This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to one of the cities I have dreamed about for as long as I can remember – Paris, France! Paris was everything I imagined it would be and more.
I arrived in Paris at about 9 in the morning on Friday. We immediately went to our AirBnb which could not be in a more perfect location; it was in the Trocadero neighborhood, which is right across the Seine River in front of the Eiffel Tower. Because of our proximity to the Eiffel Tower, we could not wait to see it so it was our first stop. Walking towards the tower was an indescribable feeling – from seeing it in pictures and television from when I was young, to finally seeing it in person, right in front of me, felt unreal. Realizing we had yet to eat breakfast, we decided to stop at a romantic little Parisian restaurant across the street where we had the classic French breakfast filled with lots of croissants, baguettes, butter, fresh jam, coffee, and juice. The hype over the French croissants is so real. It was better than any croissant I had ever eaten – just the perfect amount of buttery and flaky.
After the Eiffel Tower, we walked to the Arc de Triomph which was only about 20 minutes away. Passing by the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona all the time, it was cool to see how the one in Paris compares to the one in Barcelona. Although the same structure, the color and design of each are so different and fit the vibe of the different cities. For example, putting Barcelona’s brown Arc de Triomf in Paris would look SO out of place, and vice versa.
Next to the Arc is the iconic Champs de Elysse street, lined with infinite shops and restaurants (kind of like Paris’s version of Barcelona’s Las Ramblas). We wandered around the stores, wishing we could afford that 6,000 euro watch from Cartier. Paris is for dreaming, right?!
After dinner and more croissants, we decided to explore Paris’ nightlife by checking out the Oberkampf and Bastille neighborhoods. The nightlife scene in these districts was a very unique, “underground” vibe. However, Parisians also LOVE their Spanish music, so we ended our night dancing at a club to the same songs we would hear in Barcelona.
On Saturday, we spent the majority of our day at the Louvre museum. Pro-tip: if you show a copy of your EU student visa, entry is free! We marveled at all different works of art, from the Ancient Greeks to Egyptians to the Mona Lisa (which is way smaller in person than I ever imagined it would be!). Afterwards, we took the metro to the Notre Dame Cathedral where we marveled at its beauty and French Gothic architecture, while munching on delicious warm Nutella-coconut crepes. Saturday night we went back to the Eiffel Tower, but this time we squeezed on a crowded elevator which brought us to the very top. Seeing Paris from the top of the tower at night felt like an absolute dream and the view was incredible.
Since our flight back to Barcelona was in the early afternoon on Sunday, we had just enough time to squeeze in one last tourist activity in Paris, so we decided to visit the Sacre Couer Basilica. The basilica sits at the top of Montmarte Hill which is the highest point in the city. We could have taken a funicular to the top, however being the cheap travelers we are, we decided to climb the stairs to the top. Although we were out of breath, the views at the top were fantastic and well worth the hike. Before making our way back to Orly airport, we explored the Montmarte neighborhood as we made our way down the hill, and picked up some macaroons while we were at it. It was a sweet ending to a dreamy trip in the city of love. Je t’aime Paris, until next time xoxo
