Paris.

The first day we got off the plane at an airport located about an hour by bus north of Paris. When we first got off the plane the weather was so cold! We were very worried that we didn’t pack warm enough (since we were used to 90 degree in Spain). Sp we hope on the bus to take us into the city- these two hippy girls in combat boots helped us figure everything out, We could tell they had done this a time or two. The bus ride wasn’t long at all. We were in Paris before we knew it. The question when we got off the bus- where to now? If you know Angie at all, then you know she was super stressed out at this point- not knowing exactly where we were or how to get to the hostel. We walked over to the metro (saving about 20 Euros by not taking a taxi). We had the metro pretty figured out. We knew when stops to get on and which to get off to make it to the hostel. After a slight adventurous metro trip (or stressful in Angie’s opinion) we made it to our hostel.

The 3 ducks hostel was… interesting.  The 3 ducks hostel is rank in the top 5 most famous hostels in Europe. We got there and checked in at the front desk, which is the cash register at the bar. We got there at about noon and everyone’s rooms are locked from 11am-4pm (for cleaning) so you cannot get into your room until after four. So we checked all of our valuables at the front desk (bar) to be held safely behind the bar.. The next awesome thing I noticed was that there were flier on the bar with Buddy Holly’s picture on the front! At least we had another good-old west Texas boy staying at the hostel with us… We then put the rest of our luggage in the room called “the luggage room.” It was basically a giant room piled high with everyone in the whole hostel’s bags. Unsure if this was safe or not, we decided we had no other choice but to leave it.

We ended up leaving the hostel right away to go grab lunch. We walked down the road from the hostel and found the cutest little café. The service was unreal how slow it was (even compared to Spain-and that is saying a lot). But once we did get our food it was amazing! Everywhere in Paris is ridiculously expensive, so after paying our high check we headed off to go find everything.

The Eiffel Tower was only a 15 min walk from where we were staying, and to get there you walk down the cutest little street with tons of cafés and bakeries and shops- it was a good walk. Once we got to the Eiffel Tower we decided to do a little more exploring… on foot. Paris is a bigger city than I though, and it takes a lot out of you trying to walk everywhere.

After walking to the Eiffel tower we walked up the street all the way to Arch de Triumph.  The cold weather when we got off the plane was just a tease. The weather we SO hot by this point. I’m sure you will be able to tell from our shining faces in our pictures. We took some pictures and walked down Elyss-champ street. This street is amazing. Wonderful shopping! Don’t worry dad, we didn’t buy anything. One, because it is too expensive, and two, because we can’t stuff anything else in our backpacks!

I think my biggest issue in Paris was the communication. I didn’t think to try to use English when talking to people, but I am so used to trying to communicate in Spanish I forget that they don’t speak Spanish here- they speak French. Good thing we took 2 years of French in Middle School…. Wish I remembered some of it! I kept answering people with “Si” and then remembering that the was wrong said “Yes and then remembering that was wrong said “wee” … finally. We went to get a drink at a Pub after walking around for too long. I was craving a water and Angie wanted to order a beer. So I go up to the counter and say to the lady “Uno agua y uno cervanza por favor.” She laughed and shook her head. Me, not knowing what I had done wrong, asked if that was okay. She laughed and said “you’re an American trying to speak Spanish in a French speaking place.” That about sums up most of the communication in Paris.

After that we headed back to the hostel to rest our feet for a bit, relax, and check on our bags. Remember- we had been up since about 4 am the morning before to catch our flight. When we got back to the hostel we checked out our sheets and towers and headed into our room. Ourrrrrr room- now this could be an entire blog in its self. Our room had 8 beds (4 bunk beds), the shower was in the room, the restroom was outside (yes- like in outhouse), no air conditioner, anddddd Co-Ed. When we first walked in to our room, there was a half-naked rather larger boy sleeping in the bunk next to mind. In the bunk on the other side of mine was a really skinny boy snoring rather loudly and talking in his sleep- in French. The room smelt like dirt feet and their luggage was everywhere. There were also 3 girls from Argentina staying in our room, but we didn’t see them still the night before we left. It was a good first impression of the hostel to say the least. They guys woke up when Angie and I were putting away some of our stuff. We ended up talking to them for a while. They were actually nice, a little weird, but very nice. I guess I just don’t like sharing my room with a couple of smelly boys! But they kept to themselves and didn’t bother us- we actually hardly saw them at all after this.

