#thelouve

"There's a part of me that thinks perhaps we go on existing in a place even after we've left it."

Bonjour!

We got back from Paris late Sunday night. I don’t think any of us were ready to leave. It was an amazing weekend to say the least.

Friday we took a 3-hour train from Clermont-Ferrand to Paris and arrived around 7pm.  We went to catch a cab and Ashley walked up to a cab driver and said “Quarte?” (pronounced like ‘cat,’ which means “four” in French because there were four of us girls) and he looked at her and said “No, the dog,” and pointed to his tiny dog that was riding shotgun. Hahaha  So we were left stranded on the street because his dog wouldn’t give up his seat. We were all cracking up. The French love their dogs! They sit outside cafés while their owners have coffee, and wait patiently by the markets and grocery stores for them. None of them even use leashes. I love it. Makes me miss Jazzy.

Once we found another cab, we had a competition to see who could spot the Eiffel Tower first. We all kept looking, then all of a sudden Ashley shouted “GUYS LOOK!” It was HUGE and right in front of us! I think we all started screaming and scared the cab driver half to death.

Next we checked into Hotel Espace Champerret. It was really nice and we got a great deal on it from booking.com. (A great website to use if you’re traveling!) Ashley and I took the full bed downstairs and Yaritza and Sam took the two beds in the loft. We all got dressed up and found a sushi restaurant on the corner of our block. After dinner, we met up with the other girls from our school and went to a place called the Elysée Lounge. One of the girls had a friend who lives in Paris and he hosted us for the evening. We had a blast! It was so funny-- even though it was filled with locals, the DJ played throwback American music the entire night. Even people who didn’t speak English were singing all the words to the songs. Some of the songs they played were: “Jump Around” by House of Pain, “Miami” by Will Smith, “Walk It Out” by Soldier Boy, and “Lollipop” by Lil’ Wayne. We danced all night.

Saturday morning we took the metro to Château de Versailles. It’s a palace that is known as one of the most beautiful achievements of 18th-century French art. The palace was built by Louis XIII in the early 1600s. Later his son, Louis XIV, expanded the palace and moved the French government and court to Versailles in 1682. Each of the three kings who lived there prior to the French Revolution added improvements to make it more beautiful. The gardens and fountains were just as beautiful as the palace. Marie Antoinette also lived there! The gates were HUGE and golden-- if I can imagine what the gates of heaven look like, I think they would look similar to Versailles.

Next we went to the Eiffel Tower! It’s 10x bigger than you can ever imagine! It reminded me of my favorite story from visiting Paris with Dad, Mom, and Damian. We saw the Eiffel tower and Dad thought we could walk to it because it looked so close… 3 hours later we were still not there. Hahaha I don’t think anyone realizes how big it is until they're standing under it.

The weather in Paris was great! Goofing off, relaxing, laughing, and drinking champaign with my girlfriends was my favorite memory from Paris. It was one of those days that felt like a dream. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.

That night we had dinner at a small café and then went to see the Eiffel Tower again because it is lit up at night. (If you can’t tell, it was my favorite part of Paris!) It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life! We went around midnight and it was still crowded with people. We were told there was a light show every 20 minutes, so we waited for a few minutes and then all of a sudden it started sparkling! Of course I was the most excited because it looked just like the final episode of Sex and the City when Big is trying to find Carrie while she’s running around Paris! It looked even more beautiful in person than it did in the show. It made me really miss my mom because if you know her, you know she loves anything that sparkles… She would have loved it. I'm taking her back to see it one day.

Sunday I think we successfully walked 10 miles. We went to the famous Pont des Arts, "Lover's Lock Bridge" in Paris. You're supposed to put a lock on the bridge with you and your lovers initials on it and then throw the key in the river. It's supposed lock you and your lover together forever. I made one for Ray and I, so now I guess he's stuck with me for good. ;)

We also saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, which is one of the most famous gothic cathedrals in Europe, The Louvre, the biggest art museum in the world and home to the Mona Lisa, and also The Arc de Triomphe, a 164 –foot arch which honors those who fought and died in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Lastly we shopped up and down Champs-Élysées, which is one of the most famous streets in Paris and one of the most expensive strips of real estate in the world! It also happens to be home to one of the biggest Louis Vuitton’s in the world! Now that's when I missed Dad. Not because I wanted to shop, but because I remember window shopping up and down Champs-Élysées with him when I was younger. Needless to say, I think I could have stayed in Paris forever.

Overall it was a great weekend and I was sad to leave. We are headed to Prague next! Stay posted.