PARIS! finally

Sorry, folks. I realize I've probably been letting you down recently with my lack of posts, but here we go.

Paris. Was. AMAZING. It was probably my most anticipated trip- okay it WAS my most anticipated trip, and it certainly lived up to my expectations. I've realized at this point that I've been to enough countries in Europe to call myself a fairly-experienced traveler, and therefore deem my opinions fairly valid. I'm not an expert at this point, but I wouldn't exactly call myself a novice either, so I'm comfortable settling somewhere in the middle.

Okay. Paris. Finally. Let's just start from the beginning, shall we? I got to Paris, settled in, had the most delicious crepe of my life (ham, feta cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion), and set off to explore the city. My hostel was right in the Latin Quarter, so the first sight I set my eyes upon was the Pantheon. It was exactly what you would expect the Pantheon to look like, but so much better in person, obviously. As I was taking (probably too many) photos of the glorious building, I turned around and caught my first glimpse at the great icon of Paris: the Eiffel Tower. Woah. It was such a shock that I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing for a good 3 seconds or so. Maybe that's a little dramatic, but it's no exaggeration.

After literally losing my breath at the sight of the Eiffel Tower, we wandered around the Latin Quarter, into a Starbucks (which is apparently the best place to get coffee in Paris, go figure), crossed the Seine River, to Notre Dame. Yes, Notre Dame. The church of all churches (other than St. Peter's Basilica, of course) if you're Catholic. The sound of the church bells and the distant drumming of street performers engulfed my eardrums, and I was in heaven. We walked inside, as entrance to the church is free (my favorite word), and just happened to stumble upon mass, which was starting within 10 minutes of our arrival. Although I didn't comprehend a word of mass, as I don't speak french, I was still blown away by the feeling the it gave me. It was, ironically enough, the only mass I have been able to attend thus far, but I am so glad I did. I needed that mass so much. And thank goodness the bulletin they handed us had the readings in english. It is so powerful, though, to realize that God has no language barriers, and I was able to be part of that.

After mass, we wandered all the way across the city to the Eiffel Tower. I took about a thousand pictures, from every angle I could possibly think of, and then we settled down to watch the most spectacular light show I have ever witnessed. I don't know if it was because it was on the Eiffel Tower, or because I was in Paris, or what, but this show was better than any light show I had ever witnessed at Disney World, or otherwise (though I'm pretty sure the only other light shows I've seen have involved Mickey Mouse). Amazed with the mere 6 hours or so I had been in Paris, I enjoyed the most delicious dinner 20 or so euros could buy: avocado with vinaigrette sauce for starters, duck and roasted garlic potatoes for dinner. Needless to say, I only needed half a day to fall in love with Paris...

The next day, we opted for the FREE (that favorite word of mine) 4 hour walking tour- SO worth it. We witnessed actual bullet holes from WWII in the police institute, the world's first facebook account on pont neuf, and ile de la cite. We saw the académie française, the louvre, the opera house, the tuileries gardens. We discovered that place de la concorde, the former location of the guillotine during the revolution, means "place of peace" (Irony?). We jumped for joy in front of the arc de triomphe, and were talented enough to have captured it in a photo, saw the eternal flame of France, and finally, walked the champs elysées. By night, we walked along the most inappropriate street of my life, witnessed the lights and windmill of Moulin Rouge, and I ate the most delicious warm goat cheese salad.

On our last day in Paris, we met Mona (the Mona Lisa, that is), ate a scrumptious salmon and rice dish, admired (and bought) some street art, and finally climbed the Eiffel Tower (well, more like rode up)! Unfortunately, the top was closed, and we were only able to make it halfway (giving me yet another reason to return to Paris), but the view was still just as outstanding. And to top of the trip, we ended the day with chocolate crepes and berets.

After a missing train, the slowest taxi ride of my life, getting dropped off at the wrong terminal, having to take a shuttle to the complete opposite end of the airport, and running up several steep inclined moving walkways, we finally made it to security, on the airplane, and eventually home. In Madrid, that is.