I was so excited to hear that we were returning to Paris again! My first week in France was mainly in Paris, and I never knew you could love a city so much. On our lengthy bus ride there, I felt this weird feeling, that I was back home! How dare I call Paris home right? Well, I felt more in place and in tune with this City of Lights. I was ready to ride on the Paris metro, pass through the streets and architecture, and basically being anything and everything Parisian.
When we reached the hostel, we put our bags up and freshened up a little. Everyone was starving, so we tried to find a place to eat. Joe, Cassandra, and I went to a Turkish place for lunch. I had hummus and pita that I have been craving since I've been here! FOUND IT! :)
We lost the group but we knew what us three wanted to do, SHOPPING! Apparently, there is a place in Paris with a HUGE flea market. It was kind of far away but we found it. When we reached, we were slightly sketched out, it was very dingy and full of people selling bootleg things. There were souvenir booths, Indian and African clothing booths, jewelry, scarves, underwear?, shoes, a lot of things! However, none of us were interested and felt uncomfortable in the area.
So where to next? The complete opposite, CHAMPS ELYSEE<3
Cassie and I tried to find some V necks for Joe, because when you can't do laundry...buy more clothes!
Cassie and I freaked out when we got to the H&M, I got new black flats and some tights! The lines were ridiculously long, especially for the fitting room. I wanted to try on so many things but it wasn't worth waiting 1 hour to TRY something on.
Next and final stop, Zara! I love this store and Cassie and I had been LONGING to come here for ages. We went to BOTH floors finding tops and dresses. The line was pretty long too...I think we waited over 30 minutes. But guess what? Completely worth it! I walked in with 7 thing but walked out confidently with 1 thing, this amazing beautiful wonderful dress (birthday gift anyone?)
I know, I know, IT'S AMAZING.
I'm so excited to wear it on my 20th birthday ;)
After splurging and hating myself for it, we tried to find a random place to go for dinner. We stopped at some metro stop, walked a bit and found out it had a beautiful town center, fountain, and a LOT of shoe stores (Joe got realllllllly excited haha) We had paninis by the fountain and headed back to the hostel! We had to get ready to go to the Eiffel Tower at 11pm, we were going to the 2nd floor!
When we reached, the Eiffel Tower was all lit up, and exactly at 11pm, it was sparkling like it does every hour after 10pm. What a sight, guys. The Eiffel Tower is a master piece itself, but with lights, it's breathtaking.
We went up to the 2nd floor, and the view of Paris at night, the lights, was gorgeous! You could see all the landmarks, with night lights! The Seine river was pretty, and the boats had fancy lights on it. The weather was chilly but it felt so good. The moon was shining right above us, and I could see couples looking at the view, girls with roses in their hands. Romantic? So much that I could puke, JOKING. I really missed someone special that I had to kind of hold back. But nonetheless, I was so glad that I could be part of such a beautiful moment in such a beautiful place. It was 12am and we saw the tower sparkle it's sparkles while ON the tower. What an experience.
After an hour or so, we decided to head down. The line for the elevator was SO long, so the group decided to...walk down the stairs...from the top of the tower to the bottom. It was so lengthy, and a few girls were really scared of heights! What a bad combination! After a LONG time of just walking down the staircase, my legs were JELLO. I was shaking, involuntarily of course! I tried to take pictures with Cassie in front of the E.T. but our legs were shaking so much it was hilarious! We then looked at the watch and realized we had 30 minutes to catch the last train to our hostel, which wasn't that close by! A group of us started to RUN to the metro, trying to figure out which train to take. The train ride to the stop where we had to switch stations was a long one, and we were all checking our watches every minute because the metro closes at 1am, and it was 12.45! When we finally reached the 2nd stop where we had to take a train to our hostel, it was almost 12:55. Our instinct? TO RUN! Cassie was ahead of me and looked back at me and we began to laugh! Since we were ahead, I had to make sure everyone in our group was together! We didn't know what to do if we missed the metro!
I did a role call, "Victoria?"
"I'm here!"
"Jyesenia!?"
"Heree!!"
"Whitney!?"
....
...
"WHITNEY?!!?!?"
"She's heree," Mark answers for her!
We reached the platform and realized we somehow had 3 minutes to spare! We ran into Madame Beckman and Douglas and a few others, what were the odds?! We all sat down on our last train back to our beds, we were all tired, and resting our amazing legs after walking for so many hours.
What an eventful Saturday.
Sundaaaaaay was amazing because for ONCE, I slept in til 10:15. Usually, I wake up around 7am everyday, so it was a nice relief due to my lack of sleep since I've reached France. Amelia, Cassie, and I woke up, got ready, and realized we were starving. It's Sunday so like always, very difficult to find something open!
