We are quickly approaching the end of the semester and an unforgettable year abroad, with only 3 weeks to go until final exams. With an essay, presentation, and a composition just around the corner, it has been a full past couple of weeks. I did, however, manage to get to spend some time with someone very special to me! It was a lovely break between the hectic hustle and bustle of school. Snowboarding - le 20 Mars 2018
Paris - le 22 mars au 25 mars 2018 For the weekend, we headed off for a short getaway to Paris! It was my second time visiting the city, and we still found things to do that I hadn't gotten to do or see. Paris is never a dull moment! It's true when they say that you have to leave something to come back to when traveling, because it is impossible to see and do everything the first time around. I am certain that this will be the second of many trips to Paris to come! Jeudi/Thursday - le 22 mars 2018 Day one - we arrived in Paris and found our hotel for the weekend, the Ibis Paris Eiffel Tower Hotel. It was a lovely place located in the 15th arrondissement, the same neighbourhood as La Tour Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower. Our hotel room even had a view of the Eiffel Tower (the last picture in the slideshow!). The city is divided into 20 of these arrondissements, and they start at 1 in the middle and spiral their way to the outskirts of the city. It makes traveling on their metro system extremely simple and easy. We used it on the daily! We spent the afternoon exploring the 15th arrondissement and walking over to the Eiffel Tower. Still as incredible as I remember it! We also saw Les Invalides. Les Invalides, or more commonly known as Hôtel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement containing museums and monuments all relating to the military history of France. In the evening, we went to the Catacombs - a spooky but must do experience when in Paris! We were very lucky to have gone when we did... we were among the last 15 people to get it! We hadn't realized that they close their doors an hour early to allow for the last visit of the night. The Catacombs are under ground ossuaries holding the remains of more than six million people. It was established in 1820, but preparation work began not long after a 1774 series of gruesome Saint Innocents-cemetery-quarter basement wall collapses, which added a sense of urgency to the creation of these ossuaries. Vendredi/Friday - le 23 mars 2018 Day two was Disneyland Paris and the Louvre! The last time I had visited a Disney resort was when I was a little girl, so I figured it was time to go back again! Seeing as we were already in Paris, it was only a quick hour metro/train ride to the outer region of Paris where their Disneyland Paris resort is, the only one in Europe! Please don't judge me for wanting to feel like a princess for a day, because I totally did and regret none of it ;) The evening was spent at the Louvre, and this is where being a student had its perks. I had free entry to the museum, because I've been studying in Europe for the past year! No complaints there. You could honestly spend an entire week going through the Louvre Museum. I saw paintings, sculptures, or simply just noticed different things the second time that I hadn't even noticed the first time I was there. Time truly flies. Before we knew it, it was half hour from closing, and they were practically kicking us out. Fun fact, the Louvre was originally a palace for Roi Philippe-Auguste, but was later taken back by the people during the revolution and turned into the museum it is today. Samedi/Saturday - le 24 mars 2018 Our last day in Paris consisted of a day trip out to Versailles, a first for me! The Palace of Versailles is a royal château in Versailles (Île-de-France region of France). It is now open as a museum, but was originally built as a hunting cottage for the King. It then became the seat of political power in the Kingdom of France from 1682, when King Louis XIV moved the royal court from Paris. It was a symbol of the system of absolute monarchy of the Ancien Régime and has now become a popular tourist attraction. We got tickets to go inside Marie Antoinette's corridors and the palace itself, and my student perks worked their magic for the second time here - free entry! Marie Antoinette was married to Louis XVI and was the last Queen of France before the revolution. The King presented her with her own living corridors as a gift, Le Petit Trianon, which housed a kitchen, bedroom, dressing room and antichambre. It was quite simple and charming. The palace on the other hand, was quite the opposite. It was anything but petit and was filled with ornate decoration from floor to ceiling. I can see why Marie Antoinette preferred the quaintness of Le Petit Trianon. I'd be scared of getting lost... In the late afternoon/evening, we took a visit to Notre Dame and La Seine. We were quite fortunate to have gone at the same time as Mass at the cathedral, and I was very excited that I got to hear the church organ during the service. Talk about resonance! I'm not sure a bad sound could emerge from that building. The acoustics carried the sound like nothing I had ever heard before. Afterwards, we took a stroll along the river and watched some street performers on Le Pont des Arts bridge. And just like that, our week together was nearly over! On Sunday, we returned back to Nice where we had a picnic snack at the top of the château next to the waterfall, walked around Vieille Ville, and enjoyed a lovely Niçois dinner at Le Bistro Jennifer. I am so grateful and lucky to have spent a week with someone I care very deeply about :)
Now, it's back to the reality of finishing up my semester of school and seeing what other adventures this exchange has in store before it comes to an end!
3 Comments
morgan's favorite aunt
3/29/2018 05:51:06 pm
Wow, looks divine! I wish you would have taken a shot of you guys next to those Cool Nag's! the Catacombs look very spooky, Stephen King - ish. No comment on the "princess" blurb... xo
Reply
Morgan
3/30/2018 12:56:53 am
We never even thought to get a photo next to the carriages! Someone was too busy gawking at everything ;) haha
Reply
MORGAN'S FAVORIT AUNT
4/17/2018 11:55:54 am
Tourist! what do you do eh?
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Details
Archives
February 2018
Categories
|