My first trip out of the UK was a weekend in Paris last month. We spent the weekend going to the Eiffel Tower, exploring museums, visiting churches, and eating lots of bread and cheese. It was a really fun trip, and I liked Paris a lot, despite being really awkward about my terrible French, not much of which came back to me. I'll actually be back for another weekend in April, because I have many more things I wanted to do (like visiting Versailles), and I hope to have better weather then so I can go to the gardens and enjoy a sunnier, warmer Paris as well.
We started our first day in Paris with breakfast at Angelina before going to the Louvre for a few hours. I could have easily spent the entire day making my way through the whole museum. We saw the Mona Lisa, of course, as well as everything from Renaissance paintings and Greek and Egyptian antiquities to French sculptures and Impressionist paintings.
After eating in a cute cafe we went to the Musée de l'Orangerie. Eight of Monet's Water Lilies are arranged here panoramically in two round rooms. It's so beautiful and peaceful, and I could have sat there looking at them for even longer than we did.
Afterwards we walked along the Seine to the Pont Alexandre III and went by the Petit Palais. After getting macarons at Ladurée, we headed up the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe. We didn't go to the top of the Arc, but I think I will when I go back to Paris next month.
The next morning we started by going to the Île de la Cité. Notre Dame was first on our list, the bells tolling as we approached. We realized once we went inside that as it was Sunday morning, there would be mass, which began while we were visiting. It was an interesting experience to be there as the service began and to hear it in French.
After that we went to Sainte-Chapelle, which I was so excited about after studying in class last year, and I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't sunny that morning, but some light still came into the chapel even though it was very overcast.
We spent the afternoon trying to find a place to eat lunch (everywhere was closed!) and visiting the Musée Rodin to see The Thinker, The Kiss, and The Gates of Hell. We also went up to Montmartre, where we climbed many stairs to get to Sacré-Cœur and the lovely view of Paris from the highest point in the city.
