Paris!

Sorry that this update is so delayed but France is certainly keeping me busy! I was lucky enough to spend this past weekend (March 5-7) in Paris. I went with a couple of friends of mine and we all stayed at a really nice hostel in the 19th arrondissment. We left Angers at around 4:30 on Friday and got to Paris two hours later. We checked into the hostel and instantly began to explore. The first night our main goal was to see La Tour Eiffel at night. So we grabbed some dinner and headed downtown. Luckily the metro system is fairly easy to use and we bought a 3 day pass so we had unlimited use.
My first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower was walking out of the subway, turning left, and just seeing it all lit up against the sky. It was absolutely breathtaking. I am still having moments where it seems totally unreal that I get to be here, and that was definitely one of them. So we walked up to a great outlook area to see the tower and then moseyed our way down to it. By the time we were at the base of the tower it was around 11:30 at night and there were barely any other people out there, probably because it was such a chilly night. So we walked around it for a bit and finally decided to sit on a bench and just really absorb it. As soon as we sat down it started to sparkle and do the light show it does every hour. It was an absolutely perfect first night in Paris. We found our way back to the metro and hostel after and got a good night sleep for the next day.
Day two began with Notre Dam. Notre Dam for me was an incredible experience, it was so beautiful and when I was in the church mass was actually taking place, which gave it a completely different feel. I had no idea they still held mass there but I am glad that they do. After touring the inside we walked around the exterior, which was equally as beautiful with all of the buttresses, gargoyles, various statues, and breathtaking stain glass. After the Notre Dam we grabbed some lunch and decided to walk the entire length of the Champs Elysees. The Champs Elysees begins at the Louvre and extends all of the way until the L’Arc de Triomph. We took our time so it probably took us about an hour but it was a beautiful spring day in Paris and I enjoyed every moment. After that we decided to go see the Eiffel Tower during the day and get a different perspective. There were definitely a lot more people than there had been at midnight the night before but it was still just as enjoyable. After was dinner and another fairly early night to get rested up for our final day.
Day three began with the Louvre. It was the first Sunday of the month, which is when all of the museums in France are free so there was definitely a crowd. But I expected a crowd anyway and it didn’t dampen the experience at all. One of my good friends that went has a great amount of knowledge about art so he ended up being our personal tour guide which was great, because before this class this semester, I had never taken any art history classes before. It was great to get commentary from someone who was truly passionate about the subject. We stayed four about 4 hours and decided that was enough for one day. After we made our way to Pere Lachaise, which is the main cemetery in Paris, where Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Gericault, Chopin, and Delacroix (just to name a few) are buried. After this we began our journey home.
All in all a great first experience in Paris and I know I will be going back!
The only downer was that my purse strap definitely got cut on the subway, but I didn’t even notice until I got back to the hostel and I let go of my bag and it just fell to the ground. I am glad I had a death grip on it!
This weekend was nice and relaxed and I just hung out with friends here in Angers and caught up on sleep a little. Classes are still going well and I am still enjoying every moment of being here!