Luckily Cassie and I found a nearby cafe where we had pasta for lunch. I had pesto pasta, a favorite of mine! We ate so much, but there was so much on our plate that I couldn't finish it! The waiter mentioned and asked if we didn't like it? But as always, blanking out in French, we tried to say nooo we loved it! We were just eating as much as we could and a table behind us...there was a man and his father, an elder man (awww). Cassie was facing their table and we were all laughing and I think the father saw her. We saw them get up and pass our table, and the father puts their remaining red wine bottle on our table, he said enjoy it! How sweet! We had a small glass of wine and we were so happy that someone did such a nice gesture! The waiter was hard to catch, we were waiting on the bill. When we received it, we wrote a messageo n hte back in French, "Our pasta was delicoius! We wish we had bigger stomachs!"
I think Cassie and I are too cute :)
Us two headed to the Louvre! We had trouble finding how to enter, since the courtyard and the Louvre is gigantic itself! We found it and when we went to the main floor, we were LOST. We had no idea where to start! With a little help from the information desk, and our handy dandy Lille Student ID cards, we got a free ticket to go inside! After getting a little lost, and a LOT of walking, a run into Douglas, we saw the main pieces we wanted to see, : Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and Mona Lisa! So many people in the Louvre! Cassie as an art history major, and her company and her knowledge helped understand the beautiful artifacts and amazing works of art! Even though it was my 2nd time to the Louvre, I was still left in awe. The paintings, sculptures, everything was great!
We were however, EXHAUSTED. We had to get out and rest. And what better way to relax? Souvenir shopping :) First, we went to the bottom floor of the Louvre to the food court and boutiques! We first had small ice cream cups at McCafe, I had Mango ice cream, tasted like my one and only mango dollyyyy :) It was refreshing!
Next, we went to some rather expensive but great boutqiues. One had these beautiful detailed scarves and pashminas and ties! Another had quirky toys and trinkets! We saw the Mac store and us two took photobooth pictures :)
After that we left the Louvre, foreal this time, and went to a souvenir strip of stores. I got some small presents for some of my friends back home :) I got myself this sweet red floral scarf! (I know, I'm awful)
Afterrrrrr, we decided to head back to our hostel. We were starving so we got food at an Italian place right across from where we stayed. Delicious! I was shocked that I ate my entire plate :-) I got pasta, again hahaha.
Later that night, we decided that we shouldn't go out with everyone else since their plans involved with walking in the wet and cold. We did want to go to the movies in Latin Quarter, but it was a little too late (we'd miss the train!) so we stopped at a Brasserie for drinks.
It was nice coming back to the hostel after a long day, we had to wake up early and check out by 10am the next day...
Speaking of the next day! Monday, I woke up, got dressed (for cold, rainy weather) and we all packed our stuff up and headed down. My roomies (Amelia Cassie and I!) were trying to figure out what to do. Cassie and I REALLY wanted to see Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrisons grave, and we ran into most of our group who tagged along/wanted to do it too! After a few mixups and getting lost in this BEAUTIFUL antique looking enchantingg cementary, we found Morrison's grave! (And Joe..hahah)
Everyon was tired and wanted to leave, so we let them, but Cassie and I were DETERMINED to find Oscar Wilde. After ages of walking, getting a little lost, walking in circles, ruining our shoes with cobblestones, and searching, we found it! It was a huge memorial statue thingy, covered in lipstick drawings and kiss stains! It was a memorial thing, and it just displayed the wittyness and creativity of Wilde. I was in awe when I saw his tomb!
It was time to go, we were hungry! We stopped at a cafe called "So Good", which it was! 4 Cheese pizza and chocolate mousse was delicious! The cafe was cute too, vintage hot pink mirror, diamond chandeliers, and the chairs and table was matching hot pink! Girly!
After, we took the metro to see Sacre Coeur, something I haven't seen since I've been in France! On the way to the building, we stopped at souvenir stores! I met a Guju working there, I did'nt know how much I missed speaking in Gujarati haha.
We finally left and saw Sacre Coeur, which was (with the lack of better words, I'm not a thesauraus!) WONDERFUL! it was much more better than in Amelie! The carasoul, the view, the building was a perfect blend! I loved it! Cass and I decided to chill on the steps of it facing this sweet view of Paris. While people watching, I thought I saw Noelle...I mentiond this to cass and she yelled her name, and it was! Small world!!! We met her husband and uncle, who were nice!
