Weekend in Paris

Bonjour! As the title of this post states, I just got back from spending my last couples days in Paris. It was so much fun! I went with a small group of my friends from the States (some of whom are living in another area of France) and we visited many of the most popular tourist spots. I took photos like the ones I've seen in travel magazines and ate food like I'd never eat again!

The train station (gare) from which
we arrived in and departed from Paris.

We arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon and walked around town, between train stations until we were all together and able to head to where we were going to stay for the nights there. The place was wonderful! We had bed space enough for everyone, a small kitchen for preparing food and a dining/living area. But the best part was, there was an American style shower!! That was the first thing on my mind once we got there. So clean... =) After going out and buying groceries, we made dinner and stayed in for the night catching up with each other.

Notre Dame!

Saturday was full of touristy activities. We visited the Cathdrale de Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe all in one day. Thankfully, we had purchased RER day tickets (the RER is practically equivalent to the Chicago "L" or a metro) so getting around town was a little faster and less demanding on the feet. But it didn't save them completely. When we got back that evening, I had to soak my feet in the bathtub to get them to stop complaining. You'd think that having been a dancer, my feet would have a little more endurance. I think they're out of shape.
Sunday was great as well! We started out the morning eating the leftovers to clean out the fridge and then headed to the RER. Our first stop after stowing our bags at respective train stations was the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. That's the largest cemetery in Paris where many, many artists are buried. We found Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison and Chopin among others. After a couple hours, we went to a cafe (French!) nearby and ate lunch. Our waiter was very fun; he chatted with us as he walked by and once when we were taking a picture, he tried to show up in the background looking quite silly.

The Louvre. So much more beautiful
than I had imagined it.

The Eiffel Tower was the last place on our list for the beautiful day. Seeing all these places in person was quite amazing, and the Eiffel Tower was no less. There were quite a few people mulling about, but we got in line to go all the way to the top! While waiting in line, we were approached by a French news caster asking if we were Americans and if one of us could answer a few questions. Lauren rose to the occasion and talked to her about being an American in Europe after the travel warnings.
After about an hour in lines and elevators, we made it to the summit! The whole of Paris was spread out around us in its white stone glory. Amazing. We were at the top of the Eiffel Tower!! At this moment, I decided to call my US home and brag about my weekend. How many people can say they've gotten a call from the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France?
While at the top, we all realized that we had trains to catch within the hour. Oops! Running down the streets of Paris from the ET and racing through RER stops, we quickly said our see-you-laters and exchanged kisses (a habit picked up by all while in France). The three of us who were bound for Strasbourg created a strategy while on the RER to our luggage station (our bags were at a station one RER stop away from where our train was leaving).

The view of Paris from the summit
of the Eiffel  Tower.

MacKenzie held purses so that when Liz and I found the lockers, we wouldn't have to wait for them to go through security, and Liz and I booked it through the entire station without and with two backpacks, jackets and a duffel. We found MacKenzie back at the RER stop and had a small chance to catch our breath before it arrived at Gare de l'Est. To make a long story short (too late!), we made it to our train with 5 minutes to spare and found our seats. The ride home was much more low key, I pretended to study while napping most of the way and we chatted a bit with a French student who was sitting across the isle from us. She spoke a little English and we spoke a little French so between the four of us, we had some interesting conversations.
Back in Strasbourg, Liz's host mom was a sweetheart and met her at the station. She offered to take Kenzie and I home too so we all had fun on the drive sharing travel stories and learning how to properly say "Louvre" [LOO-vre]. À plus!