Paris: Day One

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.