Bonjour and welcome back to my France adventures part doux…Did you miss me? Shh yeah I know you did.

Ok I don’t want to keep you at the edge of you seats for much longer so here is my Parisian adventures…

We had just got off the bus at the hotel which we were staying at which was located in Republique which was the perfect place since it was located near everything! However not much enjoyment can be said about the room but we will leave it at that. As we all disappeared for an early night (it was like midnight already) you could tell everyone was planning their outfits for the next day….and I was no exception. After a long night sleep, a quick shower and a made up face, myself and my school were more than ready to visit the sights of PARIS and the first stop was la Lourve.

Now, as you can see, yes I did see the Mona Lisa and yes I did get a guided tour of the Lourve which was extremely quick but still amazing to see all the paintings and sculpture so the Lourve is definetly worth it…however I would advise not going as a tour group because we went past so many things and our tour guide babbled about nothing for the whole time. As we finished the Lourve, we had a cute lunch in the cafeteria and spied the many baguettes* in the room which were delicious! And soon we were off walking down the Lourve park (I’m not actually sure if it is called this but it was a park next to the Lourve so go figure! Haha). However, I forgot to mention that before that we visited the most famous bridge in Paris, the lock bridge. It was filled with so many locks that one had section had already fallen off and replace, and another was about to because their were hundreds or even thousands of locks ranging in many sizes depending if you bought the el cheapos for those selling without a permit or proper colourful ones. I, myself, did not buy a lock as there is no second half in my life but it was still mesmerising to see the loved up couples at the bridge listening to the old man playing the accordion and locking their love onto the bridge. So really it was quite beautiful even if it made you feel incredibly lonely. Anyway, now it was back to walking down the Lourve park which was filled with green bushes, Ice cream stands, many baguettes* and other people who were lounging around on the deck chairs placed in front of the fountain. As we reached the end of the long stroll we came across the oblisqe where there were Ferraris and lambohginis parked as well as stands set up for the Bastille day celebrations. I also forgot to mention that our mode of transport was by the metro, which is like the subway of Paris. We were told on the very first day in Paris to keep our bags close to use since there were so many pick-pockets, luckily I did not have the experience of being pickpocketed… but some people were not that lucky.

Side note: If you are looking to travel to Paris here is my guide to spotting a pick-pocket.

1. They will try and get you to sign very old sheets of paper

2.   They look poor and trying to get money

3.  They have children with them while they are asking you for something (i.e. a picture of them when they are obviously not tourists)

4. They will try and sell you things

5. JUST WATCH YOUR BAGS OK!

And there you have it, the unofficial guide of avoiding and spotting a pickpocket *ting*

Anyway back to the story...well the pictures anyway…

Still on the Monday (which was our first day in Paris), we visited the famous church called Sacre Ceour, where you have to climb a thousand steps since it was on a hill, but it was totally worth it because both the church, view and baguettes* were amazing. So we spent the rest of the day here and I did most of my souvenir shopping and touring around this cute cobbled section of Paris.

I feel like now is a good place to mention the food of Paris. Our school had already planned where we were eating which was at “traditional Parisian” restaurants which was odd for on the first night we went to a seafood restaurant and got pork, second night was Italian and we got a curry rice, third night was seafood but we got chicken, and last night….well that was a disaster… Still even though we couldn't choose what we wanted to eat the atmosphere and the food of the restaurant was delicious and amazing because it was always cool to see what you would get for the entrée or deserts since we actually had no idea.

Tuesday was an early start as we were taken on a bus tour around all of Paris, getting glimpses of the Arc de Triumph, Champs Elysees, military schools, palaces, parks and the Parisian atmosphere. It was a short quick tour but completely worth it as we finished on the Eiffel tower. Yes, today was the day that we climbed the Eiffel Tower (and by climb I mean take the lift up to the top). The place was packed since it was around 11am but thank god we were in a group because literally in any place we went we were able to speed past the line. We went up to the second floor which is the main observation deck…but if you are feeling incredibly fancy there is a very expensive restaurant on the first “floor” of the Eiffel Tower. The view is really hard to describe in one word because you got a panoramic view of all of Paris that left you in awe everywhere you looked… not to mention the baguettes*. Our French teacher thought ‘hey, why don’t we all go to the very top’ and so we did (my story telling is genius haha) and as we reached the very top you could literally see all the shapes of Paris.

On the Wednesday we visited Notre Dame, Arc de Triumph and walked along the Champs Elysees which we should all know by now that it is the most popular street of Paris for it is filled with so many shops. The Notre Dame is mesmerising, we got to climb the bell tower (another leg workout) all the way to the very top which gave another beautiful view of Paris. We saw the gargoyles that Notre Dame is famous for as well as the place where Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame lived. We also got to go inside the massive cathedral where my friend Nadia and I were hit with awe, it was that beautiful! We were also very lucky that there was like a choir rehearsing so they used the giant organ and the whole experience was very melodic. I loved it!

