Bonjour from Paris!

I’m back from France! It’s hard to believe that a month ago I was in Pittsburgh, but now, in only a matter of  7 days, I’ve been to places and seen things that people only dream about! I had a fabulous time and I couldn't wait to share my experiences with you!

So after a sitting in a bus for four hours, which I’m convinced, was designed for people under the height of 5’5", we arrived in Paris. We didn’t spot anything too monumental during our drive into the city, but that quickly changed! Within two hours, I had officially spotted the Eiffel Tower! At first I thought it was much smaller than I had envisioned, but as I got closer I realized the massive stature of it . It was incredible!  I’m pretty sure I took about a million photos of it, because could you ever have enough pictures of the Eiffel tower?

After  seeing one of the most  recognizable and iconic structures in the entire world, within the first 120 minutes of my trip, you would think that everything else would be second rate, right? Well I was wrong about that too.The sights and places I saw during the next three days, dare I say, surpassed the Eiffel Tower. Don’t get me wrong , it is still one of the highlights of my trip and of my life, but now my horizons are just a bit wider.

During the next few days we saw numerous spectacular sites including Notre Dame( didn’t spot the hunchback unfortunately), a scenic boat tour on the Seine, the Catacombs, mastered the metro, toured Napoleons tomb, walked through the Champ-de-Mars, hung out with some of Van Goah’s masterpieces in Musee de Orsay and climbed about a million stairs to the top of Arc de Triomphe. Wow, that was a mouthful and we saw most of that in the first day!

Notre Dame

Katie and I at Napoleons' Tomb

Arc de Triomphe

View from the top of Arc de Triomphe

View of the Eiffel Tower from our Boat Crusie along the Seine.

Meaghan and I made sure to fit in some shopping along  Champs Elysées . I didnt go too crazy with my plastic, so dont worry Mom, but I bought a few things.

Aren't we cute haha!

Casual shopping trip  ...

But one of my most favorite and most memorable experience of Paris was actually a place I had even heard about. Sainte Chapelle.

It is one of the most striking pieces of gothic architecture that I have ever been witness to. I know, I know, I’m only 20 years old and I have many years ahead of me, but I’m not too sure I will ever see anything comparable to the stain glass windows of Saint Chapelle ever again. I don’t want to sound corny or cliché, but as soon as I stepped inside, I seriously got goose bumps! We had already toured Notre Dame and in my mind, you’ve seen one church, you’ve seen them all, but Sainte Chapelle blew this theory out of the water. This stunning chapel was built in a matter of 33 months to house Louis XI relics and now stands to be the only surviving building of the  Capetia royal palace . I would highly recommend, and urge that if you ever have the opportunity to visit Paris, GO SEE THIS!!!

Going to Paris and not visiting the Louvre is like going to Pittsburgh for the first time and not going to Priminati’s. It’s something you have to do. So not to upset the balance,  I set out to the Louvre!

There were lots and lots of amazing pieces of artwork housed in the gigantic building. I’m not even exaggerating about the size, but  apparently if you spent 3 seconds on each piece in the Louvre, it would take your three months-day and night- to get through the entire museum.

 Vénus de Milo

There were a lot of interesting things to see, but let’s be serious; we came for the starring attraction-The Mona Lisa. I had been warned that it may not live up to all my hopes, dreams, and expectations, but no worries it did!She was just as beatiful as I had envsioned. She had the face of a  creamy, antique porcelian doll.  Trying to make my way to her  was harder than getting front row tickets to a Justin Beiber concert, but I threw some elbows and fought fight my way through a sea of Japanese tourists to get to the bullet proof frame.  

Me and Mona!

We spent our last evening in Paris, right where we began, at the Eiffel tower. We consumed twice our weight in baguettes and cheese while watching the the Eiffel Tower "sparkle." It was a great way to end the first half of our tour of France, but there is still way more to come, so stay tuned!

I think I covered all the major parts, and I hope I didn’t forget anything  important. Tomorrow I start my Dutch course, so hopefully by next week I will be able to share some new vocabulary along with my recap of Normandy, San Malo and St. Michel.

Au revoir  ,
Shayne