La Ville des Lumières

Paris.

Nearly a month ago (I'm a little behind on my blogging), Emily and I travelled to Paris with her study abroad program. We took the 3 hour TGV from Grenoble and stayed in a rather nice hotel by Place de la Bastille, where the infamous Bastille used to stand--now there's just a monument. We were only there for a weekend, which was NOT enough time for such a large, interesting, amazing, and historical city, but Emily says we are going back at the end of the semester. I can't wait!

We had 3 tours that Emily's program director organized for us- one of the Bastille area, one which showed many areas that were significant to the Revolution, and one of the Garnier Opera House (where the Phantom lived o.O ). She also got everyone tickets to see an interpretation of "Around the World in 80 Days" in French. The rest of our time there was spent visiting some of the major sites- the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, Montmarte, the Moulin Rouge, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées, and the Catacombs. We also saw the outside of the Louvre, but didn't have time to go in. When we go back, Emily says we have to see some Impressionist Art and visit Versailles.

 

There really are too many things to see. And Paris is such a lovely place! It's a big city, but cozy. It's lively. It's romantic. It's French, but also international. There's so much to be discovered.The people there were not rude or snobby like many Americans think. But perhaps they were more relaxed because it was the weekend...

(Opera House)