paris, paris, paris. i literally just got back from france but i want to write this now just so i remember all the details. paris was AMAZING. i am LIVING THERE when i'm older! (just kiddin...sorta) it was such a clean, open, friendly city..everyone was so nice and it's so easy to find your way around! i was a little nervous going for aweekend since there's so much to see and we had never been, but we ended up seeing a lot of the major places without feeling rushed. pics are on facebook.
soo we left thursday night from the pisa airport, and arrived in paris around 10:30 pm. Immediately we had to use their metro to get to Le Montclair Montmarte, our hostel on the north side of Paris...even though we were a little nervous their metro system is SO EASY. i thought new yorks was so confusing this summer with the different numbers and letters, but paris is just colors and numbers, easy lines, and so fast. anyways, we found our hostel easily, and thank god it was perfect for us- a lot of young, student travellers, really helpful front desk, free breakfast, and bunk beds! it was located in Montmarte, a really fun district in Paris. we passed out early that night since we had a long day ahead of us!
before i say what we did, i just wanted to remember to thank mary and erin for all their advice on Paris- we would have been lost. typical me- i made a full itinerary for the weekend and we pretty much followed it perfectly, but it wouldn't have worked without all the help on places to eat and stuff! xoxo
so friday morning bright and early we ate the free breakfast (and stole some bread for the day) and headed for the eiffel tower (to beat the tourist rush.) we got off the metro, walked around the corner and saw it. literally i started to cry! it is SO BEAUTIFUL...so majestic looking! huge! it looks fake! i'm so used to seeing it in pictures...so it was surreal to see it in person. since we were there around 9 am, we were in the early group to climb it- to the top..yes, to the very top. we took the elevators...first it wasn't so bad, and then the last elevator to the top was amazingly scary! it kept going and going and you could see for miles. at the very top it's small, just a little circle u walk around, but we soaked in some great views and snapped pictures. after the eiffel tower excursion we met for our bike tour at 11 am...i had planned for us to do a Fat Bike Tour through Paris, since it got good reviews online and we didn't really have a clue where to go. it was such a FUN TOUR! i haven't ridden a bike in ages, and to ride it through the streets of Paris (don't worry mom, there was bike paths so it wasn't dangerous) was such a thrill. i'm not sure of the names of everything we saw, but basically we saw Paris 101..the Ecole Militaires, the Places de La Concordes, the Hotel des Invalides, and a lot of the cool monuments. it was also nice because the tour guides were younger American girls who taught us about the history of Paris (we saw the square where the main guilloutine was during Reign of Terror after Louis 16 and Marie Antoinette were beheaded, really cool) along the tour. we rode our bikes through the Jardin des Tuileries, the pretty gardens in front of the Louvre Museum. there we stopped for an AMAZING french lunch- me and Cara split a ham and cheese quiche and a chocolate crepe (our first one in France!) and it was delicious. 
Then we wrapped up the bike tour and prepared for the rest of our day! Since the tour guides were our age they came over and talked to us and gave us great advice for our weekends- the best thing they told us was the the Louvre was FREE friday nights for us students! soo after our bike tour we wandered around the neighborhood to the right of the museum (i forget names..im still not familiar with Paris really!) wandered in some boutiques, had some coffee, and basically just talked about how much we loved Paris until around 7 pm, when we headed for the LOUVRE. it was an amazing museum, and the fact that it was free was just perfect. of course we headed for the Mona Lisa first- it's about 4' by 3' big, so very tiny, and set behind a wall of plasterglass, but still a sight to see. it jus tlooks like she's looking at you and she has a secret or something. we all just stared at it for like 10 minutes straight. luckily it wasn't that busy....after that, we wandered around more Italian artwork, then headed for Roman and Etruscan sculpture, my favorite (it's so old!) and then made our way out- we didn't want to get overwhelmed in there. still, it was a perfect way to see the louvre and say that we've been in there! the actual museum building was also beautiful..it was decorated from head to toe with sculptures and designs.
Then we wrapped up the bike tour and prepared for the rest of our day! Since the tour guides were our age they came over and talked to us and gave us great advice for our weekends- the best thing they told us was the the Louvre was FREE friday nights for us students! soo after our bike tour we wandered around the neighborhood to the right of the museum (i forget names..im still not familiar with Paris really!) wandered in some boutiques, had some coffee, and basically just talked about how much we loved Paris until around 7 pm, when we headed for the LOUVRE. it was an amazing museum, and the fact that it was free was just perfect. of course we headed for the Mona Lisa first- it's about 4' by 3' big, so very tiny, and set behind a wall of plasterglass, but still a sight to see. it jus tlooks like she's looking at you and she has a secret or something. we all just stared at it for like 10 minutes straight. luckily it wasn't that busy....after that, we wandered around more Italian artwork, then headed for Roman and Etruscan sculpture, my favorite (it's so old!) and then made our way out- we didn't want to get overwhelmed in there. still, it was a perfect way to see the louvre and say that we've been in there! the actual museum building was also beautiful..it was decorated from head to toe with sculptures and designs.after the louvre we took the metro to Montmarte and had dinner at Au Grain au Folie, a vegetatrian resturaunt Mary recommended...the area of Montmarte is really cute- it's full of winding streets and little cafes and bars. anyways, dinner was really good- and healthy- the entire resturaunt was 3 tables basically, and the menu was 4 options. we all got homeade hummus, salad, rice, cooked veggies, lots of bread, and wine...we were just happy to eat something different! since we had a heavy lunch and that mid-afternoon coffee/pastry, this was a perfect light dinner. oh but then i got a nutella crepe afterwards (woops!)
