Well, it's been over 7 months since Jess and I have been in Europe, and I just checked back in with our blog. I have noticed we got lazy at the end and completely left out one of the most beautiful cities we visited- Paris. So now I shall briefly talk about it to conclude this blog.
The picture to the left is one of the first pictures I took in Paris, it was on the way to finding the location of a free walking tour that we wished we would have utilized more while in Europe- if anyone ever goes it's called New Europe Tours- honestly amazing. We did it in Berlin and Paris, the tour guides only get paid in tips so they are guarenteed to be good. We actually did two in Paris, one on the first day (it's always good to get a feel for the city before venturing out on your own) and one a week later to Versailles. Anyways, this picture was on day one, and wow, from the first to the last impression Paris was absolutely amazing. Walking down the historic banks of the Seine, sneaking a peak of the Eiffel Tower, walking down the Champs Elysees, seeing the luxury of the Louvre (picture on the right), the Opera Garnier, the Tuileries and the six story townhouses all perfectly proved to be exactly what I had invisioned when I had pictured Paris. It is rare to find a city that actually meets the exectations we set out for it- and Paris did it. From the streetlamps to the benches, the trees, the street vendors, the luxury shops, bikes, parks, music, food, the atmosphere of Paris I will never forget.
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| Opera Garnier at night |
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| The Invalids- Napoleon I |
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I would say one of the most magical times in Paris would be midnight (aahh yeah I know, I know, it's a movie- but come on, you all have to actually imagine it) no, we did not meet Hemingway or Fitzgerald, but we took strolls on two seperate occasions and everything is completely different. Let me say, first of all, I was surprised to find out that the Eiffel Tower actually sparkles. THIS IS NOT A MYTH. There is a light show every night at 11 pm, and I'm pretty sure me seeing that changed my life (well at least made me A LOT happier). I'm about 100% sure if I were PMSing at that moment I would have started to bawl. It was that magical. One of those 'I'm-in-Paris-at-midnight-and-the-Eiffel-Tower-is-lit-up-I-couldn't-be-happier' moment's in life. I hope there are more. Also, for those of you who haven't stepped outside of North America, in the majority of European cities everything is very centrally located due to the historical context of all the important things. So that night, after we spend probably an hour staring at this iconic structure, we turned around and saw the Hotel Invalids (and if you are like me you are probably thinking- wow France, be more politically correct and don't make a building for invalid people- mean country pointing out peoples' disadvantages) buut no that's just an ignorance on our parts for the French language right there. Anyways, this is also an architectual masterpiece, and lit up at night it is about 100 times more beautiful. So after me freaking out, we have our second encounter with a rat. Apparently Paris (and all of Europe) is completely infested with these disgusting things, but we never seem to notice until it's dark and we start to hear them. So we freak out some more and finally get over ourselves and go for a walk and then our sissy friends decide they are 'tired' and 'done with Paris at night' I WISH I WOULD HAVE YELLED YOLO BUT NO DOM MEZETTI WASN'T A PART OF MY LIFE AT THIS POINT. So Jess and I hesitantly take the subway half way home until I remember my true fate- to sing with the Angel of Music. Our subway trek manages to actually stop at the station under the Opera Garnier house, so obvi we get out (Jess and I the sissies went back to the hostel) and prance around singing some Phantom of the Opera and just staring at the beauty of the building. Well YOLO was right, I cannot even describe the feeling that we had walking around and feeling the history of the place.
Okay our other midnight in Paris adventure was with Nick Jones, a wonderful male we met while touring Versailles, and actually still stay in touch with. After our Versaille adventure we decide there's no better way to stay safe in Europe then in numbers (momma taught us right) so we set out and walk to the Eiffel Tower (who doesn't want to spend another night staring at its glory) and then take a river cruise along the Seine passing by all the famous landmarks. After this we walk back down the streets taking our sweet time and embracing the atmosphere of this splendid city. Okay I'm done reminiscing for the night, I will return sometime to rant on about Paris.
PEACE AND BLESSANGS.
Rob
The picture to the left is one of the first pictures I took in Paris, it was on the way to finding the location of a free walking tour that we wished we would have utilized more while in Europe- if anyone ever goes it's called New Europe Tours- honestly amazing. We did it in Berlin and Paris, the tour guides only get paid in tips so they are guarenteed to be good. We actually did two in Paris, one on the first day (it's always good to get a feel for the city before venturing out on your own) and one a week later to Versailles. Anyways, this picture was on day one, and wow, from the first to the last impression Paris was absolutely amazing. Walking down the historic banks of the Seine, sneaking a peak of the Eiffel Tower, walking down the Champs Elysees, seeing the luxury of the Louvre (picture on the right), the Opera Garnier, the Tuileries and the six story townhouses all perfectly proved to be exactly what I had invisioned when I had pictured Paris. It is rare to find a city that actually meets the exectations we set out for it- and Paris did it. From the streetlamps to the benches, the trees, the street vendors, the luxury shops, bikes, parks, music, food, the atmosphere of Paris I will never forget. 
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