London, Paris & Amsterdam-Oh My! Part 2

Hi guys,

         Here is the second post about my trip to Europe for spring break. After England our next stop was  France. We took the Eurostar from St. Pancreas to Paris. This train goes under the English Channel and I think the journey was around 2 hours. Once we got to the station in Paris we walked to where our coach was supposed to pick us up. We were waiting on the side of the road where about 10 buses were waiting but none of them was ours. After waiting a while our tour director called the company to see what was going on, they then contacted the driver who said they would be there soon. We waited another 20 minutes and still no bus. Meanwhile the thirty of us were standing in the sun with all of our luggage in not the best part of the city, there was a bit of a smell, trash and graffiti everywhere, not what you picture when you think of Paris. ( I had been to Paris on my previous trip to Europe so I was not as startled by what we saw, for some people though it was their first impression of Paris and it was not nearly as glamorous as they were expecting.) The bus finally arrived after we had been waiting an hour and then the driver was not even going to help load the luggage onto the bus. Our Paris guide had met us while waiting for the bus and she said that had never happened before, she was as annoyed as we were. 

          We then had our bus tour of the city and stopped at a few places to take pictures including the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tour before going to the hotel to drop off our things. While in Paris we visited the areas of Montmarte, and the Latin Quarter. We really liked Place Saint-Michel which is in the Latin Quarter. We got some very delicious Nutella and strawberry crepes there and found some very cute and unique shops there and also found a nice bakery where

we bought some maccarons (of course, because we're basic, but I

mean they are really good so how could we go to Paris and not get any).

I went to Laduree my first time in Paris

A display in the Laduree Bakery

One of the magnificent pastries we got

         We walked along the Seine and the Champs-Élysées. Went into the Notre Dame Cathedral and later to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica which is located on a hill in Montmartre. There is a beautiful view of the city from here but you do have to work for it. There are a lot of steps to get to the basilica. We then had some free time walked around the area behind the basilica which is known for being an artist area. Some people got their portraits drawn. 

          Later our whole group met up to go to the restaurant where we were having dinner. We had boeuf bourguignon (always reminds me of Julia Child when I hear the name of that dish) which I had never had before. It was served over pasta so that made me very happy. And we also had some red wine along with it. Some people in our group we very big fans of that beverage and literally consumed every last drop. There was some left in my glass that I was not going to drink and they (who were sitting at another table) looked at our table and saw who still had wine and then asked us if they could have it if we were not going to. So they ended up finishing almost everyone's wine, at least it didn't go to waste so that was good. 
           Some people went up the Eiffel tower and then on a river

cruise on the Seine. I had done so before and opted not to on this trip. One of my friends wasn't interested in doing those things either and so we explored while our other friend went up the tower. She was not going on the cruise and we did not want her to have to get back to the hotel alone especially since it was night time. We walked around and then went back to the tower around when we thought she'd be down but she was not. Other people from our group had come down but our friend was no where in sight. There was a race happening where people were climbing the stairs of the tower and there was  newscaster so we had some extra entertainment while waiting under the tower. We had gotten a bit worried about not finding our friends but then finally located her. There had been a lot of people up in the tower that wanted to come down and only a certain number of people can fit in the elevators at once. 
          The last time I was in Paris my mom, sister, and I had the hardest time locating the metro stop near the Eiffel Tower. You would think that it would be noticeable and that there was a nice sign but it is quite the contrary actually. I hadn't remembered where it was since I was only there once years ago and so my friends and I had the same issue of finding it. We were walking around for at least half an hour. We finally saw it but the problem was that it was across the street. Well, across more of a highway that we could not walk across. We could also not continue walking where we were because that would have just brought us farther from the metro. We saw a passageway that looked like it went under the highway and allowed you to get to the other side. And an important fact may be that it was after 11pm and that we were just 3 American girls in another country. Our choices we to either walk back half an hour to the Tower and get to the metro that way or use the underground passage. Neither option was very appealing to us, we were tired and annoyed and just wanted to get back to the hotel. So what did we do? We chose to use the passage, our thinking was that it couldn't be too long and the metro was right there and we just wanted to get there asap, we were a bit scared to use the passage but not as scared as we probably should have been. We hadn't thought about how the passage could have been dark, filled with rats, have homeless people in it, have someone waiting with a knife to mug people or any other unpleasant situation. Our judgment was not the best at the time.

        During our time in France we also went to the Palace of Versailles. Walking up to it is amazing and then looking down the road from the front of it also gives you such a feeling.

Standing with the palace at your back this is the view you see down the street

I can't really explain it. It is absolutely breathtaking inside and out.

           I liked that we had a specific tour guide who brought us through the Palace and gave context and more in depth information about what we were seeing. It was also cool that in my fashion history class we had just been learning about the time period when Versailles inhabited by Marie Antoinette and Louis XIV.

         It was so surreal being there and thinking about the royalty who lived there and who stood where I am and walked where I walked. You really do step back in time and in history and it's so cool to see firsthand what you've learned in class and in your textbooks. The Hall of Mirrors is probably the most famous room and it does not disappoint. I also love the outside area in back which overlooks the garden. Both times I have been there, there wasn't enough time to walk around outside as I would have liked.  

   Another tourist trap we went to was the Louvre.

        Walking to the Louvre is great on its own. You go right through the center and see the Jardin des Tuileries, Place de la Concorde and ferris wheel, the Luxor Obelisk, everything but we were in a rush so we weren't able to take too many pictures.

      We went in the side entrance to the museum and through the

mall before ending up in the lobby under the new entrance designed by I.M. Pei, the glass pyramid. In the Louvre we saw the Mona Lisa of course, many statues including Winged Victory, and other sculptures and paintings as well. We had to move quickly through it though as we had a schedule to

keep. The one issue though was that workers were having a strike and so the bathrooms, which had been very nice and clean the last time I was there were pretty disgusting this time. 

         

      We also found a mall, of course and one of my friends and I hung out there and other people walked around it as well while half the group went up a skyscraper for a view of the city. My friend ended up finding a Long Champ bag that she really liked and it was on sale! Checking out was set up differently, she had to take a ticket on the bag to a certain counter and then come bag to the Long Champ area where the sales associate had the bag, looked at the paper my friend got from the other paper after paying and then wrapped up the bag for my friend. It was a system I never saw before (and probably am not explaining too clearly but it worked out well). 
       And this is really random but I didn't want to forget it. I was reminded since it happened to myself and my friend who bought the bag. When we were in Saint-Michel and walking around a lot of people stand outside their restaurants and try to entice people to come in and eat and so they say Hi and start talking to you, and they would always start talking Spanish to my friend and I although neither of us are Spanish. I guess to them we looked it though? I'm not quite sure, it was kind of funny. Anyways, that was what happened while in France. Keep an eye out for my next post where I will be talking about our adventures in Amsterdam!

-Emily
   

Other Places You Can Find Me:  
Instagram: http://instagram.com/emsessentials

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/emsessentials/

Bloglovin': https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/emsessentials-14361729