After spending a good portion of last week being stressed out about my Wake classes for next semester and our midterms this upcoming week, I decided to escape to Paris for the day on Saturday. Conveniently, I knew that my friends Molly and Carolyn and Carolyn’s friend Brittany from home would be there (who are studying in Barcelona, London, and Florence, respectively) (we're so worldly!). I found an 18 euro ticket on the TER, which isn’t quite as fast as the TGV, but I was able to get to Paris for cheap and hang out all day with some Wake friends who I probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.
I left Dijon at 5:45 a.m. (true devotion) and got to their hotel around 9:15 to meet up for breakfast. From there, we went to Musée d’Orsay, Jardin des Tuileries, and the Louvre, where I saw the Egyptian section for the first time. Even though I’ve been to these places before it was great to go with Molly and Brittany who have never been to Paris before. I got to act as a sort of guide and pretend to know my way around the city.
After the Louvre, we went to the Longchamp store (a true landmark) and then lunch at a café across from La Madeleine where we all got croque monsieurs (the grilled ham and cheese sandwiches). We walked to l’Opéra Garnier after lunch and then into Galeries Lafayette to escape the rain for a bit. The store was incredibly crowded and not much fun to walk around, but it’s decorated for Christmas now and so pretty. (They’ve been hanging lights around Centre Ville in Dijon, and I can’t wait until they start lighting them up! I forgot that they don’t have Thanksgiving here, so they don’t have the after-Thanksgiving rule, so I wonder when it’s acceptable to start blasting Mariah Carey’s Christmas CD.)
We went to the Eiffel Tower next, and it was great being with Molly and Brittany and experiencing their awe seeing it for the first time. It’s so impressive and iconic that the first time you see it, it feels like a dream. I hope I always have that feeling when I see it.
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| Pont Alexandre III |
Afternoon Nutella crèpes are always a good idea, so we stopped in a café for some hot chocolate and crèpes after the Eiffel Tower. We then walked to Les Invalides and across the Pont Alexandre III and it was time for me to get to the train station. I wish I could’ve spent the entire weekend with them in Paris, but it was great to see Molly, Carolyn, and Brittany for at least a day! Unfortunately, I had to come back today and catch up on homework and attempt to get a little ahead before I go to Florence next weekend!
À bientôt!
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