Express trip to Paris

Bonjour!

During the year that I was studying at Swansea University for Erasmus, I couldn't miss out on the opportunities to travel which were staring me right in the face. Some friends had gone to do their Erasmus in Paris which meant it was an obligatory visit.

The only problem is that to get to Paris from the small city of Swansea, I had to go from station to station and travel through three different countries: Wales, England and finally France. The journey is too long, so I recommend that you bring a book or some kind of entertainment for the trip.

Another friend came to Paris as well, but she came from the North of England. We had to move heaven to earth to try and make our flights arrive at the same time, and the delay of one almost forced us to spend the night in the airport. We had contacted a French girl who took us from the Charles de Gaulle airport (very much in the outskirts of Paris) to the centre of Paris, from which we took the metro without any problems. However, they were not wrong when they said that the French are a little... strange. We had pushed the patience of this woman too far and she almost bailed on us, but the flight being delayed wasn't our fault!

We were lucky that our now half-Parisian friends had had other visitors before and they basically had a tour already set up. Also, most of the monuments in Paris are free for young Europeans to visit, so don't forget your DNI which says your age, and enjoy!

On the way back, we made a quick stop at the Eiffel Tower because our friends knew the perfect time when it starts to sparkle (they only turn them on for 15 minutes).

DAY 1

Our friends told us that in the area that we were going to go around that day, they normally recommend renting bikes, because you will have to walk a lot. However, the sky was really cloudy and grey and we didn't want to risk getting really wet, so we took the metro.

The first stop was the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Yes, like the hunchback, but this is old. Me, being a lover of history of art like no other, began to explain to them that the cathedral has a gothic front and a cruciform floor.

We also wanted to go to the Saint Chapelle. To find it, we had to look for a while. It was located really close-by to the cathedral of Notre Dame, but look closely before going because it is a little hidden away. It forms part of a church which can be reached in no time, a 2 or 3 minute walk from the Notre Dame cathedral. From the outside, it looks like a very sombre and grey building (especially bearing in mind that the day that we went there it was raining), but once you are inside it is like an explosion of colour. And I don't want to even imagine what it would be like on a sunny day. Here's a photo:

During this post, you will realise that my friends and I love taking photos. The big advantage of this is that you can put them all on your Instagram or Facebook so then your parents can't moan that you never send them anything. The big disadvantage is that sometimes taking the best photo takes a lot of effort and concentration, which isn't funny to a group of Asians who start taking photos of you too or start making comments? Fun, at least.

For example, this photo looks like the perfect chance positioning. And I promise you that it wasn't planned at all, when we took it we didn't care at all. But later, when we went back home, we were left amazed that we looked like something from the front of an album. I was in the perfect position of the peak of the pyramid and my two friends were each looking in a different direction, but they were the same distance away from me. Basically, the magic of Paris. It even looks like we had put a green screen behind us, but I promise that we didn't.

For those who haven't recognised it, this is the glass pyramid of the Louvre Museum. It is a really interesting museum because inside there is a huge amount of really important works of art, such as the Mona Lisa. (And the entrance is free for young people). However, a day in the museum can take a lot of time, so we decided not to go inside. But, saying that, next time I visit Paris I will definitely go inside.

We kept walking until we got to the big Luxor Obelisk, with a big and wide ascending road which ends with the Arc de Triumph. This uphill road is the famous Champs-Élysées. We had gone there right in the Christmas period and it was full of markets with Christmas decorations and chestnuts. Magical.

Source

This photo could be one of the best ones, and it is one of the main places where people go to take it. There is a zebra crossing just before the Arc de Triumph which has a "pavement" painted on the road and which ends on this enormous white point which we were on. This is the perfect place. The problem? That we were not the only ones that knew how perfect this lace was and sometimes it would get full.

Going up the Arc de Triumph is, again, free. You have to have the energy because there are a lot of spiralled stairs without a window which will leave you feeling a bit sick by the end. When you think that you are almost at the top, they will tell you that you haven't even got to the half-way point yet. Saying that, the views are amazing: the Champs-Élysées and the Obelisk. I would especially recommend going at sunset.

Later we decided to have a bit of a Parisian night, drinking wine. Be careful! The French love electro music. You will not find anyway anywhere with even a bit of pop music (and even less likely for reggaeton). Anyway, we had a really good time because the club that we went to had a slide at the entrance. Sorry, I can't remember the name of it.

DAY 2

What I remember is how delicious the pain au chocolates were, and the "chocolatine aux amandes", a chocolate croissant with almonds on top, from the Boulangerie Patisserie L'Atelier D'Antan. They also had a really cute terrace where we could eat them. After, in the zone that we were in, there was a street market so we were able to enjoy a freshly-squeezed orange juice which we had during the walk.

To get to the Sacre-Coeur in Montmartre, you most definitely have to take the metro because it is located in the North of Paris. I would also advise you to take care in this area, since it has the most street-workers there and they have had arguments with tourists more than once. Our friends told us that we should be attentive, especially to those who try to sell us bracelets, because they take your hand and put it straight on you, to make you pay for it after. The truth is that these stairs were completely full with people selling bracelets, but we all followed the advice and we didn't have any problems. The basilisk is incredible inside.

After we kept walking through the painters neighbourhood that, unfortunately, was practically empty the day that we went. It is an area where there are lots of people in the street who are sat in front of their canvases painting Paris. We stopped in a small shop to eat a quick panini and keep on discovering this incredible city.

We couldn't forget about seeing the Moulin Rouge.

This wall looked really cute to us, and we thought that we definitely had to take a photo with it to celebrate our friendship.

Let's see: How can we go to Paris and not visit the Eiffel Tower?! Well, it's impossible. And my friends, even more obsessed with photos and posing than us, had already sussed out the perfect place to take a photo without anyone bothering you.

Nutella Crep in front of the Eiffel Tower, because if you don't have one here, where would you?

We also took a quick walk through the Luxembourg Gardens before going home.

Now to top off the trip we wanted to go over the famous Pont Alexandre III. It is famous because it has very pretty gold details. This makes me feel a bit embarrassed to say, but the main reason that we went there was because we love Gossip Girl and it is at this bridge where they took the famous photo of Blair Waldorf, beautiful and perfect, with loads of bags of shopping and walking like she owns the place.

Yes, I know, there's a lot of photos for just two days in Paris, but you have to make the most of every minute!

Thus, if you want to visit Paris fairly quickly, I would recommend that you follow the same route that we took:

• Notre Dame - Saint Chapelle - Place de la Concorde - Champs Elysees - Arc de Triumph
• Sacre-Coeur en Montmartre - Painters' Neighbourhood - Moulin Rouge (and most of the important places which are featured in the film Amélie are in this neighbourhood too).
• To visit the Eiffel Tower you will always have a chance (or two).

Au revoir!

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