The City of Lights, Love and Croissants

This past weekend's trip to Paris was something I'd been looking forward to forever. I'm glad to say that aside from a bit of a major mishap at the end, it did not disappoint in any way! It's really a city that lives up to all the hype (ahem New York) and doesn't seem to have the type of craziness that some other large cities have had that make me feel lost all the time. We had no trouble finding our hostel after we arrived, and its location was great - right in the middle of the Latin Quarter. This was great for a few reasons: 1) 10 minute walk to Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Seine 2) right near all the best bars and places to dance 3) next to two different metro stops 4) not in the very middle of city, so it was still cheap 5) at the bottom of a hill from which the Eiffel Tower could be seen. Kate and I had the most adorable room - the building itself was so skinny and tall and windy, and so all the rooms were shoved in random places, the floors were uneven, and the ceiling was slanted. But we also had huge windows that looked out into the street and the walls were painted bright yellow and red. 

This is our room

Our view

After we got our things situated, we ate lunch at a great cafe right down the street and then got croissants at a stand next to it. This would prove to be the start of a wonderful tradition - buying a croissant or something every single time we passed that stand on the way to or from the hostel. Thankfully my friends are all as enthusiastic about baked goods as I am so there really was no question about it. 

Our first stop was the Pantheon, which was right up the street. It cost a bit too much to go in, but it was still nice to see. Very impressive. Plus you could see the Eiffel Tower from the front steps, so that was a great first view of it. Next we walked down to Notre Dame! It was pretty awesome to see it in person since it's what we've been studying in my art history class.

A wedding! 

We wanted to go to the Louvre next, but first we allowed ourselves to just wander around for a bit. Paris is truly a beautiful city with some stunning views of the river, but also just some amazing architecture. These are some photos taken randomly along our walk:

Lots of vendors were selling old books on the sides of the street

Next up: the Louvre. IT WAS AMAZING. The actual building, first of all, was great. We were there at night so my photos aren't that good, but I did my best. And then the art! Delacroix! Da Vinci! David! Cimabue! All my favorites were there, just ready to be looked at. Plus they let you take pictures. I didn't really take any of the paintings because I knew I wouldn't be able to do them justice, so I mostly have photos of the outside and of statues: 

That last one is of the Winged Victory of Samothrace - so powerful in person. After the Louvre we were so exhausted from appreciating all that art that it was time for crepes! Paris is famous for these for good reason. 

They were SO GOOD. Mine had Nutella and coconut on it. I miss that crepe, I really do. 

The next day Kate and I went to Versailles! It was very large and very beautiful, but very crowded. I think I would have enjoyed going through the inside more if I had had the room to see anything up close or take the time to really learn the history. As it was, we just kind of got shuffled through and then we came out into the garden. Now that part is definitely worth seeing - it's amazing to me how once Marie Antoinette said "I want a big garden" they gave her one that goes for miles in all directions. Simply stunning. Here are a few pics of the palace and then of the garden, and some overlooking the actual town of Versailles:

Kate and I spent basically all day at the palace and then exploring the town. We ate the best quiche ever made at a small cafe called "Tastes of the Seasons" and it's true - the quiche was made with seasonal fruits and it was amazing. We shopped some, walked around, ate some more, just generally enjoyed the great weather. Then we headed back into the city to meet everyone else at the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately it was here that my camera ran out of battery, so I snapped this picture before it died:

It took a looooong time to get to the top, and by the time we were there it was dark. But I'm glad, because the city looked gorgeous with all the lights! A lot like how we saw London at night on the Eye. This was absolutely incredible, and it was definitely definitely worth the money. We just stood there, staring out over the city, realizing how much was going on down there and how many people must have been looking up at us! 

After the tower we went out to our big French dinner. Delicious, of course. We went somewhere else for dessert, then we hopped on the metro to go see the Moulin Rouge. Montmarte at night is not the....nicest....place ever, so after we saw the giant windmill we basically left. There were some interesting encounters with locals, but for the most part we weren't sad to get back to the hostel. 

On our last day we went shopping on the Champs de Elysees and I bought an awesome giant scarf. Then our metro was late getting back and we missed our train home! This resulted in a major headache and a terrible four hours of traveling, but in the end we made it back to the castle just fine. 

Tomorrow we all leave for Berlin at 6am. I still have to pack! After Berlin we go directly to extended travel break, which means I'll be hanging out in my apartment in Barcelona for five days. I'm so excited! However, I won't have my computer for the next two weeks, so I don't know when the next blog post will be. Before I go, I will leave you with some pictures from our Halloween celebrations last night:

My pumpkin! We had a carving night and then a contest. I don't know who won yet though. 

My friend Sara's pumpkin at night - much scarier than mine. 

This is Rae, otherwise known as a disco zombie!

Chris is....something. A werewolf in women's clothes?

This was hard to take pictures of - some of the people from the town plus our faculty organized a haunted house that went all through the castle. It was so much fun! This is my art teacher, Rob, as our scary guide appearing in the window.

Halloween night was a lot of fun, even though we didn't get any candy. It was so nice of everyone to put the haunted house together - it was really a unique experience. 

It's time for me to finish packing for extended break....Then I guess I should go to bed if I have to get up at 4am. Hurg.