No Toast, No Fries, No Manicures... Just Good Times in Paris

This past weekend marks my first expedition into uncharted territory - mainland Europe! Paris to be exact. I'd only been on either side of this area until last Thursday - United Kingdom and Russia, and was so excited I got to experience the city with Eric, Adriane, and Emily, friends studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh (where I visited last weekend). I met up with all three at St. Pancras International Terminal on Thursday night, where we caught the Eurostar train from London to Paris. I was a little nervouse because I was in a different coach than my traveling buddies, but got off at the right stop and settled with them into our adorable bed and breakfast in Vitry sur Seine. The room came complete with a few films that deal with Paris in some way: Moulin Rouge, Ratatouille, the Da Vinci Code, among others. We didn't really watch any of them while we were there, but the idea was cute!

Following Eric, Adriane, and Emily up the many steps to Sacre Coeur

The next day was nothing short of a whirlwind. The four of us got up fairly early and started the day off well with a French breakfast - crossaints, baguettes, tea, and toast with marmalade jam. We then bought a Metro Pass and from there the day really started going. First we visited Pere Lachaise, the cemetary where famous names like Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, and Camille Pisarro are laid to rest. After that we travelled to the Montmatre area, which is known as an art disctrict as well as the location of the actual Moulin Rouge. Also in this area is the Sacre Coeur cathedral, sitting on top of a hill that provides a beautiful view of the city of Paris. Once again, we were incredibly fortunate to have a clear day and relatively warm weather, which was perfect because that day was our day to see the any of the views that Paris could afford to spare. We also ate amazing "French food" - banana nutella crepes and hot dog chaude (which translates literally into hot hot dog). Once we had our fill of that area, we took the Metro to the Champs-Elysees, where we snapped photos of the Arc du Triomphe.

The Metro system in Paris was really easy to adjust to, since I use the London Underground practically every day when I'm going to school. It's an identical system, just in a language I don't understand. It was helpful to have Eric there, as he took French in high school and has traveled to Paris before. He was such a good tour guide slash travel agent and us three girls were very lucky to have him with us. After the Arc du Triomphe, Eric and I snuck into the Musee d'Orsay to see some great Impressionist works, and then after that the four of us closed the night out with a trip to the Louvre, which is free for students on Friday nights. We got really lucky with the timing of our trip because the first weekend of every month in Paris gives students and visitors tons of discounts on things to do in the area, so we were able to save money and still see some of the basic trademarks of the Parisian lifestyle. I can only put so many pictures on my blog, so for those of you that want to see some of these sites, you'll have to wait till I have the patience to upload them onto Facebook.

I fell in love with a Banana-Nutella Crepe. It was a short-lived romance.

Suffice it to say, by the end of our Friday night in Paris, we were pooped. Our legs were about to fall off and our energy had been spent in what could almost be called a "Paris-in-a-day-Tour." You'd think this would cause us to take a lazy day on Saturday...

The gang in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland Paris!

And you would be wrong. Disneyland Paris it was! We went to the two main parks of Disneyland Paris for as much as we could pack in. Disneyland Paris is similar to Disneyland in California in a lot of ways, so it was familiar enough that we knew how to structure our time... but there were some pretty awesome differences. Their Fantasyland, for example, is bomb. They have a walk through Alice and Wonderland "Curious Labryinth" and the Sleeping Beauty castle allows you to go up one level and see the story of Sleeping Beauty played out in stained glass windows. Also, they have a lot more legitimate roller coasters in the actual Disneyland park. While they had Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, and an Indiana Jones ride, all of the rides were way more intense, and most of them went upside down. Definitely not targeted towards the younger kids! I was pleased to find that I prefer the Indiana Jones ride back home much much more than the one in Disneyland Paris. My favorite ride of the day would have to have been... Crush's Coaster from the Walt Disney Studio side park (an equivalent to California Adventure back home). It was surprisingly wild and fun where you didn't expect it to be, and I really liked that!

The weather did finally catch up to us on Saturday, as it drizzled off and on while we were at Disneyland. Somehow the other three had enough energy after all that we'd done the previous two days to go clubbing at a Paris nightclub. I don't know how they did it, but I decided to spend my time relaxing in the bed and breakfast, falling asleep somewhere around 2am. A great way to end what had been previously a mad dash across the city of Paris.

A shot of the back entrance to Versailles.

Sunday the gang slept in a little bit and then made a quick visit to Versailles before Emily had to leave to get back to Edinburgh in time for Monday class. The palace was beautiful, but we definitely came at the wrong time of year - while the interiors were beautiful as ever, the gardens were pretty barren and the fountains weren't working. The bright side is, we got in for free yet again, and the weather didn't interfere with our pictures too badly!

Sunday night was also spectacular because I finally got to meet up with Makini, a friend in Screenwriting with me back home at USC. She's studying abroad in Paris this semester, and the past few days had been disappointing because we were having trouble getting a hold of each other to hang out. Finally I figured out how to call her on my phone, and Eric, Adriane, and I met up with Makini for dinner in the Latin Quarter near Notre Dame. We took pictures by the Eiffel Tower that night, and then returned to the Latin Quarter the next day to actually go into Notre Dame.

Which puts us to Monday morning, the last day in the wonderful city of Paris. After Notre Dame we went over to the Opera House, the location that inspired Gaston Leroux to write the Phantom of the Opera. That was the end of our Parisian adventures - I took my baguette to go with me on the return journey to London, and said au revoir to Paris!

Makini, Adriane, and I in front of the Opera House.

And now, hola to Madrid and Barcelona!