I did not plan on this trip to Paris. Josh’s family was spending the weekend there as the conclusion to their London visit, and had invited me along months before. I turned them down numerous times due to the busy schedule I had in November. However, the discovery of relatively low airfare and the cancellation of one of my classes soon changed my mind. So on an impulse I bought a ticket and left for France almost immediately after Rosanne had departed for the States.
It was Thanksgiving morning and I had to wake up before the crack of dawn to take a train to Pisa in order to catch my 8am flight. I landed safely in Paris and took a taxi to meet Josh and the Dees at the hotel around noon. His mom, dad, grandmother and sister were all there to meet me.
Because of the transportation strikes we headed out on foot walking most of the city, seeing the major sights along the river. We walked past the Louvre, the Grand Palais, the Champs-Elysees, and the Arc de Triumph climbing all the way to the top. We ended the day at the Eiffel Tower just as it was getting dark. Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night was one of the highlights of the trip. We climbed to the top floor to see wonderful views of the City of Lights. It was absolutely spectacular. That evening we went out to dinner and after headed back to the hotel. It was wonderful to spend Thanksgiving with friendly faces from back home, and the Dees certainly are a fun group.
The next morning we woke up and headed to the Louvre. We made our way immediately to see the Mona Lisa. It was much smaller than I thought it would be, but still very beautiful. Afterwards, Josh and I took a tour through the Napoleon Apartments and exhibits featuring the Northern Artists. We saw some Ruebens and other Dutch painters, concluding our tour with another DaVinci Code moment by the pyramids.
After the Louvre we walked towards Notre Dame, where we ate delicious French crepes. Last we headed to the Musee D’Orsay. I love the Orsay. Its halls are filled with works by all the major Impressionist artists. Although we arrived just before closing and had to take a quick tour through, I was happy to see the pieces by Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, and Renoir—some of my favorites.
Saturday, our final day we headed up to Monte Marte a beautiful cathedral at the top a steep hill. Street performers and artists were scattered around the streets of a quaint little neighborhood surrounding the church. We spent most of the afternoon there enjoying the beautiful weather. I had French onion soup for lunch and Josh had his picture taken with a snowman (check out my photos. It’s a funny pic).
That late afternoon I said goodbye to the Dees who were taking a train back to London in order to catch their flight home the next day. After I met up with Jacque, a friend from GW, who was kind enough to let me bunk with her my final night in Paris. That evening we went out to dinner with some of her friends from school in the Latin Corner at this great sidewalk café/restaurant right by Notre Dame. The food was great and her friends were very nice. The next morning I again woke up before dawn to catch a bus to Beauvais Airport to fly home.
I spent an absolutely perfect weekend in Paris. I was worried about the transportation strikes but everything cleared up and was back to normal by Saturday morning. It was great seeing Jacque and of course spending time with the Dees.
No comments:
Post a Comment