In the morning, we woke up at 6 a.m. to travel to our next destination. We were headed to Paris! First off, we got on a bus from our hotel and were transferred to a train station. After a while wait, we got on the “Chunnel” and were on our way. Right upon arrival, we hopped on a bus and got the opportunity to see Paris while driving around. At first sight, I was not in love. The area of the bus station was very run down and the part of Paris we were in was not as beautiful as you would expect. As we continued, we ventured into the gorgeous part of Paris. It became a beautiful place filled with magnificent buildings and vibrant life. We proceeded to get off at the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was, of course, stunning, and then walked around inside and took many pictures. After Notre Dame, we went on pursuit of a ATM and stumbled across a macaron (pronounced mac-uh-RON not mac-uh-ROON) shop. I bought several macarons, but by far my favorite was the rose flavored one. It tasted exactly like eating a rose. We proceeded to find Louis, our tour guide, and headed to dinner. After dinner, we got to do exactly what we were waiting for - see the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing to see something that everyone knows about, and we had only seen in pictures. Louis planned for us to take some pictures around the Eiffel Tower, and then go on a boat tour on the Seine River. It was incredible to see all of Paris while on a boat. Everywhere along the shore there were people sitting, eating, talking, and having a good time. It was interesting to see the people that lived here in Paris, and how they were just outside relaxing on the river. After our tour, we went to the new hotel and passed out. The next day, we got on another bus tour. We were able to see all of Paris and hear a little bit about it. Later that day, we stopped our bus tour and got lunch. After this, many of our tour group had signed up to go to Versailles. Although I thoroughly regret not signing up, I was able to have some of my own exciting experiences. Once everyone left, the only people that did not sign up were myself, my friend Regan, and my new friends Faughn and Katie. This left us to explore a new city all alone. The only instruction we had was to meet at a certain place for dinner, which we later found out was on the other side of the city. We decided that we wanted to hit some souvenir shops, so that is mostly what we looked out for. Regan had been wanting to get some coffee from a coffee shop, so we stopped for that as well. Once we decided that we needed to head to dinner, we realized how long a walk it was going to be. When we finally got there, we decided that we had pretty much walked across the entire city. After dinner, we went to this extremely tall building. In Paris, many of the buildings are only a few stories tall. Despite that, there is a loan skyscraper in the city, and we went up in it. It is called the Tour Montparnasse, and it gives the most gorgeous view of the the Eiffel Tower and the city. The following day, we visited the Louvre. The Louvre is an art museum that holds the Mona Lisa and many other pieces of famous artwork. My friends and I were mainly interested in seeing the Mona Lisa, so we followed the many signs that zig-zagged all through the museum until we finally reached it. The Mona Lisa is a small painting, much smaller than expected. I would say it is in between a textbook and a backpack sized. Outside the Louvre, there are these huge triangle-shaped glass structures. They are really unique and unlike anything I had seen before. That day for lunch, we visited a local restaurant/pub. We decided we would order a typical French lunch, and they were called Croque Monsieurs. After ordering we took our lunch to the Seine River and ate on the riverfront. Once we had finished eating, Regan, Faughn, and I wanted to go up the Eiffel Tower. We had only got to see it outside before, but not actually go up inside. Walking from the river to the tower took a while, but it was definitely worth it. It was amazing to actually be inside of a building you have never dreamt of seeing in person. We were incredibly thankful for being able to spend this time in Paris, and were not ready to leave. Although we did need to go to sleep early, because it was going to be a early morning the next day!
To be continued!
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AuthorMy name is Alyssa MacDonald, and I am a senior at Dunlap High School. I will be writing about some of my exciting travels that I have been able to experience! Archives
April 2018
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