J'adore Paris

Paris is where you go to fall in love,

write your novel,
or drench yourself in art

I went to Paris this weekend! We took the Eurostar from St. Pancreas King Cross, London to Gare du Nord in Paris! We stayed at St. Christopher's hostel in the North West part of the city, and used the metro to get around. I saw the Eiffel tower at both day and night, Notre Dame, Moulin Rouge (Paris's old red-light district), Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart church), walked down Champs Elysse, and saw many paintings including the Mona Lisa in the Louvre! It was a lovely weekend!

All of us in front of the LouvreMona and I. The Mona Lisa is only around 2 (length) x 3 (width)Does this even need a caption?

Aphrodite/Venus de Milo 120BC, unknown sculptor
Me in front of the Louvre around 6pm
Us "pondering" art in the Louvre. L to R: Sebastian, Eliza, Liz, Jenna, Me
Pondering part 2!

We also explored the famous street Champes Elysse in Paris. There was a winter market at one end which had lots of food and goodies! We sampled various breads and cheeses while French Christmas music was blasted over speakers. There was even fake snow at one tent!

Liz and I at the winter market

While walking through the winter market we discovered chocolate covered strawberries which were fresh and DELICIOUS! Of course we had to split some. Liz and I also got kabobs for lunch! Yummy! It was chicken in this huuuuge pot, and this white pickle-tasting sauce came with it. It is served on a baguette and you can get a bunch of fritos, or fries, on top. They just pile so much food on! And it's all for only 7 euros! It was sooo good, but sooo big too. Too big -- I couldn't finish mine!

The giant pans our kabobs were made in. Left: onions. Right: chicken
Doesn't look appetizing, but it smelled SO GOOD!

Liz and I with our foot long kabobs!
The final product! (They added fritos/fries on top!)

Sheila and I also got chocolate covered strawberries... oh I already miss them!

We visited Notre Dame on Friday. The building isn't as tall as I expected, but it is very beautiful inside and we were able to take pictures! It was really exiciting to actually see THE Notre Dame! It was built in the 1300s and still remains today! It has a Gothic Catholic style.

All of us in front of Notre Dame.
L to R: Jackie, Jenna, Me, Becky, Eliza, Jill, Sheila and Liz
Inside Notre Dame
Me in front of Notre Dame

We also visited Moulin Rouge, which used to be the center of the red light district in Paris. It was right next to a tube stop and easy to find. There are burlesque dancers there, and we could have seen a show for 80 euros. However, none of us wanted to spend that much money on dinner and a show, so instead we just posed and took our own pictures and created our own show outside the building!

Moulin Rouge
Us in front of Moulin Rouge... we did lots of poses.

We also climbed the eiffle tower. That is 670 steps! I was completely out of breath by the time we reached the top, but moving kept me warm. It was SO COLD at the top of the tower! The views were incredible but it was very windy. My eyes were watering because my contacts were so bothered by the wind. It was worth it though!

Eiffle Tower at night
Me on top of the tower, wishing I had a hat.
View from the top
On the second highest floor of the E. tower

On Saturday night we went out to dinner to a restaurant on Champs Elysse. It was called Chez Clement and the food was so good. I had sausage and mashed potatoes and a glass of red wine. Yum!

Chez Clement
My salad. There was apple in it!
My dinner
All of us enjoying dinner

We also visited Sacre Coeur, or Sacred Heart. It is also known as the "Onion Building" because of the shape of the roof. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside. However, I did take a picture of the beautiful views I saw after climbing the stairs!

Sacre Coeur
A MIME! On the stairs on the way up.

Me at the top