Duesseldorf Digest and Bonn Blog: Paris in ~48 hours- challenge accepted

Two full days in Paris is simply not enough! We got to Paris late Thursday night and eventually found our way into our hostel at around 11. This was my first time staying in a hostel, and to my surprise it was very modern and geared towards young adult travelers. It kinda gave out the vibe of cruise ship living, or at least that’s what my first thought was. Some people wen out and did whatever, while I tried to go to sleep because I was dead exhausted from such a long day of travelling. Friday morning we ate breakfast at the hostel and headed to the Louvre. About 5 years ago I would have never imagined myself wanting to spend hours in an art museum, but after having a really great humanities teacher I learned how to appreciate all types of art, so I was looking forward to enjoying the Louvre. We really didn’t have to wait long to go in, which was rather surprising, but the second I entered I realized how massive the place was and why people say you can spend days there. It was beautiful- not only in artwork but the palace itself. I saw many of the pieces that I remember studying previously such as the Winged Victory of Samothrace (Nike), Venus de Milo, Liberty Leading the People, Raft of Medusa, Oath of Horatii, The Intervention of the Sabine Woman, The Virgin of the Rocks, and of course, Mona Lisa. I was told by many people that the Mona Lisa is always a let down because so many people cram to see it, it’s small, and protected behind a bullet proof glass that you can’t even get close. Because of that, I had really low expectations coming in, so when I saw the painting it was cooler than anticipated. I mean yeah, I did have to wait to squeeze to get close, but it was still neat regardless.One of my favorite paintings I came across was Modern Rome by Giovanni Panini, just because it was so different than the rest. The painting displays an arrangement of other famous paintings within a room and looks as if they are trying to decide where to hang the paintings in a museum or how to distribute them. The painting was massive, and I could only think about how difficult it must have been to draw hundreds of other little famous paintings within a huge painting. I later found out that there are multiple different version, and this one is the third version. (My picture isn't that great so if you're really curious I encourage you to look it up).

We stayed at the Louvre for about three hours, but I think with an audio guide or a tour I could have stayed much, much longer, so I note that for the next time I come to Paris. We then headed out to get a delicious lunch and make our way to Notre Dame. After going to the Cologne Cathedral, it gets hard to see other cathedrals and think they are stunning as well. However, Notre Dame had a different feel to it, even though it is also a gothic cathedral. The outside isn’t as dark and dreary as the Cologne Cathedral, and the inside is beautiful with stained glass too. From Notre Dame we made our way to the market to get fruit, bread, wine, cheese, and meats to have a picnic in the lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower to enjoy the rest of the evening. When we got to the tower, I was shocked. For the longest time it was difficult for me to actually realize that I was at the real thing and not looking at a picture. It was way taller than I predicted, and with clear, blue skies, it was absolutely beautiful. We sat in the lawn and enjoyed our picnic as we just hung out and enjoyed the moment. Once it got dark, we decided to go see the view from the Eiffel. Unfortunately, we decided to go up too late and we weren’t able to make it to the very top, but we did get to go up halfway. By then it was dark, and we were able to see the city lit up for miles and miles out. At night, then tower lights up and twinkles for 10 minutes every hour, and when we were up there it twinkled and it was so cool to see it from the tower. We then made our way down, enjoyed a few more moments, and promised to go back the next day to go to the very top. Saturday morning we had brunch and then headed out to Sacre-Coeur Basilica (church on a hill). Once we got there and waited in line we were told we couldn’t go in because we were wearing shorts, but seeing the outside and overlooking the city was still really nice. We walked down to a few stores where we then found a yummy macaroon shop and of course, we had to get some. We then went to Musee d’Orsay which is an impressionist art museum that has a large collection of Monet and Van Gough pieces. The artwork here was really neat and beautiful, but I personally did not know as much about these artworks than the others from the Louvre. Regardless, it was such a neat place to see and experience. The next visit was the Avenue des Champs Elysees, which is a shopping street with only mega expensive stores. We walked down there to look at all of the crazy merchandise and I also really enjoyed people watching. One of the craziest things we saw was a writing pen covered in diamonds and rubies that cost 240,000 euros! Waaaaaat?? At the end of this street is the Arc de Triomphe, which was super neat. Because there was a nice breeze, the French flag in between the arcs was waving, at it was really pretty seeing it all together. Next we stopped back at the hostel to drop stuff off and change before we headed out to the Eiffel and go to dinner. We had a little detour in our journey, so we decided to get dinner after we went to the top of the tower, just to make sure we had plenty of time. When we got to the top of the Eiffel, the sun was setting and the sky was filled with pinks and purples and it was so gorgeous. Pictures just don’t do it justice. We were able to see all the places we have visited while we were there and see as far to the sunset as we pleased. After we took the view in, we went back down to the bottom and waited for the tower to light up and begin to twinkle again. The tower at night with the light show is just stunning. We then headed to dinner where I had my first escargot and it was really good! Full of butter and seasonings and I would definitely do that again. The meal in general was delicious and we just enjoyed our last meal in Paris together as a group. The next morning we packed our bags and headed back to Bonn. Paris was incredible. I was shocked by how large it was, though I don’t know why I expected it to be smaller. We were able to do a lot in two days, but there is so much to see and do next time I go back, and I’ll make sure to research and prepare more before hand. I would have really enjoyed if we went as a program because I know Dr. Wasser would have a lot to teach us about the rich culture and history there, but it was still a fantastic time!