Paris

Crepe with chocolate and bananas

Duck

Escargot

Arc-De-Triomphe

Louvre

Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

I've always dreamed of going to Paris one day, but I never thought it would come this soon in my life. Last weekend, I went with another girl from my group to Paris, France from Thursday to Monday. We stayed in a hostel, which are like dorms that are a lot cheaper than hotels. We had a wonderful time, and saw many historical attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Chaillot, Arc-De-Triomphe, Opera, Moulin-Rouge, Sacre-Coeur, Notre Dame and more. I met up with my former teammate from UNH and her friends, and we took a boat tour that took us down the river from the Eiffel Tower.

While we were in the Lourve (the biggest museum in the world), we saw the original painting of the Mona Lisa. The painting was in a glass guarded by security, and no one could get closer than ten feet. There were also many other famous paintings and sculptures in the museum, but it would have taken us four months to complete the museum if we looked at every piece of art for a minute. (fun fact I learned on the boat tour)

Since I was in Paris, one of the main fashion capitals of the world, I had to go down Avenue de Montaigne, which is one of the most famous and expensive shopping streets in Paris. This street has stores of almost all of the most popular high fashion designers. Of course I didn't buy anything, but there were definitely people making purchasing in almost every story. One day I will know what that feels like.

On the same street as Moulin-Rouge, there were many exotic entertainment clubs and stores on both sides of the street. I was amazed. While I was on that street, I had a crepe, which is a well known French food. It is a thin pancake with your choice of fruit, sugar, chocolate, ham, and many other options. They fold it up into a shape of a triangle and you can eat it on the go. I had three of them during my stay. They are delicious.

Speaking on food, we went a French restaurant called Chartier. Luckily, our waiter spoke English because we didn't know what anything was one the menu. I tried escargot (snails) and duck for the first time. If you visit Paris, you have to go to Chartier. It was good French food for a good price, and the food came out faster than at McDonalds. I was impressed. I guess since there were a lot of people with the same orders they never stopped cooking.

I was surprised at how many people spoke English. Almost everyone we talked to knew enough English to help us. At Pizza Hut (yes, Pizza Hut), our waitress spoke English and then spoke Spanish for our Spanish friends who were with us. I've noticed that many people who live in Europe know at least more than two languages. Learning Spanish is hard enough. I can't imagine trying to learn two more. I was saying "gracias" to people without noticing.

Overall I had a great time. Even though it was the off season for tourists, there were a lot so I suggest visiting in the off season because I can only imagine how many people are there in the summer time. Also, bring a lot of money because you will use it. We tried to do all the free things in Paris, but we still managed to spend a good amount of money. Here is a word of advice, do not go to the aquarium. Online it says that it's one of Paris's top ten attractions, but its not worth the money. There were many other things to do near the aquarium like the Eiffel Tower so spend your money at another attraction.

While I am still recovering from Paris, I have to get ready to travel to Valencia and Barcelona in a week. :)