Passport to Paris

Three days after our stint to sunny, warm Barcelona, a 2:30 am alarm went off and it was time to jet set off to Paris, France for the weekend. We caught the 3am shuttle to Dublin airport and arrived on time ready for an unknowingly long, drawn out day of traveling ahead. Our plane was on time, and after a rough landing, we were finally in Paris. Well, in an airport one hour outside of Paris. A 26 euro round trip shuttle to the center of Paris was the next step in our journey. An hour later, we arrived. I had no idea where we were, how to speak French, or what direction to turn in. We started wandering around streets attempting to find a decently close metro to take towards our district that housed our hotel. We walked in the wrong direction a couple of times until we got it right and headed to a metro. It was closed. Strike one. The one stop we need was closed so the next option is to try and hail a cab. They drive by, and no one stops to pick us up for 30 minutes, when we have to split up because they can't fit 6 people. We split up, I stay behind. Strike two. After staying behind for about 40 minutes more, we hear the metro rumbling beneath our feet and hop on, we get off and walk 10 minutes in the wrong direction. Strike three. We were supposed to check into our hotel at 11 am, it was currently 1:15 pm. We were a little late, Paris did not give a great first impression. Though, I did however, get a great view of the Arche de Triomphe on the way to the metro.

After checking into our hotel, things started to look up as we each got our own beds and a bathroom connected to our room. I realized then that I would never pay to stay in a hostel again, because for 19 euro a night, it was a better deal than any price I had paid previously for an uncomfortable co-ed room with bunk beds and a community bathroom. We got dressed and went out to eat at a French restaurant. I opted for an... Italian meal. It was good, but definitely French style Italian food. We went back to the hotel, napped and then decided to make something of what was left of our day and walked up to Monmarte to see a church on top of the hill and eat dinner. We took the funicular up to the top to see the stoic church peering over Paris. We walked inside the church, to which we saw a mass in progress. The church was absolutely gorgeous inside, with a complete mosaic covering the ceiling over the alter depicting Jesus and his disciples. I was baffled and amazed at the amount of detail that went into every pillar, pew, and arch in that church, only to be out shone by the Notre Dame later in the weekend. We walked around the town of Monmarte after seeing the church and ate dinner at a crepes place, followed by gelato. (pictured: our room, church on top of Monmarte, painting shop in the town).





After walking around we decided to have a relaxing night. We walked to a restaurant near our hotel and ordered two bottles of wine and just sat around a table talking. There was a live band playing music, which was a perfect supplement to our wine, appetizers and conversation. The seemingly endless day closed down around 11:30 pm, where I found myself showered, cozy, and asleep in my bed resting for Saturday's bike tour throughout Paris.