After a visit to places I haven't visited in Paris, it was time to head back, for another long trip back to Lille. I surprisingly was excited to go back...to my home! I'm finally getting adjusted, and I like it<3
Pictures later! I have more homework to do :)
When we reached the hostel, we put our bags up and freshened up a little. Everyone was starving, so we tried to find a place to eat. Joe, Cassandra, and I went to a Turkish place for lunch. I had hummus and pita that I have been craving since I've been here! FOUND IT! :)
We lost the group but we knew what us three wanted to do, SHOPPING! Apparently, there is a place in Paris with a HUGE flea market. It was kind of far away but we found it. When we reached, we were slightly sketched out, it was very dingy and full of people selling bootleg things. There were souvenir booths, Indian and African clothing booths, jewelry, scarves, underwear?, shoes, a lot of things! However, none of us were interested and felt uncomfortable in the area.
So where to next? The complete opposite, CHAMPS ELYSEE<3
Cassie and I tried to find some V necks for Joe, because when you can't do laundry...buy more clothes!
Cassie and I freaked out when we got to the H&M, I got new black flats and some tights! The lines were ridiculously long, especially for the fitting room. I wanted to try on so many things but it wasn't worth waiting 1 hour to TRY something on.
Next and final stop, Zara! I love this store and Cassie and I had been LONGING to come here for ages. We went to BOTH floors finding tops and dresses. The line was pretty long too...I think we waited over 30 minutes. But guess what? Completely worth it! I walked in with 7 thing but walked out confidently with 1 thing, this amazing beautiful wonderful dress (birthday gift anyone?)
I'm so excited to wear it on my 20th birthday ;)
After splurging and hating myself for it, we tried to find a random place to go for dinner. We stopped at some metro stop, walked a bit and found out it had a beautiful town center, fountain, and a LOT of shoe stores (Joe got realllllllly excited haha) We had paninis by the fountain and headed back to the hostel! We had to get ready to go to the Eiffel Tower at 11pm, we were going to the 2nd floor!
When we reached, the Eiffel Tower was all lit up, and exactly at 11pm, it was sparkling like it does every hour after 10pm. What a sight, guys. The Eiffel Tower is a master piece itself, but with lights, it's breathtaking.
We went up to the 2nd floor, and the view of Paris at night, the lights, was gorgeous! You could see all the landmarks, with night lights! The Seine river was pretty, and the boats had fancy lights on it. The weather was chilly but it felt so good. The moon was shining right above us, and I could see couples looking at the view, girls with roses in their hands. Romantic? So much that I could puke, JOKING. I really missed someone special that I had to kind of hold back. But nonetheless, I was so glad that I could be part of such a beautiful moment in such a beautiful place. It was 12am and we saw the tower sparkle it's sparkles while ON the tower. What an experience.
After an hour or so, we decided to head down. The line for the elevator was SO long, so the group decided to...walk down the stairs...from the top of the tower to the bottom. It was so lengthy, and a few girls were really scared of heights! What a bad combination! After a LONG time of just walking down the staircase, my legs were JELLO. I was shaking, involuntarily of course! I tried to take pictures with Cassie in front of the E.T. but our legs were shaking so much it was hilarious! We then looked at the watch and realized we had 30 minutes to catch the last train to our hostel, which wasn't that close by! A group of us started to RUN to the metro, trying to figure out which train to take. The train ride to the stop where we had to switch stations was a long one, and we were all checking our watches every minute because the metro closes at 1am, and it was 12.45! When we finally reached the 2nd stop where we had to take a train to our hostel, it was almost 12:55. Our instinct? TO RUN! Cassie was ahead of me and looked back at me and we began to laugh! Since we were ahead, I had to make sure everyone in our group was together! We didn't know what to do if we missed the metro!
I did a role call, "Victoria?"
"I'm here!"
"Jyesenia!?"
"Heree!!"
"Whitney!?"
....
...
"WHITNEY?!!?!?"
"She's heree," Mark answers for her!
We reached the platform and realized we somehow had 3 minutes to spare! We ran into Madame Beckman and Douglas and a few others, what were the odds?! We all sat down on our last train back to our beds, we were all tired, and resting our amazing legs after walking for so many hours.
What an eventful Saturday.
Sundaaaaaay was amazing because for ONCE, I slept in til 10:15. Usually, I wake up around 7am everyday, so it was a nice relief due to my lack of sleep since I've reached France. Amelia, Cassie, and I woke up, got ready, and realized we were starving. It's Sunday so like always, very difficult to find something open!
Luckily Cassie and I found a nearby cafe where we had pasta for lunch. I had pesto pasta, a favorite of mine! We ate so much, but there was so much on our plate that I couldn't finish it! The waiter mentioned and asked if we didn't like it? But as always, blanking out in French, we tried to say nooo we loved it! We were just eating as much as we could and a table behind us...there was a man and his father, an elder man (awww). Cassie was facing their table and we were all laughing and I think the father saw her. We saw them get up and pass our table, and the father puts their remaining red wine bottle on our table, he said enjoy it! How sweet! We had a small glass of wine and we were so happy that someone did such a nice gesture! The waiter was hard to catch, we were waiting on the bill. When we received it, we wrote a messageo n hte back in French, "Our pasta was delicoius! We wish we had bigger stomachs!"
