So.. where to begin..
Thursday, April 2nd- Left around 6 AM for the Sevilla airport for our flight to Barcelona, had our first Ryanair experience with having to hide stuff so my luggage only weighed 10 kilos (around 20 pounds.. for 10 days? Not much haha) but made it through. One of the girls missed the flight, as she woke up covered in vomit on her kitchen floor… fun right? Oh yea… so then we had the 6 hour layover in Barcelona until our flight to Paris.. half slept (didn’t sleep much that night because I was SO freaking excited) and ate and just sat around.. fun times.
Finally we get to Paris, wait for Ashley’s friend Lauren and her roomie Kelsey (they’re studying in Edinborough, Scotland for the semester), then got on the stifling hot hour long bus ride to the city center. Man oh man is the city gorgeous or what. Ash and Elise were picked up by Alice; a French girl who studied abroad with a friend of Ashley’s a few years back. and went off to her house to stay. Lauren and Kelsey headed to their hotel, since Lauren accidentally booked our hostel for June? Who knows…. and Ashley S (yea, there are 2 Ashleys…confusing I know), Courtney and I headed to the hostel. It was a bit grungier than I’d hoped, with nasty dorm-like showers, sandbag mattresses and a strange odor in my room. Oh well, I survived. Kelly finally made it to the hostel, after paying 180 Euros for a flight to Paris, and we headed out to eat dinner. 3 delicious scallops, bacon cream, and bread later, I was feeling much better, and we had an early night after a very very long day of travel.
Friday, April 3rd- Bike tour at 11 AM for 4 hours through the city, saw all the main sights (I freaked a bit at the first sight of the Eiffel tower, I can’t lie).. it was tons of fun, even when E got her scarf caught in her bike wheel and we got honked at 15 times by a man in a VW with some kind of patience issue. Had my first French crepes for lunch… a bit disappointing since they weren’t filling enough, but oh well. Then I walked with Elise to meet up with her friend Rachel, who is studying abroad in Paris (I know.. lucky girl right? Everyone seems to have connections in my group.. it’s nuts), and walked around with her for a bit. Later on we met up with Ashley, Elise, Ash’s sister Jessica and her husband Chris (in Paris for an anniversary trip), Alice, Lauren and Kelsey and headed to the Louvre. Saw the much smaller than expected Mona Lisa and left soon after due to the big crowds (Friday night free for everyone under 26.. it was packed) and went to dinner. Had French escargot.. mmm.. then headed to a bar to meet up with some Frenchies.. interesting night for sure
Saturday, April 4th- ate the most delicious breakfast ever of fresh chocolate filled bread and raspberry-filled beignets from a patisserie, walked around a beautiful part of town for an hour or so, then headed on to Notre Dame to meet up with A, E, Lauren and Kelsey. We toured the church, while mass was going on (a bit strange to have tours during mass in my opinion but whatever), then went for a walk to the d’Orsay museum, which is the impressionist art museum and has tons of famous paintings by Monet, Van Gogh, and other artists… it was really interesting. Then to lunch (French onion soup in Paris= fabulous), walking down the famous shopping street with all the super expensive designers (Chanel, Louis Vuitton.. you know all the regulars), grabbed some delicious Asian noodles for dinner, then crashed early. Walking around really wears me out!
Sunday, April 5th- another full day walking around the city, Elise and Courtney and I were on our own, so we went to see the paintings sold along the river and I got a little one for my room next year =), walked around the Latin Quarter, then headed up to Moulin Rouge, which is pretty much just a theater with a windmill on it in a mini-Times Square, but sketchier, part of town.. and Elise lost her camera in the cab so we sat around waiting to see if the cabbie would come back (guess who knew he wouldn’t? yea.. that would be me lol), then headed back to the hostel. Got dressed up, got some Greek for dinner (I know.. biggest waste of a Paris meal ever..ugh), met up with an old hall mate of Courtney’s (also abroad in Paris.. goodness), went to a few boring bars, met a French guy named Vladimir and his friends.. and the night went nuts from there. We walked around the city at night, sang with Spaniards we randomly met on the street, and ended up in a pub. E made out with Vladimir while I sat and used his iPhone like the loser I am (I had to finalize my couch plans for Amsterdam the next day).. being out til 4 am wasn’t the plan but oh well.. I should have tried to be in a better mood but I was tired and grumpy..