We then ventured to the Arc de triumph and Champs Elysees which are in the same place. The Arch de Triumph is beautiful and really big, it also has a tomb of the unknown solider which I didn’t even know there was a tomb there so there’s a fun fact. The Champs Elysees was also massive filled with soo many shops and baguettes*, but obviously my first stop was Pierre Herme and Laduree to be finally reunited with my Macaroons (Pronounced macarOn!!!) and raspberry tarts mmmm! Paris has the best food, if you don’t want to go to Paris for the sights, do it for the food wow.

As it was finally Thursday which was our second last day in Paris, we made a trip to the Chateau de Versailles (King Louis Palace) which has to be my favourite place on earth right now. It is so stunning. It took us forever to get there since we got lost but when we did we were taken on a private tour of the kings chambers which are not actually in the main part of Versaille that is open to everyone (see there is a bonus of being in a group). Everything was shiny and embroided in floral prints with pinks, blues and well,  gold. We also saw Marie Antoinette’s dining room, bedroom, the massive church within Versaille, and the Kimye engagement party place. But as that tour was done we were left to wander around the public part of the palace and the main part which is jaw dropping, and consists of the famous hall of mirrors which is filled with chandeliers. As we finished the palace we ventured off to the gardens for a cute lunch where I was craving a cheeseburger and I was not disappointed for it was gourmet and heaven! Mmmm

We also went on the Sienne River cruise which was so amazing and probably the perfect way to end our last night in Paris because we would wave at the French people having picnics on the banks  as we went passed on the boat, not to mention we got the best view of the Eiffle Tower at night.

Friday came so quickly and none of us were ready to leave, so thank god our flight wasn't until 9:30pm. To kill time our group went to catacombs and waited in line for two hours to see skulls and bones…which I’m not complaining about because there were baguettes* there which kinda made up for the waiting. As we got to the undergrounds, it got colder and a little muddy but the rows and rows of skulls kinda took your breath away and made you think about life and the people of the past (wow, getting a little deep there Sophia…). Anyway when we finished the Catacombs we split into two groups, one that went shopping and one that went to Musee de Orsay, an impressionist museum made from an old train station. I think its pretty obvious which one I picked…haha no it wasn’t the shopping. We were in a rush since it was already 2 and we had to be at the hotel to go to the airport at 4:30pm. Thank god that children were free and our French teacher already told that only a small group was coming so we got let in pretty quickly. We had lunch and started at the very end of the museum since it was kinda set out like a time line of the impressionists. If you don’t know who the impressionists were they were artists like Monet, Manet, Devy, Van Gough etc. I was so excited because I had always wanted to see Monet’s ‘Water Lillies’ and Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ and his famous self-portraits without the ear. Which I did get to see! (sorry I wasn't allowed to take pictures).

Time crept on us really quickly and by 4:20 we realized we had to get back to the hotel…so we quickly jumped on the closest metro and we arrived back at 5:00…oops haha. Anyway, we went to airport, and Paris airport, or the one we went to is quite the lovely one with all these very expensive and very famous stores like Burberry and Laduree…too bad we were late and had to board. As it has been previously established, I loathe flying. I struggled so much on the flight home for I wouldn’t eat because everything made me nauseous, I didn’t want to vomit because I have a fear for it and when I almost did I got really upset and hyperventilated which was actually how I discovered I have anxiety over vomiting. I also didn’t want to vomit because from Singapore to Brisbane there was an attractive boy behind me and how unattractive would gagging look. Anyway, I was very glad to come home and sleep for 2 days…which is exactly what I did ahah.

France was probably the best experience of my life and I still can’t believe I was there. I’m still dreaming of the sights and the baguettes* and the food. If anyone is in doubt of going anywhere in France…what is wrong with you, it is mesmerizing and I still haven’t been to all of France, including Cannes yet!

Thank you for reading!

I hope you enjoyed this two part story on my adventures to France, I tried to include as much as possible but knowing me I probably forgot a lot. Leave in the comments what your favourite holiday has been because I think I have become a travel junkie…minus the flying, I mean why can’t we just teleport there!

Love ya

Sophia!

Xx

Ps. You probably noticed the word Baguette*, this refers to the beautiful boys of Paris, so if you were confused as to why I loved baguettes so much well hopefully this cleared it up. Hahah

Currently Listening: Bubble Wrap by Mcfly

Currently Loving: Macarons, The Mistletoe Bride by Kate Moss (Not the model...) and Divergent (Both book and movie)