I think Cassie and I are too cute :)
Us two headed to the Louvre! We had trouble finding how to enter, since the courtyard and the Louvre is gigantic itself! We found it and when we went to the main floor, we were LOST. We had no idea where to start! With a little help from the information desk, and our handy dandy Lille Student ID cards, we got a free ticket to go inside! After getting a little lost, and a LOT of walking, a run into Douglas, we saw the main pieces we wanted to see, : Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and Mona Lisa! So many people in the Louvre! Cassie as an art history major, and her company and her knowledge helped understand the beautiful artifacts and amazing works of art! Even though it was my 2nd time to the Louvre, I was still left in awe. The paintings, sculptures, everything was great!
 |
| Winged Victory |
We were however, EXHAUSTED. We had to get out and rest. And what better way to relax? Souvenir shopping :) First, we went to the bottom floor of the Louvre to the food court and boutiques! We first had small ice cream cups at McCafe, I had Mango ice cream, tasted like my one and only mango dollyyyy :) It was refreshing!
Next, we went to some rather expensive but great boutqiues. One had these beautiful detailed scarves and pashminas and ties! Another had quirky toys and trinkets! We saw the Mac store and us two took photobooth pictures :)
After that we left the Louvre, foreal this time, and went to a souvenir strip of stores. I got some small presents for some of my friends back home :) I got myself this sweet red floral scarf! (I know, I'm awful)
Afterrrrrr, we decided to head back to our hostel. We were starving so we got food at an Italian place right across from where we stayed. Delicious! I was shocked that I ate my entire plate :-) I got pasta, again hahaha.
Later that night, we decided that we shouldn't go out with everyone else since their plans involved with walking in the wet and cold. We did want to go to the movies in Latin Quarter, but it was a little too late (we'd miss the train!) so we stopped at a Brasserie for drinks.
It was nice coming back to the hostel after a long day, we had to wake up early and check out by 10am the next day...
Speaking of the next day! Monday, I woke up, got dressed (for cold, rainy weather) and we all packed our stuff up and headed down. My roomies (Amelia Cassie and I!) were trying to figure out what to do. Cassie and I REALLY wanted to see Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrisons grave, and we ran into most of our group who tagged along/wanted to do it too! After a few mixups and getting lost in this BEAUTIFUL antique looking enchantingg cementary, we found Morrison's grave! (And Joe..hahah)
Everyon was tired and wanted to leave, so we let them, but Cassie and I were DETERMINED to find Oscar Wilde. After ages of walking, getting a little lost, walking in circles, ruining our shoes with cobblestones, and searching, we found it! It was a huge memorial statue thingy, covered in lipstick drawings and kiss stains! It was a memorial thing, and it just displayed the wittyness and creativity of Wilde. I was in awe when I saw his tomb!
It was time to go, we were hungry! We stopped at a cafe called "So Good", which it was! 4 Cheese pizza and chocolate mousse was delicious! The cafe was cute too, vintage hot pink mirror, diamond chandeliers, and the chairs and table was matching hot pink! Girly!
After, we took the metro to see Sacre Coeur, something I haven't seen since I've been in France! On the way to the building, we stopped at souvenir stores! I met a Guju working there, I did'nt know how much I missed speaking in Gujarati haha.
We finally left and saw Sacre Coeur, which was (with the lack of better words, I'm not a thesauraus!) WONDERFUL! it was much more better than in Amelie! The carasoul, the view, the building was a perfect blend! I loved it! Cass and I decided to chill on the steps of it facing this sweet view of Paris. While people watching, I thought I saw Noelle...I mentiond this to cass and she yelled her name, and it was! Small world!!! We met her husband and uncle, who were nice!
After a visit to places I haven't visited in Paris, it was time to head back, for another long trip back to Lille. I surprisingly was excited to go back...to my home! I'm finally getting adjusted, and I like it<3
Pictures later! I have more homework to do :)
3 comments:
I usually don't post on blogs, but after such a wonderful entry how could I not. I'm glad to see you are having an amazing time Pranj! I look forward to your return and wish you the best in your studies. Snap a lot of pictures for me!
- TimLee
Ah, I'm so jealous! I wish I could be enjoying Paris with you.
Ektaa
Gahh, your weekends are soo eventful!! My Saturday consisted of going to Target and Starbucks. haha, I'm just soo happy to see you enjoying life!! Hope you have an amazingg birthday weekend!
<3
Lavanya
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