After a few days in Prague we repacked our bags and headed to our next destination, Paris! I was extremely excited about visiting Paris. I have taken many French classes in high school and college in which I have learned a lot about the city of Paris. Finally I would be able to see all the sights I so often saw on the flat pages of my textbook and maybe even test out a little of my French. Instead of staying in the pricey hostels, my friends and I chose to rent an apartment in the city. We were extremely happy when we arrived and our apartment was the exact chic Paris apartment that we had hoped for. It was so nice to be in an apartment after over a week of staying in big hostel dorm rooms. I would suggest if anyone ever travels in a group to look into staying in an apartment, it is actually more affordable and a lot more comfortable than hostels. We were exhausted when we arrived so we went right to sleep with big plans for the morning.
The next morning I woke up early so excited to see the sights of Paris. The day started with a trip to the Louvre. I had little expectations for the Louvre since many people had told me the Mona Lisa is so small and you have to wait in a huge line to enter. Lucky for us the line was short, so after a short ten-minute wait we were in one of the most famous museums in the world. We walked around for a while mesmerized by all the amazing artwork that surrounded us. After I felt I had taken in a good amount of art I decided to go find the Mona Lisa. I walked through room after room of paintings leading up to one of the most famous paintings of all. My anticipation grew as I passed other museum patrons and followed the signs pointing me in the right direction. When I finally saw the painting, I was surprised so many people had told me it was small because to me it actually looked big. It was pretty amazing to see something I had seen so many times online or in books in person. I was pretty impressed with the painting even if some people I know are not.
After our trip to the Louvre it was time to see the most famous Paris landmark, The Eiffel Tower!! My friends and I did not have a map so we made our way to The Eiffel Tower by looking in the sky and trying to walk closer and closer to the tower. As we walked the tower got bigger and bigger which was fun and breathtaking all at the same time. We walked through beautiful parks and past authentic French cafes. Not having a map benefited us a lot allowing us to discover even more of the city. Towards the end of our walk the tower disappeared behind a building and we were not sure which way to go. Luckily we turned the right way and stumbled upon the giant base of The Eiffel Tower. We laid down in the grass for what felt like minutes but was actually hours looking up at the tower. It is amazing how big this structure actually is and how different it looks in person. My afternoon in Paris was an incredible experience; in just one day I was able to see some of the most world famous landmarks. All the years of looking in French texts books did not do justice to such a beautiful city!
Both of our trips to Paris are exactly alike! Especially the Eiffel Tower. After learning about it in school for many years personally I was so surprised to see that the structure definitely looked different up close. My friends and I took a trip a there at night and it was really beautiful with all the lights. It was very similar to the new york feel. During the day NY is just a busy town, but at night it comes to life with lights; I would put the Eiffel Tower in the same category.
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