My life as a Parisian tour guide

Last week flew by. After having Monday off, it turned out that the trip on Friday was optional, a.k.a. I got a ticket to Paris a day earlier. This is where things got a little interesting. I had to somehow meet up with people who were coming in from London, when none of them had phones. After sending a couple of "FYI" and "GET A HOLD OF ME NOW" emails, I was able to get a response and set up a meeting time at noon at the Paris Nord train station.

I arrived three hours earlier, so I took the morning and went into town. I headed straight for Marais, my old neighborhood. I walked by the MIJE, picked up a quiche lorraine from Manon, and went to enjoy my breakfast at the Notre Dame. Since it was so early in the morning I was able to sit inside (sans beaucoup de touristes) and just take in the beauty of the church.

Third Floor, Middle Window. Mine. 

Notre Dame

Meeting up went a lot more smoothly than planned. We went immediately to the hostel, checked in, and off we were to explore Paris. Let me start out by saying, we accomplished a lot more than I thought humanly possible, but our feet definitely suffered because of it.

On day 1 we saw: Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, the Montmartre neighborhood, Notre Dame, Louvre (outside of it), the Tuilleries Gardens, Concorde, Arc de Triomphe (from a far, from Concorde), the Petit Palais & Grand Palais (walked by), les Invalides (again, walked by), and the Eiffel Tower + Champs de Mars (while enjoying pastries and a bottle of wine!). I literally showed them all of the highlights in one day. (Now considering becoming a Parisian tour guide.)

Quiche Lorraine at the Eiffel Tower

This picture makes me smile. :)

On day 2: The Catacombs, and climbed up the Arc de Triomphe.

Never ending maze of bones underground.

On day 3: The Louvre and climbed up the Eiffel Tower.

The Mona Lisa

Can't you tell we got a little worn out after day 1? I just wanted to make sure they saw it all!!!!

So originally I was supposed to leave the night of day 3. That didn't happen. I stayed one more night and left around lunch time on day 4. This made things a little interesting since I had to be in a suit meeting up with my study abroad group at 2 PM. Thanks to the best roommate ever this was made possible though. She met me at the train station with my suit + heels + passport.

I was so sad to leave Paris. My friends were off to Germany and I headed back 'home' to Belgium. Ready to tackle another week of school, keeping in mind that I am returning to Paris in 2 weeks. But before that happens, I will be hitting up Croatia for the weekend!!!