PARIS: pardon my french
I have been meaning to sit and write about France, but with all honesty, I go to do it and just keep putting it off. That is unacceptable, considering it was one of the best experiences of my life. When Faith and Irene told me they were thinking of taking a weekend trip to Paris, they asked me if I wanted in…..how could I ever say no? I had never been to France, but to be completely honest, it was not super high on my list of places to travel to. I am not sure why, I had just not been super eager to go there, but I will never miss an opportunity to see somewhere new.
We decided to plan our trip from Thursday-Sunday getting there Thursday night after school and coming back early Sunday morning, giving us a full two days to explore. Irene had found this super cool hostel where we would stay, and let me tell you; it was genuinely a unique hostel experience. We slept in our cubicles next to each other. No, like seriously, a wooden box. There was a bar downstairs and lively music. On our first night, Faith was not feeling too well, so Irene and I went to find some food. There was a small little place on the corner where we headed in to find chicken tenders and french fries. Irene ended up getting a questionable sandwich, and we both got cheese fries that could feed a family of 7. My chicken tenders were rock solid, but you can’t win it all. There was also a huge blowup of Cillian Murphy on the wall, which was fabulously interesting, considering Cillian is not even French. We then went back to the hostel to get some sleep.
On Friday morning, Irene decided to wake up early, at around 7, to explore, whereas Faith and I slept in a bit longer and would meet up with her shortly. Faith and I woke up and got ready as we headed to the Louvre. Shortly before getting there, we stopped at a restaurant where we ordered the most divine French onion soup I have ever had. I could have had a bucket of it. I also ordered hot chocolate as well since we were genuinely freezing. We then headed to the Louvre, where I had the most amazing time. I love art, and I appreciate the brilliance that comes with it. The Louvre may have been a bit packed, but it was worth every second of it. We all spent a significant amount of time in each room, but my personal favorite was one of the gold rooms where the zodiac signs were painted on the ceilings. It was so lovely sitting under the Gemini mural in the sky. It was very calming, and you could see everyone just taking it all in. One thing I had noticed was the amount of gold in the Louvre. Significantly different from the Vatican. We then went to see the Mona Lisa, which was in a tiny glass case. We were conspiring on whether that was the real Mona Lisa or they had it stashed somewhere else.
After the Louvre, we decided to walk around and search for some pastries. We found this stunning small Christmas town that had started to put up all of its decorations. Quickly after grabbing a chai latte and my first croque monsieur, we were on the hunt for madeleines and macarons, which I had a plethora of. We got seven different kinds of macarons, which we ate in 10 minutes. My personal favorites were the raspberry and strawberry jam-filled- ones. Irene tried her first ones ever, and at first, the chestnut praline one resembled a cheeseburger to her, but then I think she enjoyed the rest. After our excursion, we then finally went to see the Eiffel Tower. It is just as amazing in person as it seems. I would not say it was overrated at all. It was so stunning to see at night, especially when it sparkled. We then ended our night with some beef bourguignon and french fries.
On Saturday, we decided to see the Orsay Museum, but first, we had to stop and get some breakfast. I genuinely do not think I have ordered so much food in my life, but I ate every single bite. I walked around with my pants unbuttoned for the rest of the day, but I have no regrets. I got a brown sugar and butter crepe, a ham and cheese omelet, and a pain au chocolat, which is a chocolate croissant. Words cannot describe how delicious this was, so I am just going to keep it at that. After breakfast, we walked around attempting to burn some calories on our way to the Orsay. As we got to the Orsay, we stopped for some Madelines and hot chocolate again before heading inside. The Orsay was stunning, and the galleries were intriguing. For me, in particular, since Claude Monet is my favorite artist, it was so exciting to see almost his entire body of work. The Orsay focused on art history, taking you through eras, and that was fascinating for us all. After the Orsay Irenes, one request was to eat a baguette in front of the Eiffel, so that is what we did. We watched the sunset, and the tower sparkled right as the hour hit. We all got our Paris merch and then headed to our last dinner spot, where more French onion soup was consumed, and I had the most amazing parmesan risotto that I think about four times a week. My stomach was ready to explode…and it did! We woke up at 4 am for our flight for the morning, and I was extremely sick. I ended up having severe nausea and vomiting, which put a damper on my morning. When we got home, I went right to bed, spending the whole day trying to recover.
Regardless, it was an amazing trip, and any experience my roommates and I had all semester is something that I will hold close to me forever!
