Paris is dirty, cold, windy and absolutely breathtaking! There are some things that words can´t describe, or maybe I just lack the ability to use the correct words to describe them, but anyway watching the sunset halfway up the Eiffel Tower is one of those moments that I would I could transfer into anyone and everyone´s mind. Here is my adventure in Paris...
The metro in Madrid stops at 1 am. Our flight to Paris left at 7:20 am. 6 hour difference = sleeping on Barajas´s airport floor. Yumm! However, Mercedes did not let me leave the piso unprepared. As I was packing my bag she came in and asked me what I was packing because she knew it was going to be frigid cold, and I showed her. She said "no, no, no" and hurried out the room only to return a few seconds later with her arms full of stuff. The stuff included my crazy furry Russian looking hat, my snow boots, her scarf (the size of a blanket) and her turtleneck sweater. Mind you, I had packed 2 of my own sweaters, leather gloves (which I happened to have lost while at the Louvre, sorry Mom, I really did love them a lot, but now they are amongst the world´s greatest wonders!), boots, and a scarf of my own. I was quite the sight as I headed to the Metro at 12 am, wearing my red wool jacket, my tan Merril snowboots, a crazy furry hat, and a scarf the size of a picnic table. Needless to say, I was warm, and would soon be soo grateful that Mercedes is in my life.
Moving on... I slept on an airport floor. It was faaaaaantastic. I felt like a true backpacker, who looked like their main concern was freezing to death on an icy tundra. We boarded the plane and were greeted by this absolutely heinous elevator music that made us laugh everytime someone referenced it throughout the trip. We landed in Paris around 9ish and from there had to figure out how to manipulate the horrible Paris metro system, which is waaay more dirty than Madrid´s and costs an insanely amount more than Madrid´s as well. I did not approve. With some slight confusion the 9 of us were finally on the correct train heading into the heart of Paris. We managed to succesfully find our one star "hotel" and failed at our attempt to sneek 2 people in... shoot. Bypassing that boring story, we dropped off our luggage and headed back out to explore the foreign city before us.
The first night we walked along the Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe feeling no fear of looking like tourists. The Arc is one of those places I´ve seen a thousand pictures of but never took the time to really fathom it´s size or grandeur. It was pretty sweet. From there we accepted the challenge to find the Eiffel Tower on our own. Surprising we happened upon the large metal structure as we took a random turn around a corner and most of us were taken aback by its pure presence. The tower on a Thursday night was mostly unoccupied minus the pestering of street salesman trying to sell us replicas of the Eiffel Tower. We took far too many pictures and only stayed a brief while because it was our mission to return and go to the top before our return to Madrid. That night was laidback and we were in bed before 1 am anticipating a full day in the morning.
Friday morning greeted us with rain and wind. A fun combination for sightseeing, luckily most of our plans were indoors and including going to places like the Louvre and Sacred Heart Cathedral. The morning started off at our favorite bakery, the place in which I probably spent my most money and gained a good 5 pounds. Thank you baguette´s, tarts, and yummy unknown sweet breads. From there we headed to the infamous Moulin Rouge and surrounding area. We went in the morning therefore I was not approached or hassled by any scantily clad women only by 2 men we assumed to be drug dealers who were amazingly arrested a few minutes later. We are telling ourselves we unknowingly assisted in a huge drug bust! It wasn´t like we had an elongated conversation, clearly because no one spoke French, it was like we were walking and they hollered at us, and one of the words sounded like cocaine, we kept walking and when we reached the corner cops came out of nowhere! On the topic of not speaking French I would just like to say I can, in fact, speak Spanish. Being in France gave me this odd bit of confidence that I really do know what is going on in Madrid. Our ability to communicate was rather hilarious throughout the trip and many times we were just nodding and saying yes or no. After Moulin Rouge we walked up the "mountain" to Sacred Heart Cathedral. It was stunning even in the rain, you could see all of Paris. The inside was even more precious, however no pictures were allowed. After that spiritual stop we trekked to THE LOUVRE!!!!! The Louvre was everything ever said it would be. The Mona Lisa was kinda obnoxious though because it was like she was a pop star and camera's were flashing and people were crowded around it to point where I didn't really even care to see it. But I did take a picture to prove I saw her. We saw many things, most of which I can't recall nor knew what they were, but the art was pristine. My favorite part about The Louvre was the building itself, just realizing that at some point in history the same room I stood in was someone royal person's personal quarters. After spending approximately 3 hours there we decided to find dinner and get ready for a night out in Paris. We had plans to meet up with some friends and enjoy some "quality" French beverages. It was a successful night, minus my painful shoes, no worries though, I wore thick socks that got me through the night.
Saturday morning/afternoon we woke up with a slight headache or two, not excactly sure if it was from dehydration or the intense matress fight the night before, nonetheless we were ready to roll out and explore more of Paris. Saturday consisted of a trip to Notre Dame, beautiful, the best crepes I have ever consumed, some minor window shopping, annnnnd the top of the Eiffel Tower. Without knowing it we probably picked the best time to visit the Eiffel Tower, right before sunset. We saw the sunset, were there when the first set of "twinkling" lights went off, and were even able to see a few stars in the finally clear sky. We were finishing full circle by ending our night at the top of the Arc de Triomphe and saw the awesome Paris skyline at night.
In conclusion we headed back to the airport at 1 am to again enjoy a very very cold night on the Charles de Gaulle airport floor. The trip was a success. And I have written far too much.
Ciao Ciao!
