City of Lights

Ahhh PARIS. I have heard so many things about Paris, but never traveled there before. But no body told me that everything there seems to glitter and shine. Maybe its just me. But Paris is BEAUTIFUL. There was so much to see and do there! When first arriving via Air France at 6:15am I was excited but a bit on the drowsy side, considering the time difference. I part of me would have appreciated a quick refreshing nap to prepare myself. But no, I was shortly transported directly into the city, which I am now very glad for. It was with my first sighting of the immaculate Eiffel Tower that my eyes immediately widened. I stepped off the bus and turned a simple 180 degrees only to face the Notre Dame itself. The Notre Dame- you've seen it I'm sure, maybe drawn out by Disney or in history books in french class... but like I have? That's the way to see some thing. So some fellow travelers and I ventured across the street for our first photo opp. We went in and glared at the glorious stained glass and architecture. We still had a few hours before meeting up with the rest of our Contiki family back at the hotel so we grabbed some lunch at the Le Petite Pont right by the river and enjoyed the local cuisine. Shortly after we made our way over to the hotel to meet our roommates and get settled. Mine was the lovely Miss Erika Starr. What a way to start a trip! I can't lie and say I wasn't a bit nervous about rooming with a total stranger, but after a simple introduction with Erika my nerves were soon settled.

We then freshened up and headed out for a night out! We jumped on our coach and headed out to eat and then the final destination: Tower de Eiffel. yeah.


Man that thing is TALL. I can't think of a time when I have felt so small. We arrived at the perfect time as we were able to watch the sun set just at we reached the top of the tower. I'm not even lying! It was quite romantic. Then as we began to make our way back down the tower the lights came on. The tourist in me could not be suppressed any longer at the sight of this. So I said it- "Oh my Gawdd" (damn RI accent) The way the lights were flashing made me feel like the Eiffel tower was taking pictures of us for a change. It was awe-striking. I did get made fun of for my tourist-y remark by, I assume, some locals. Meh- It was deserved, but the sight was really something.

After taking many pictures we jumped back on the coach for a brief driving tour through the city. Ryno, who I will take a second just to say is AMAZING, to say the least, was our highly esteemed tour manager. He pointed out the sights and included enjoyable commentary about everything from history to pop culture. This was extremely helpful also because we had the next day to ourselves to explore. I personally made a mental list of thinks I wanted to see the next day.

Bright and early the next day we were dropped off by the River Siene. A group of us headed toward the Louvre and Notre Dame. I jumped into a group heading toward the Louvre, luckily for us Ryno told us about the "secret entrance in the Louvre, so we pretty much walked in like we owned the place- no line, completely legal. That is where we saw the one and only Lisa. Mona Lisa. Not to mention the Venus de Milo, Madonna on the rocks and many more priceless art pieces. We could have walked around there for months! But there was so much more to see. Liz and I headed next to the Champs de Elysee for some crepes! Nutella crepes are heaven in my opinion. The day went on with an Arc and a thinker and a few other famous things, before heading back to hotel and getting ready for a dream come true for me.


That night we wine and dined at the Moulin Rouge. The show itself is beyond words and I can only tempt you with things like, pool of snakes, fancy costumes, boobs and miniature ponies. After two world wind days in the city of Lights, I couldn't wait for what was to come!