On Friday, March 22, bright and early, Monica (my roommate) and I headed to Barajas Airport to catch a Ryanair flight to PARIS!!! We met up with our friend, Jennifer, at the airport. Unfortunately, Paris wasn't as wonderful as I had hoped because I was sick with strep throat. How I contracted strep, I will never know. I hadn't had it since I was a kid. Having a 6am flight and flying the budget airline didn't help matters at all. I was exhausted by the time we landed in Paris. But we didn't actually land in Paris. Ryainair flies to Beauvais Airport which is about one and a half hours outside of Paris by bus. After paying a hefty fee for the round-trip bus ticket, it probably would have been the same price or cheaper to have flown a different airline. But OH WELL! Classic first-time-in-Europe mistakes. After getting dropped off at the bus station on the edge of Paris, finding a metro station, determining where we were and where we needed to go, many hours had passed and we were HUNGRY! And I was exhausted and in pain. Not a great combination. Thankfully, we didn't get too lost finding our hotel. The hotel was 25 Euros per person per night. Let's just say we got what we paid for. It was cheap and it showed.
After checking in, we ventured out to find food because we were HUNGRY and it was PARIS! We went to a cute restaurant a few blocks from our hotel. I forget the name but it was pretty delicious. I ordered a steak and it came with a delicious roasted tomato and yummy, hot, salty fries...or should I say frites! Unfortunately, asking for a really really well done steak results in a medium rare (at best) steak. I was so hungry that I ate it anyway, even though that pinky reddish juice grosses me out.
After lunch, Monica, Jennifer, and I did some exploring in the neighborhood. Our hotel was downhill from the Basilica of the Sacré Coeur in Montmartre, Paris' 18th arrondissement. After about a half an hour of exploring, I was done for. It was absolutely necessary for me to go back to the hotel, take my antibiotic and painkillers, and nap the afternoon/evening away. I woke up in the late evening, went out and found some food, and went straight back to bed. Meanwhile, Monica and Jennifer were out exploring Paris.
The next morning, Monica and Jennifer were mapping out exactly where they were going to go and what they were going to see that day. Since I wasn't feeling up to a bunch of exploring, I bought a ticket for a double decker tour bus. I know it's a super touristy thing to do, but it was a good idea because I got to see a lot of the city. However, I didn't really get to experience anything in depth. For example, I saw the Louvre, but I didn't go inside. Same for Notre Dame; I saw it from the outside (and it was beautiful!), but I didn't get to experience it from the inside. I'm not too upset that I didn't get to fully experience Paris because it gives me a great excuse to go back one day!
My favorite part of Paris, hands down, was the Eiffel Tower. At times, I thought the city was overrated, but I never thought that about the Eiffel Tower. It was seriously magical. After a full day of riding around in a tour bus by myself, I met up with Jen and Monica at the Eiffel Tower. I arrived a little bit early so I bought myself a nutella and strawberry crepe while I was waiting. Can you say delicious?!?! We also met up with Anie and Alexis, two friends studying abroad in the Grenoble engineering program. They took a train to Paris to see us. Jennifer, Monica, and I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower to take in the incredible view. Anie and Alexis waited for us at the bottom, because they had already been to the top in a previous trip they took to Paris.
Sunday, I didn't feel well enough to leave the hotel. The previous day had worn me out. I spent the day sleeping and watching Netflix on my iPad. Not an ideal way to spend a day in Paris, but a sick girl's gotta do what she's gotta do. I have no regrets because the next morning, we had to get up bright and early, take the metro to the bus station, take the hour and a half bus to the airport, and then catch our plane to Rome. Jennifer and I parted ways with Monica at the hotel; she was flying to Germany to meet up with her dad.
It's unfortunate that I was so sick during my first and only trip to Paris, but I know one day I will go back and experience it the right way. I'll eat all the croissants, crepes, and macarons I can dream of. I'll go to the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. I'll do all the things I wasn't able to do the first time around.
Stay tuned for Spring Break, Part Two: Rome!
