Is This Real Life?

Paris was a dream. I have always heard that Paris is the type of city that you either love or hate…and I absolutely loved it. Our first day in Paris was very laid back and that was exactly what I needed to help my body recoup. We started out the day by going to a bakery where I had the best quiche of my life along with a raspberry cream pastry. We then made a visit to the Arc de Triomphe where we saw the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Later that night, we decided to splurge a little on dinner and ate at a restaurant by the Eiffel Tower. Being a group of indecisive Americans, we had our first encounter with a rude French waiter. By the end of the meal, however, we discovered that he was not French at all. He was actually from Chicago and was just messing with us the entire time. I appreciated his sass and ended up really liking him in the end. On a side note: I was happy to find that the rumor about everyone being rude and hating American’s in France is not necessarily true. Every person I came into contact with was very friendly and helpful. After dinner, we finally reached the Eiffel Tower where we spent the rest of the night drinking wine and enjoying the twinkling lights. I found myself just staring at the tower in awe of how lucky I truly am. I hopped on a train to Paris for the weekend as if it was nothing. These past few weeks have been the best weeks I have ever had and I can't believe I am finally visiting all the places I have dreamt of my entire life. 

Our second day started a little bit earlier when we traveled to the Palace of Versailles. We had to wait in line in the blazing sun but it was completely worth it once we got inside. Every single room was gorgeous. My favorite room was the room of mirrors. The chandeliers and golden walls made me feel as if I were in a fairy tale. After visiting the palace, we stopped for some delicious crepes and then made our way back to Paris. Even though Versailles kind of whipped us out, we kept trucking and made our way to Notre Dame for dinner. While in front of Notre Dame, we came across a couple of street performers who were dancing and doing tricks with fire. It was amazing to take the time to enjoy the moment and watch these amazingly talented performers. We ended our night by visiting the Sacré-Cœur that had a view overlooking the entire city. A man was singing and playing the guitar while we were there and it was pure bliss to say the least.

Our last day in Paris was dedicated to the Louvre. I will have to come back one day and spend an entire day there because we hardly put a dent in the museum. We knew we wouldn't be able to get through the entire museum, so we started on a quest to find the top 13 must see items in the museum. We successfully tackled 8/13 including the Winged Victory of Samothrace, The Venus de Milo, Liberty Leading the People, and of course, the Mona Lisa. People weren't lying when they said the Mona Lisa is a lot smaller than expected, but either way it was very cool to see the work of Da Vinci. After the Louvre, we strolled through a park and various parts of the city where I tried to take it all in before having to leave. We planned to have a super fancy dinner for our last night, but we ended up going to an Asian food restaurant right next to our hostel and I couldn't have been happier. It was great comfort food and it will always make me laugh to think back on our lavish meal the last night. What better way to end our trip than with another visit to the Eiffel Tower? We made it in time to watch the sunset and the sky was painted with blue and pink pastels. The tower twinkled bright as ever and continued to remind me of how blessed I am. I’m convinced I am living in a dream.