We didn’t stay at the hostel too long, it’s not exactly a place that I’d choose to hang out at rather then being out in this beautiful city. So we left and went to a little market. The market had fresh fruit and all kinds of different foods! We bought a few things to have a picnic at the Eiffel Tower! Best decision ever (and we saved money). We got to the Eiffel Tower just as the sun was starting to set! It was beautiful. We spread out our little blanket in the park right in front of the Eiffel Tower and started to make ourselves the best little cheese and crackers I have ever had! You should try this at home: We had a little cracker, spread a little brie cheese on top, put a little piece of salami on top of that and then toped it off with a green olive! Amazing! Best dinner yet. We then played some cards- rummy of course. We had a bottle of French champagne and just relaxed. It was the best night ever. We sat close to some people from California. One guy had brought his guitar. He was playing the most beautiful music- it was the perfect background music for our little picnic!

The Eiffel Tower at night is amazing. When it gets dark around 10 pm, the entire thing lights up!  At about 11 pm there is a light show, where the lights just flash and it looks like a giant disco ball! I’m so glad we stayed to watch it! We didn’t stay out late. We were exhausted from out long day, so after lounging by the Tower for a while after the light show we headed back to the hostel and went to bed!

The next morning we woke up early to get a jump-start on our day! This was our last day in Paris and we still had so much to see! So we got up at 8 am, grabbed out free breakfast, and headed out the door. The first thing we did, of course, hike up to the top of the Eiffel Tower! It was quite a hike! But so worth it! The view was fantastic; you could see the entire city! They next question- how are we going to see everything else we want to see in this city with our killing our feet! So of course we got super touristy- we road the double decker tourist bus. I never thought I would be that tourist, but you know what, it was the perfect way to see everything we wanted to see! Plus, you could get on and off at anywhere you wanted and hop back on another one whenever you show it. We ended up getting off at everything and walking around and then just taking the bus to the next big thing and getting off and walking around. We took roughly a million pictures. We saw the Eiffel Tower, Norte Dame, the Louvre, Arch de Triomphe, Champs Elysees-Etoile, the Opera house,  Cham de Mars, Musee D-Orsay, Grand Palais, Trocadero,Jadins du Palais Royal, and some other stuff… We did a lot and saw a lot! It was a full day and by the end of it we were exhausted! It was a packed day of being a tourist! But we saw everything that we wanted to see! I could write about every single one of the things we did and what we saw, but then this would turn into a novel and I don’t want to bore you for that long!

We grabbed some ice cream and headed back to the hostel to try to take a shower while no one was in our room! My hair takes longer to dry so I went first. Took a quick shower (in our hostel room-like no bath room, just a shower with a curtain in the middle of the room) and as I was getting out (in my towel of course) in walks a new roommate- a nerd guy just dropping his stuff off. Now that’s an awkward greeting. He drug the conversation out far too long, Angie waiting for him to leave so she could shower, me waiting for him to leave so I could get dressed. Needless to say I’m glad our next hostel we will be in a room of just two other girls. And the rest of the time it will be just Angie and I in hotel rooms. But I guess we got the true hostel experience!

We did a little research on our trip to Rome while our hair air-dried and ended up meeting a couple of guys in the garden of the hostel. Now the only reason I’m blogging about this to guys is because it was the weirdest encounter ever. One of the guys was from LA. He was 18 and he had been traveling Europe alone for a few months. We asked if he was going to go to college and he said maybe, but what he realllllly wants to do is join the Israel army….? The other guy was from Moscow. He tried to talk politic with the other guy. He told us he was a communist. It was an interesting conversation that Angie and I decided to remove ourselves from quickly. Then we quickly left the hostel and headed back to a market to get more picnic food and head back to the Eiffel Tower. There is no better way to say bye to Paris than to sit in the park next to it with a some olives, cheese, crackers, and some wine. It was the same as the night before- perfect and relaxing. But this night we made some friends! They were the happiest people I have ever met and we had a blast with them! They shared their food with us and taught us some fun tricks that you can do with a bottle. We also took about 100 pictures (mostly jumping pictures) with them! It was entertaining to say the least. 

Again, as soon as the light show was over we headed home to try to get some sleep! I wish we could have stayed in Paris longer (like we did in Spain) to get a good feel of the culture, but there just isn’t enough time. I think we did Paris right with the little time we had there! We had a great time and made some amazing memorize that we will never forget. If you ever go to Paris, have a picnic at the Eiffel Tower (at night). It is one of the most amazing things I have ever done! We left our hostel at 5 am this morning and caught a bus to take us back to the airport. We are heading to Rome now! I will keep you updated on how Rome is!