Paris Weekend

My good friend Ashley and I planned a weekend to Paris for this last weekend. Many of our friends are going to Paris next weekend but we both have papers due around that time so we went by ourselves early. It should be noted that during the entire trip it was bitterly cold. Paris is definitely a spring/summer/fall place to visit. We were so surprised how cold Paris was, especially since it is south of London. I am going to make a point not to go to Paris during the winter again, haha. At least it never precipitated while we were there though.

We left for the airport at 4:30 in the morning Friday, January 23. We don't have class on Friday and we wanted an early start to get the most out of Paris. We flew Easy Jet and our flight left from Luton at 8:15 in the morning. We had to leave so early to catch a bus because Luton is an hour outside of London. The flight was only an hour and went well. We land at Charles de Gaulle and took the "RER' to connect to the metro in Paris.

This was my third trip to Paris and the third time staying in the exact same neighborhood. I chose to book our hotel there because I knew it was a fun area and was an easy walk to some major attractions. Our hotel, Hotel Beausejour Montmartre, was at the base of Montmartre and used the "Place de Clichy" stop. Our room was nice and even had a little balcony but it was way too cold to use. It would have been great during the summer, but I bet the rates in summer are so high we wouldn't be staying in a hotel room with a balcony ha-ha.

We went up the street to a cafe named Le Petit Poucet. Our waiter was very nice and funny. We got lattes and delicious salads. We felt very French because we sat outside which was possible due to very powerful overhead heat lamps.

After eating we took the metro to the Musee d'Orsay. We saw all of the famous pieces including all the impressionism which is my favorite! Then, we took the Metro up to the Montmartre Sacre Coeur area. We got lattes and climbed the stairs up to the church. We went inside the church, which was free, and took lots of pictures of the amazing views of Paris.

After that we walked all the way down through Montmartre and ended up near the Moulin Rouge. We ate omelets for dinner at a cafe right across from the Moulin Rouge. We walked back to Place de Clichy and passed all of these sex shops and strip clubs which were very interesting. When we got back to our area we decided to stop and get dessert. We chose to go back to Le Petit Poucet where we saw our waiter from this morning but were served by someone else. Ashley ate Crème Brule and I ate chocolate mousse. Our new waiter was very helpful and gave us a suggestion for a bar and an idea of where to find a French blow dryer. (Our hotel didn't have one and we wanted one to look our best at night hehe)

After an adventure of finding a blow dryer we went back to the hotel and got ready to go out. We headed to the Latin Quarter, which is the student quarter, first. We went to a bar we read about called Sanz Sans. It had a fun atmosphere and the bartenders were very lively and joked around with us. For example, we ordered these mojitas which had so much mint in it we picked it all out. When the bartender noticed he picked up the leaves and ate them! The bar seemed like it was would be a fun place but it seemed kind of slow at the time. We eventually moved and went to La Loco which is a club right next to Moulin Rouge. We arrived around midnight which would be late in Boston and probably right on time in London but no one was there! It was almost empty. So we grabbed a table, which is usually hard to come by in clubs and got some drinks. Eventually the club started filling up and we danced till about 2. We made it up on stage and danced with some French boys for a little bit.

Saturday January 24 we got an early start and went back to our Le Petit Poucet for breakfast. We had our waiter from Friday afternoon and both ordered eggs. Then we headed to the Louvre. We saw all of the famous pieces including the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, Napoleon crowning Josephine, and all the Egypt stuff. After the museum we headed up through the Jardin de Tuileries and to the Place de La Concorde which is the famous Egyptian obelisk given to Napoleon from Egypt. I asked Ashley to make a stop at a church called St. Roch's, which I don't think I had ever visited during my other two trips to Paris. It was a few blocks from the Louvre and was absolutely beautiful. It was full of religious artwork and was very empty so we felt like we had found a little hidden gem. We walked all the up the Champs Elysee where we stopped at a cafe for Nutella crepes and pain au chocolate. We went straight up to the Arc de Triomphe and took lots of photos.

In the afternoon Ashley and I took the metro down to L'Isle de Cite. We went to Saint Chappelle right away which Ashley and I both liked more than Notre Dame. It is all stain glass and is absolutely beautiful. After Saint Chappelle Ashley decided she really needed to find an ATM. So we left the island by crossing a bridge into the Marais areas. I don't think I had really explored this area before either so I was happy to go hunting for an ATM in it. In the middle of our ATM search we got distracted by a patisserie (obviously) and stopped for a desert. There, we met a bunch of American boys (Jared, Jack, Rob, EJ, and Ariel) who were also London study abroad students spending the weekend in Paris. We talked to them for awhile and exchanged numbers so we could meet up at night. After finding an ATM and a Starbucks we headed back onto the island to see Notre Dame. We ran into the boys there and walked around with. Notre Dame had a giant Christmas tree outside it which I thought was really funny.

After Notre Dame we crossed onto the other side of the river into the Latin Quarter. We walked around and found the Place de St. Michel. The Latin Quarter seems really fun and if I ever go back to Paris I want to stay there. We ate a little Italian cafe and filled up on pasta.

Then we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap and showers. We called the American boys we met and planned to meet up with them around the Eiffel Tower after they went on a Bateaux Mouche ride. We assumed that we would go to a club or a bar with the boys and wore very cute tops. We went down to the Eiffel Tower and stopped at a cafe while we waited for the boys. I have never felt so French! We ordered wine, pastries, and a bread/cheese plate. We sat there for awhile and chatted. It was definitely a highlight of the weekend.

The boys finally called and said that they never actually made it on the river boat ride but that we could all meet up under the Eiffel Tower and go on one together since they run late at night and it was around 11 right now. So Ash and I walked to the Eiffel Tower where we waited for almost 20 minutes for the boys. We finally found one of them but he had been separated from his friends and none of them found phones. IT WAS SO COLD. We bought hot chocolate and paced around the Eiffel Tower looking for the other boys. We took lots of photos and saw the light show that happens every hour. We finally found some of other boys and quickly realized that the last river boat ride had already left. We were all still waiting for one of the boys to find us so we stood around for awhile (it was freezing) but the boys were nice and let us use their hats. We finally found all the boys and went to a local cafe and ordered a drink. We had a good time talking to the boys about London and Paris. It was getting late and we were all cold and tired so Ashley and I taxied it back to the hotel (the metro closes at 1 just like Boston and London).

Sunday January 25 we decided to have a more relaxed day. We went back to our Le Petit Poucet for breakfast again and had the same waiter! Then we went back down the Eiffel Tower so that we could go up it. It was not like the summer at all. There were NO lines and IT WAS FREEZING AND SO WINDY at the top. For lunch we stopped at a street vendor and bought crepes wit Nutella, bananas and whip cream. They were SO GOOD. We had some time to kill before going to the airport and we desperately wanted an indoor activity close by so we took a Bateaux-Mouche ride down the river that had indoor seating. It was actually really fun! I have done the river boat rides before and they are one of the best ways to see Paris and are very informative. After the boat ride Ashley got another crepe because they are amazing.

Finally, we headed back to the hotel and made our way to the airport.

My Paris weekend was very fun and very different from my other Paris visits. Obviously, the different people you travel with will make a trip very different. But Ashley and I are very compatible travel companions because we want to see everything and are very energetic. We will stay out late and power through the next day with our Starbucks! And I really don't mind that I saw most of the same stuff for the third time because Paris is just beautiful and seeing the same things again refreshes my old memories and helps it sink in. Unfortunately, the weather really put a damper on the trip and I hope that Ashley visits Paris again when it is warmer :-)