We'll Always Have Paris

Today is the first of multiple Travel Tuesday posts from the fabled Eurotrip 2012, and it only seemed fitting to kick this off in the city that kicked off our trip: Paris!

For those of you that are new around these parts, when I studied abroad in London I went to a real British school (not a British campus of an American school), and the way they do things over there is that they give you the entire month of April off. To "study for exams." So, obviously, a couple of friends and I spent three weeks of that month backpacking through Europe. Obviously.

Paris was our first stop. We were overflowing with excitement. We were happy, naive and uninjured, with a fair amount of money still in our pockets, clean clothes neatly folded in our backpacks, and ready to eat ALL the cheese and ALL the bread!

But that ended pretty quick. Our plans to take the train to our next stop were ruined by Easter weekend, and we were then royally scammed by a budget airline that was suddenly not so budget. Couple that awfulness with the fact that I was smacked in the face by a metro turnstile door on our last night, and you get an enraged, bitter girl with a giant bruise on her forehead who is chomping at the bit to get the holy hell out of Paris.

So, while my lasting impression of Paris is tainted by a whole lot of suck, it was a very enjoyable stop on our trip, though not my favorite. The city, to me, felt kind of aloof and unwelcoming and pretentious. However, nothing quite prepares you for that view of the Eiffel Tower. It's majestic, I swear. And we climbed every stair up that sucker! Did YOU know it glitters at night?! And Versailles was pretty insane, and walking through the Louvre was something special. And, of course, Notre Dame, and the Arc de Triomphe, and the Moulin Rouge, and the Sacre Coeur, and Napoleon's tomb... And the crepes. And the bread. And the cheese. Wow.

Paris also gave me one of my favorite travel memories ever. We were walking by the shops near the Louvre, and we passed a street artist with amazing sketches of various objects and animals morphing into the Eiffel Tower, like this:


I was instantly obsessed, but for some reason I decided not to buy one. I regretted it instantly and spent the entire next day kicking myself... until we happened past the same spot the next night, and found the same artist. He didn't have any sketches like that left, though, and I told him how sad I was and how much I adored them. His response? In lots of miming and broken English...

"Come back in an hour."

So we spent some time in the Louvre, and when we returned, he had four sketches waiting for me. Between Amanda and myself, we bought three of them. I honestly treasure that sketch and this memory, and I hope I adequately expressed my gratitude to that man!

The Eiffel Tower
The Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles
The gardens of Versailles
Paris
The Louvre
The Louvre
The Louvre
Climbing the Eiffel Tower
The view from the Eiffel Tower
Messages written at the top of the Eiffel Tower
Our signatures on top of the Eiffel Tower
Paris
Love locks in Paris
The Louvre
Paris
The boulevards in Paris
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Moulin Rouge
Sacre Coeur
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower at night
Napoleon's tomb

And, last but not least, there were several photos taken in Paris that became a must-do in every other city on the trip: 1) throwing up the U (duh), 2) Amanda picking me up, and 3) jumping pictures. So here's the first installment of what became our obligatory trip photos!

(Not our best jumping picture. But it was only our first city. You'll get to watch us progressively improve as the trip continues!)

For my original post on this stop on our trip, click here!

Travel Tuesday

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18 comments :

  1. Great you got the sketches in the end. They're lovely indeed and so are your pictures! I've never been to Paris (except for Eurodisney) and I'm probably the only one in the whole travel blogging world who hasn't been there but well, one day.... ;) Thanks for linking up with us again!

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    1. Thanks so much! I'd definitely say Paris is worth a trip, but I wouldn't say it changed my life. Eurodisney must've been awesome!

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  2. Man, those jumping pictures really did get exponentially better as the trip went on.

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    1. LOL, they really did! Though I do sort of love that one in all it's awkwardness. :D

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  3. So glad you were able to get those sketches.....and so sorry there was so much suck from that stop..but glad you do have some great memories...

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    1. Thanks, I'm so glad I got them too! :) Hey, at least sucky stories make for some great stories in retrospect!

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  4. Ah great post! I also have mixed feelings about Paris. I love the essence of the town, it's historical and gorgeous. Like an open air museum. However I also find it a bit pretentious and a lot dirty! I would NEVER live in Paris, gosh no! It sounds like you had such a terrible experiences - glad you enjoyed some art, the eiffel tower and versailles (sadly I never made it out there, next time!). I'm also a big fan of the food :)

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    1. I COMPLETELY agree! Paris and I just did not jive. It felt very fake, like a theme park. But then if you wandered too far off the boulevards, the streets were tiny and cramped and SO confusing to navigate! It's very strange. Versailles was cool to see, but so overwhelmingly gaudy that it was almost a bit excessive, lol. Idk. Definitely worth the trip, but I don't really have a desire to go back.

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  5. Paris in the springtime is just so beautiful!

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    1. It really is! We went in April so there was plenty of green and flowers!

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  6. I think I have a lot of the same pics from my trip to Paris! I love that you got a month off and spent 3 weeks traveling - the best! ;)

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    1. Haha, it definitely was the best! It was kind of rough to have to come back and buckle down again in May, but wow was that trip an excellent life decision!

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  7. What memories - and such beautiful photos. I'm hungering for the next city. Do I have to wait a whole week?

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    1. Haha yay, thanks! :D Unfortunately it's a weekly thing. Delayed gratification and all that, lol.

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  8. I love your pics - some are so unique and gorgeous! I have to admit, although beautiful, Paris did not fully live up to my expectations. I'm so glad I was able to visit and see the sights though. Such a gorgeous city!

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    1. Thanks girl! :D I completely agree, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels like Paris left a little something to be desired. Definitely worth the trip, though!

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  9. For me, I had an almost opposite experience of Paris. I thought I was going to be turned off by it being touristy etc, but I fell in love. Obviously, London is a pretty cool place to live but I love Paris. x

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    1. Ooh, I'm glad it exceeded your expectations! :)

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