on the way home i organized a "scenic" route back to the hostel, so we saw the Moulin Rouge and the Sacre Coeur. The Moulin Rouge was fun to see, nothing special but a small spectacle that reminded me of the movie..it was a hopping street full of nightclubs and risque bars. we took pics and then walked to sacre Couer, this amazing basillica on a high hill that overlooks Paris. the building was lit up and you could see the tiny Eiffel Tower from the view. more great pics from there too! thanks mary for the tip!
Saturday was another early day- out the door by 9 am. (i'm so glad my roommates don't mind me planning things so early. they were always ready to go and explore like me) this morning we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe, the big arch built after Napoleon Bonaparte's victories...it was HUGE. wayy bigger than i imagined. then we took a morning stroll down the famous Avenue de Champs Elysees, did some window shopping, and found this particular bag store my roomates wanted to find (it's called a Longchamp? its like a cheaper but designer purse that they alll wanted. I dont get it- its just a really plain purse with leather straps for 70 euro. but fun to walk around and find it- i'm just waiting to buy my full leather bag!!!) by this point we were hungry and it was noon, so we walked down Rue de Rivoli and found the famous Angelina's Tea Room, where Mary said there is famous African hot chocolate that is to die for. and IT WAS TO DIE FOR. we all treated ourselves and got a cup, and basically i can't ever drink regular hot chocolate again. it was thick, rich, served with freshly whipped cream, and soooo good. such a treat.
then more walking- we walked over the bridge to try to find the Notre Dame. it was, just like everything else, sooo pretty. i just love these big European cathedrals. it was HUGE, had all gothic-style architecture (i think), gargoyles on the top, and a big open square to take pics in. then we got to go inside and it was amazing in there. i even got a litte teary just because i was so overwhelmed by the size and history of the building...it's just incredible that 900 years ago people decided to build a church simply to worship a God. and they're always so pretty and spooky. just overwhelming....after the Notre Dame we wandered around the Latin Quarter, a hip younger district in Paris where there was a lots of cute stores and stuff (i didnt end up buying anything actually) and then we took a metro to the Galleria, a big fancy mall with designer clothes. it reminded me of Macys in New York. anyways, it was okay until we found out there was a terrace on top and so then we raced up there and took in some more amazing views of the city and the opera house, located right next door. the fashion in paris is amazing- all the women, young and old, look like models and dress exquisitely. we looked pretty nice ourselves- i wore my "leather" coat from Toulouse- but its just impossible to keep up appearances when you're running around the city! i don't know how these women do it!
after the mall we took another metro back to the eiffel tower and watched some street performers dance, got a light dinner (ham and cheese crepe for me) and then took our Bateaux boat cruise, a 7 euro steal that takes you on an hour tour by boat around the whole city. we saw all the monuments again, but this time they were lit up in the night sky. the eiffel tower beats them all- 
it's lit up all night but once an hour it literally twinkles for 10 minutes and it was just incredible. the only downside was the weather- i'm so used to the Tuscan sun and 75 degree temp. that the 40 F nights felt FREEZING to us. thank GOD i brought sneakers! anyways, it was another great night in paris. i really felt like we saw the most we could see in 48 hours. after the boat cruise we had a quick coffee in the square and then headed home to Montmarte. we got there around 12 am, and had to wake up at 4 am to catch our 7 am flight home.
it's lit up all night but once an hour it literally twinkles for 10 minutes and it was just incredible. the only downside was the weather- i'm so used to the Tuscan sun and 75 degree temp. that the 40 F nights felt FREEZING to us. thank GOD i brought sneakers! anyways, it was another great night in paris. i really felt like we saw the most we could see in 48 hours. after the boat cruise we had a quick coffee in the square and then headed home to Montmarte. we got there around 12 am, and had to wake up at 4 am to catch our 7 am flight home. so that brings me to now, sitting on my bed in Florence, going off of 4 hours of sleep. im gonna pass out early tonight. i LOVE this travelling- people have been asking if we get exhausted from these weekend trips but i never do because we always find time to relax! next weekend is very chill, just an already-paid school trip to Rome for one night. we're going with our teacher for basically a guided tour to all the Roman artifacts. i CANT WAIT. and then in 2 weeks MOM AND DAD ARE COMINGG which i am SO excited for.
i cant believe i got to see paris. i finally get what the hype is about- it was a beautiful, lively city with great food and people, interesting history and amazing buildings and cathedrals. it makes me want to learn french so i could possibly live there for a month or something. i just love my cities!
okay, sry for another long post- just wanted to write it all down while it's in my head. again, pics are on facebook. and also, this is to more family members reading this- but since a lot of my pictures and scenery (and maybe boring) if you just look at "pictures of Jamie" or whatever it's called, the link right under my profile picture, then you can see all the pics taken from myself AND roomates together, so they're probably more interesting. just fyi!) thanks mary for all the advice, and ill blog again soon. xoxoxoo to all!
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