Forget everything I said about Bordeaux being a big city—Paris
is huge! I spent two whole days there, and even with the metro’s help, I didn't
get to visit everything I wanted. I started this Parisian adventure at the Arc
de Triomphe; it was an awesome site from afar, but once you get underneath it
via the underground tunnel it is absolutely awe-striking. Despite having opened
to the public in 1836, this arch maintained its impeccably intricate detail. When one looks
up from the center of the structure you are surrounded by beautifully carved
flowers all the way to the top. I also liked its location in the middle of a
huge intersection, although the access tunnel was initially hard to
find.
After the Arc de Triomphe, I took a stroll down Champs-Élysées.
If you travel to Paris without a budget, this is a very dangerous place to take
a leisure stroll. There are countless shops including: restaurants, souvenir shops,
sweet shops (especially gourmet macaroons), and all the high-end retail stores
you can imagine. While I did not purchase anything on this visit, you can rest
assured that I will return to purchase some fabulous macaroons from Ladurée.
It was then time to check into our hostel, and for any
student/teacher traveling I would highly recommend this place: BVJ Champs-Elysées Monceau. It's a
beautiful little place specifically for housing students and teachers that is
right down the road from a metro station. After checking in, I traveled
back to the Champs-Élysées area to tour the many museums of Paris. I should
mention that if you are a student at a European Union university, you can get
into all of the museums in Paris for free!
The first was the Musée
de l'Armée, or The Army Museum. Now I am not a huge fan of history, but
this museum featured military attire and weapons from all over the globe and
from many different eras. Overall, I would recommend this museum to anyone who
wants to get the French perspective and narration of the World Wars. The second
museum I visited was the Musée Rodin,
an absolutely beautiful art museum. It featured exclusively the works of
Auguste Rodin throughout an entire building, and an elegant courtyard. Probably
the most well-known sculpture here is The
Thinker, but there are many other beautiful sculptures to see here as well.
The final museum of the day was Musée
d'Orsay; again, this was a gorgeous building with lots to see. My favorite
exhibit was that of Vincent van Gogh, but the museum had everything from
paintings to sculptures—definitely my favorite museum of the day.
After the busy day of museums, my friends and I all met at
the Eiffel Tower. I hadn't been able to see it during the day, but it is
immaculate in the dark. The first five minutes of every hour the entire
structure flashes with lights. You also don’t realize how tall it actually is
until you’re standing directly underneath. It was definitely a very “touristy”
area, but it was still a wonderful ending to my first day in this beautiful
city.
