We met Mineer at King's Cross, and then headed out on the Eurostar around noon. After a delightful train ride of gross packaged food and copious amounts of disney coloring book pages, we arrived in Paris. After we checked into our hostel (in the Latin Quarter...which was awesome) we got right to the sightseeing. The first stop was Sacre-Coeur, which we could see right from the terrace of our hostel. From the steps you overlooked a beautiful panoramic view of the city. After that we walked down the main streets of Paris, by the Academy of Music, the Obelisk, Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower.
By the time we got to the Eiffel Tower, the lines to take the elevator up to the top were already filled. However, you were able to take the stairs. Jane and Mineer opted out, ("If my knees could reach up and punch me in the face right now, they would." -Jane) but Tayler and I decided, hell yes, we were going to walk to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Level 1, no sweat. Level 2, hardly a challenge. Top level, oh wait, we didn't get that far. Apparently from the 2nd level, everyone takes a different elevator to the very top. We were too stupid to read the signs. AND, since it was pretty late when we got there anyway, the ticket office was closed. Not going to lie, I was pretty pissed. But, times my pissed offedness by 10, and you get how mad Tayler was. Not going to lie, it was slightly terrifying. We walked down, got on the metro, and headed back to the hostel. [Day 1].
On Thursday we got up and went down to Notre Dame right when it opened. The inside was pretty neat, although I think the inside of St. Paul's cathedral in London is much cooler. The best part though, was walking to the top of Notre Dame. From there, you can see all the best landmarks of Paris, with a side order of gargoyle. We also got to see Emmanuel, the biggest and best bell of them all. I felt a bit like Quasimodo, and it was awesome.
From Notre Dame we traveled over to the Lourve, where we spent our time in the Egyptian exibits, along with seeing the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. In the Napolean Plaza (Under the Pyramid) Tayler, Mineer and I were waiting for Jane to by the tickets, when a woman came down the elevator. She had a horrible nasaly voice, with a touch of bad American accent (I know that's hypocritical, whatever get over it.) and kept calling out RITA...RIIIIIIIIITA. Since then, we can't stop saying it. It's been the tagline of the trip.
It took us longer in the Lourve than expected, so we didn't get to go to the catacombs, which was a bummer. But instead we took a nighttime river cruise, which proved to be well worth it. We got to see all of the sights from the river we haden't seen yet, all while recieving wonderful facts and advice from our headsets. ("Be mysterious, be in love, and you will be happy."-headset "BAHAHAHAHAHA."-all of us in unison.)
After the cruise, we went up to the Eiffel again, this time on the elevator (Don't judge, we took the stairs down.) Although it sounds lame that we went up twice, going to the very top the second night proved to be well worth it. The view was amazing. Windy as hell, but amazing. After the top we all hudled over to a little cafe to grab a late night dinner. Tayler managed to polish off almost 2 plates of chips by herself, along with her dinner. That girl has some skill, let me tell you. [day 2].
Friday we headed out early so we could catch some sights before our train left. The Moulin Rouge was about a 7 minute walk from our hostel, and after we went there we just explored the expansive food markets and stores set up along the road. I can't remember a time where an entire street smelled so good, including the fish stalls. I can't keep saying it enough, it was amazing. Before we headed out, we grabbed lunch at a tiny bakery so take with us on the train. I got some real French bread, and it was everything I imaged it would be. [day 3].
I do love me some bread.
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