November 15th--Paris: Sacre Coeur, Louvre, Notre Dame

   This morning we woke up at 7:15am for another fun day in Paris. We left at 8:10am and took the metro 1 stop past what you are actually supposed to for the Sacre Coeur. However, we had a more scenic walk to the top of Montmartre with fewer tourists. We walked around the hills of Montmartre and found a souvenir shop where I bought postcards and 2 t-shirts. I bought a purple t-shirt for Amber and a gray t-shirt for me, which both said “J’adore Paris!” I found it fitting for Amber since we met freshman year in our French class and we soon became best friends. We then walked to the Sacre Coeur, which was right around the corner. It was incredible, especially with the bright blue sky, which made the Sacre Coeur look surreal. My pictures turned out great! Since Montemarte is a hill in Paris, you can see out over the whole rest of the city. From the Eiffel Tower, you could see the Sacre Coeur. We stayed for about 30 minutes before walking back the way we came. We were waiting for a crepe stand to open up so we could have a crepe for breakfast, but they weren’t open, so we got ice cream instead. I had the crème brulée flavor ice cream for 2 Euros.

   Next, we took the metro back to go to the Louvre, since we missed it last night. The entrance fee for the Louvre is 9 Euros. We went directly to see the Mona Lisa, which is much smaller than I expected. We also saw the Venus de Milo statue and Michelangelo statues, but my favorite was the statue Femme Drapée. I don’t know who it is by, but for some reason I really like it. We stayed in the Louvre for about an hour and a half. We then walked along the other side of the Seine River to the Musée D’Orsay, but Margot didn’t want to pay the 7.50 Euros to go in (she didn’t go into the Louvre either) and so we didn’t go in. Jenny really wanted to and everyone that I have talked to say that Musée D’Orsay is their favorite, but oh well. Next time! We walked along the streets behind the Musée and found a bakery. For lunch, I got a sandwich and a chocolate croissant (Pain au Chocolate) for just over 7 Euros. I saved the chocolate croissant for later because the sandwich filled me up. We then walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral (both Margot and Jessica go to Notre Dame University). Admission to the Cathedral is free, but we didn’t go in. I wish we would of, but at the time, we didn’t know admission was free. Next time!

   Next, we followed a map to try and find a store that Jenny really wanted to go to. It was called ‘Merci’ and it’s right by the Bastille. She had read about it in many magazines and reviews. On our way to ‘Merci’, we found a random carnival going on and we bought a crepe with nutella for 3 Euro. Then we keep on walking to ‘Merci’, but when we got there, it was closed. A lot of places in Paris close on Sunday, which is important to keep in mind. We took the metro back to our hotel (remember the metro stop is literally right outside the front doors of the hotel). We grabbed our bags, which we were keeping in the luggage room of the hotel and head for the Gare du Nord (train station) at 5:30pm. Our train didn’t leave until 7:13pm, so we just had to find a place to sit until we could go through security and get on the Eurostar. While waiting, I ate my chocolate croissant and bought an almond croissant for 2.20 Euros as my dinner.  Finally, we went through security and got on the Eurostar. Our seats were right across the aisle from each other, but we both had tables in front of us, so we asked a couple to switch seats with us so that we would all be sitting at the same table.

   We arrived back at St. Pancras International at 9:15pm, however, the Piccadilly line was closed, so Jenny and I had to take the circle line. The line was delayed for 20 minutes, which sucked, and finally when the line started running, we had a crazy, alcoholic, and nasty homeless man begging for money in our train car. It was awful and his feet were literally making me sick they were so nasty. Jenny and I only had 2 stops left, but we switched train cars to get away from him. Nasty! We arrived back at the ResHall just past 10pm. I took a shower and then went to bed by 10:45pm because I had to wake up early the next day for my internship. Oh boy!

Sacre Coeur

Mona Lisa in the Louvre

Femme Drapee in the Louvre

Notre Dame Cathedral