Paris!!

  Paris, Île-de-France, France
Sunday, August 17, 2008

Hey Guys!! I'm back in Madrid! After 15 days of traveling to 9 cities in 5 countries, I'm exhausted. The combination of walking, getting lost, and climbing monuments like the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame, and the hill to the castle in Budapest made the trip feel more like an endless workout on a stairmaster. But it was AMAZING!! So cool to see all these places in Europe I've heard about all my life. Best of all, I did it on budget!

First stop: PARIS! Paris exceeded my expectations, what a great city! I spent three full days there, just enough to see all the sights.

Here's a view of the city from the banks of the Seine River.


Me inside the Louvre! Even though I've seen it so many times in movies and in books, it's an otherworldly experience to see it in person.


The Louvre at night.


The Saint Chapelle church, built in 1242 and part of the Palais de Cite, residence and seat of royal power from the 10th-14th century, boasts incredible stained glass windows.


Right across from the Saint Chapelle is the Conciergerie, which housed many prisoners of the state, including Marie Antoinette in the 1790's. I got to see her prison cell, the last place she slept before getting her head chopped off.


Paris is full of historical buildings.


The Musee de Orsay. A dream come true for me. It houses some of the greatest works of the 19th century, Sisley, Degas, Manet, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, and more!


Another must-see on my list, La Maison du Chocolat, the ultimate French chocolatier.


Unfortunately, I couldn't bring any back for you guys, so you'll just get to see what I ate. My favorite was a dark chocolate with mint ganache. The mint inside actually tasted like fresh mint, not peppermint. Yummy.


I also went to Napoleon's tomb, which was kinda anticlimactic. Just a big red stone coffin, nothing much to see.

Versailles. There were too many people there, which ruined it a bit for me, but it was still very impressive.


The famous Hall of Mirrors.


The Notre Dame.


Want buns of steel? A good way to do it is to climb up the Notre Dame. Here's the view from the top, made the climb well worth it.


One of the nicest parts of Paris was the riverbank of the Seine. The city put in sandboxes with lounge chairs and umbrellas for people to relax and enjoy the summer.


In northern Paris lies the Montmartre district, where the movie Amelie was filmed. There's also the Sacre Coeur, a beautiful church. By the time I got there, my feet hurt so much that I couldn't really explore the district.


Oh, and not to forget, the Eiffel Tower. Like the Louvre, it was really amazing.


Ok guys, check back later for pics of Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Salzburg, and Vienna!