, we walked around the tower, which is incredibly striking and beautiful at night. It was flooded with tourists, but I suppose that should be expected. The Eiffel Tower has a light show that goes off every hour so we were able to see that as well. The night was perfectly clear and there was a beautiful full moon, so it was an awesome experience.
The following morning, Urna and I went to the Louvre. It’s a beautiful museum, but I was a little surprised at the commercialization of it all – there was a whole shopping complex attached to the museum, including an Apple store. I was able to score a free ticket inside by showing my school ID (usually only European college students can get in for free, but the ticket person let me in anyway). We only had a few hours in the museum, so we went to the European paintings section to see all the famous paintings (yes, we did see the Mona Lisa). We also went through some Ancient Egyptian and Greek, but a lot of the awesome classical Greek work was not on display because they were “reorganizing” those rooms L After that, we hung outside the Louvre by the pyramid and fountains while we waited for Urna’s friend, Lauren. It was a clear, warm day and it was so nice to lounge out by the fountains.
When Lauren arrived, the three of us went to a small café that was apparently “very French”. I had a Croque Monsieur, which was a glorified grilled cheese… it tasted good, but was slightly disappointing. Right across from the café was an old medieval church called Saint Germain. We took a look inside and it was beautiful. I saw quite a few churches this weekend, all of which were incredible. Right outside was a crepe stand, so I was able to have my first truly French crepe (and it was DELICIOUS!) From there, we took the metro to the island in the middle of the River Seine that houses the famed Notre Dame Cathedral. When we got there, the square in front of the church was blocked off for what appeared to be a wedding, so we couldn’t go inside. Urna and Lauren had to go to a chocolate museum for their class, so I was on my own for a couple hours. I opted to go to another cathedral near Notre Dame called Saint Chapelle. It was amazing inside because it was almost entirely stained glass windows. Unfortunately they were restoring the main altar, so that was covered up, but for the most part it was awesome. Right near Saint Chapelle is the Conciergerie, which was a palace and a prison and it was where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before her execution. I checked that out as well, and it was quite interesting. It was kind of nice to explore these things on my own because I was able to do whatever I wanted, stay as long (or short) as I wanted, and just go at my own pace. After the Conciergerie, I decided to see if Notre Dame was open to go inside yet, which it was, so I explored that a little bit. Definitely an incredibly space. I almost find the outside more impressive, however, with it’s towering flying buttresses and ornate details. After I finished Notre Dame, I met up with Urna and Lauren again and we headed back to Urna’s apartment to make dinner. We were planning on heading out to Notre Dame later in the evening to see it at night, but we ended up staying in and talking as a group.
Saint Chapelle
Notre Dame Cathedral
The next day, I ventured off to the Eiffel Tower on my own. It was bloody hot and the lines were super long. I waited in the sun for about an hour and a half to get to the 2nd level (about halfway up) of the tower, as the top was “closed for congestion” at the time that I had bought my ticket. It did open later on, but the view would have been pretty much the same and it would have taken way more time and more money. So I was content with my Eiffel Tower experience. The view from the top of Paris was beautiful. Again, it was another perfectly clear day. The tourists were beginning to annoy me (I know that I was a tourist as well, but there is definitely a distinct breed of super annoying tourists) so I was glad to get on the ground and begin my walk back to Urna’s apartment. Once there, we made leftovers for lunch and I took a two hour nap (the sun was killer).
View from the top of the Eiffel Tower
At around 5:00pm, we went to a basilica on the other side of the city called Sacre Coeur. It was built on a hill, so from there you can see all of Paris as well. It was an extremely beautiful structure and inside was breathtaking. We walked around it during mass, which was quite striking. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take any photos on the inside, but I got some good ones from the outside. They area of Paris that the basilica is in is apparently where the artists hang out, so it had a really cool vibe – artwork on the street and lots of street musicians.
Sacre Coeur Basilica
From there we grabbed some dinner at a really cool café (we ordered a crepe “formula” meaning we got a drink, a dinner crepe, and a dessert crepe) and watched the first half of the Argentina – Mexico World Cup game. Then we bought a bottle of wine and sat along the Seine right across from Notre Dame to see the sunset. It was BEAUTIFUL. Another clear night, watching the sun go down and the city light up was incredible. Definitely an awesome way to end my weekend in Paris. From there, we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it one last time at night (it’s far more beautiful at night) and then we walked back to Urna’s apartment.
Light show at the Eiffel Tower
This morning Urna and I parted ways around 9:00am and I made my way to the train station. I had three hours to kill, so I walked around and found the canal that goes by the station. I sat along the canal, ate a chocolate croissant, and listened to music for about an hour. Then I killed some more time and eventually found my way to the train!
It was an incredible weekend in Paris and I’m so glad I was able to make it happen. Looking forward to the last week of classes, but I can’t believe it’s my last week in Marburg!
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