J'adore Paris

I haven't written for a while because I have been so busy lately!! Over Valentine's Day weekend three of my roommates- Allyce, Kate and Beth- and I traveled to Paris. It our first big independent trip since we have been here. We left on Thursday night from Pisa and flew on Ryanair into Paris. I was nervous for Ryanair because I had heard horror stories but we had no problems at all. Once our plane landed, we realized we definitely were not in Florence anymore. It was freezing! Paris was at least 20 degrees colder than Florence. It was late at night when we landed but made our way on buses and the Metro to our hostel.

The hostel was definitely a new experience for me. It was called the Aloha Hostel so everything was painted in bright colors. Luckily my friends and I were in a room just for the 4 of us. We liked calling it the cupboard under the stairs like Harry Potter because the ceiling was slanted so you could only fully stand up in one area. It also had 2 bunkbeds that seemed a little unstable but the hostel seemed safe and clean overall. I guess that is what you get for $20 a night! It worked fine for sleeping and the free breakfast was nice also.

We only had 2 full days in Paris so we packed as much as possible into those days! We got up early on Friday and made our way to Montmarte to see Sacre Coeur and the Moulin Rouge. I was really excited for this because I went to Paris during high school but never saw either place. Sacre Coeur was beautiful and the view of Paris was incredible. Unfortunately the sky was overcast but it was still wonderful to see. As we walked over to the Moulin Rouge, the sun came out and it was perfect to walk around. We even found a Starbucks after Moulin Rouge so we were very happy!

Next on our agenda was checking out the Champs Elysees. We started at the Arc de Triomphe and then walked along the Champs Elysees. We stopped for lunch and had a delicious Croque Monsieur. I was very excited to eat one because I learned about them in French class so often. It definitely lived up to my expectations!

After refueling at lunch, we had some extra time and decided to head over to Les Invalides. We didn't know anything about it except that it looked close to where we were on a map. It turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the trip. Les Invalides is a huge war museum that used to be a hospital for wounded soldiers. Napoleon is buried there and it was amazing to see his tomb. It is huge and is in the center of a beautiful chapel with the tombs of other important French military men.

We also had some time to see exhibits on the history of armor, weapons and a huge gallery of World War I and World War II. I loved Les Invalides, especially because it was so different than everything else we saw in Paris.

After Les Invalides, we went back to the Champs Elysees and walked to the Louvre as the sun was setting. The Tuileries Gardens weren't too exciting because it was February and nothing was in bloom and the fountains were turned off. We got to the Louvre around 6:30 and saw all the major artwork like the Mona Lisa plus some more. After about 2.5 hours we were exhausted since we had been up and walking around since 8:30 a.m.

We ended our night with a big meal and saw the light show at the Eiffel Tower. We had the best view of the tower! You could see everything perfectly and the Eiffel Tower looked beautiful at night. We were exhausted by the end of the day but had the best day. We couldn't get over how everything went perfectly. We were sure something would go wrong at some point but it was a great day.

We woke up the next morning ready for more sightseeing. Our first stop was the Chateau of Versailles. I had been to 3 other castles in France before but Versailles was the the most intricate and elaborate. I wish I could live at Versailles. We stayed for a few hours and looked at the snow covered gardens briefly.

After Versailles, we got back into Paris and went to see the Eiffel Tower closer up in the daylight. We were going to go up the tower to the top but it was freezing outside and too crowded. My friends and I had a lot of fun taking pictures in front of the tower and I even learned that I'm an excellent jumper! I was only one who was always in the air when we tried to get pictures of us jumping in front of the Eiffel Tower.


Notre Dame was our final major attraction. The cathedral was so beautiful and the atmosphere was so serene and peaceful. I loved the stained glass windows.

We were cold and tired so we went back to the hostel and fell asleep for 3 hours. We woke up to get one last dinner in Paris so we went over to the Latin Quarter to eat. I wish we could have done more in Paris but we had to be up at 6 a.m. for our flight home.

Paris was such a great trip and we got to see so much while we were there. I loved going back to Paris and seeing some of the same sights but a lot of new ones.

It was so fun to try out my French skills. I remembered a lot more than I thought and could communicate pretty well! Allyce and I loved trying to order and talk to people in French so our 5 years of class could finally pay off.

A Beautiful Day in Venice

Yesterday I went to Venice for Carnivale! Carnivale is the Mardi Gras celebration that takes place for 2 weeks before Mardi Gras. Venice has one of the biggest celebrations in the world. My friends and I took a bus from Florence and then took a ferry through the Grand Canal into Venice. As soon as we got there, we saw people everywhere. There were tons of people in crazy costumes celebrating Carnivale. All my friends and I bought masks as soon as we got there so we could fit in also.

All the costumes were so elaborate and detailed. A lot of women were dressed in huge medieval dresses. We also saw Teletubbies, a family of Smurfs, knights, princesses, Noah's Ark and much more that I can't even describe.

The weather was perfect for walking around all day. It was sunny and warm, which was such a relief since it had rained for the 2 days prior. After taking in the atmosphere of Carnivale, we walked to San Marco's square. The square was packed with people but I was still able to see the incredible church and buildings. My friend and I split a Bellini, which was delicious and comes from Venice!

After hanging out in San Marco's square, we went to a glass blowing demonstration in a Murano glass factory. I had never seen glass blowing and it was so cool! It takes 15-20 years of training for someone to become a Murano glass blowing artist and the trade is disappearing quickly because of the lengthy training process. The artist pulled hot glass out of an oven on a long rod and twisted it around to prepare the glass. Then he blew through the rod and made a vase. He also made a horse figurine in about 2 minutes. It looked like he was just pulling on the glass and then it somehow became a perfect horse. After the demonstration we looked at all the Murano glass. The glass was so beautiful but also very pricey. I wish I could've bought something but I was also worried that it wouldn't make it home.
After the glass blowing, we went to watch the Carnivale parade, which showed off even more costumes. After the parade was over we went to dinner at a Venician restaurant. It was nice to sit down for a bit! After dinner we wandered back through San Marco's square to see it lit up in the dark. It was even more beautiful at night and a little less crowded too.

We left Venice at 6 pm and took the ferry back through the Grand Canal in the dark. Although I was tired, it was such a fun day. Venice was beautiful and Carnivale was quite an experience. I definitely want to come back to Venice sometime in my life and maybe even ride a gondola when I have a little more money :)