One of the many wonderful things about living in Europe is the ability to travel all around the continent in a fairly easy and efficient manner. So, a couple of us decided to hop on a plane and spend the weekend eating baguettes and window shopping in Paris. Sounds fun, right? It was.
We arrived on Friday evening and decided on a whim to walk two miles from our hostel to the Eiffle Tower in hopes of seeing it lit up at night. To our surprise it was so cold that there wasn't a line, so we decided to climb all the way up to the top. When I was fifteen I went to Paris with my family, but it was during the middle of August, and there was a three-hour long line to enter the tower. It was such an incredible experience to not only to finally be able to climb the tower and see the glittering city at night, but to be able to share the experience with some of my IES Abroad friends.
The following day we got up early and walked to Notre Dame. Similar to the Eiffle Tower, it was so cold that no one wanted to wait in a line to enter the cathedral, so we were able to enter in a matter of minutes (seven, to be exact. I timed it). While I was walking inside the gorgeous building, I saw a blonde girl walk past me whom I instantly recognized. It was Kitty, one of my Sewanee sorority sisters that had just graduated! I grabbed her, and we silently started screaming and jumping up and down. She was with her parents visiting her younger sister who just happened to be studying abroad in Paris. What were the odds that I would run into a dear friend at 11am in Notre Dame on a random Saturday? It was so refreshing to see a similar face, and was without a doubt the highlight of my trip.
After taking about 100 pictures of Notre Dame and saying goodbye to Kitty, my friends and I took a train to The Palace of Versailles, and spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering around the maze-like gardens and admiring the ridiculous amounts of gold. Once again, due to the rainy, cold weather, Versailles was practically empty, which made it feel like we had privately rented out the palace. We warmed up with a plate of french fries and salted caramel hot chocolate from Starbucks. And of course, crepes later on in the evening.
On Sunday before our flight, we walked to the Louvre and admired the statues and pyramids. I wish that we had been able to go inside of the museum, but we didn't have enough time and had all of our luggage with us. Still, it was amazing to walk around the massive structure and admire its beauty from a distance.
Overall, it was an amazing, quick little weekend trip. Paris is the city of love, and made me reflect on how much I love living in Europe, and how blessed I am to be able to take casual two-day voyages to breathtaking cities. Next stop, Switzerland for Thanksgiving!
Anna Bradley
<p>I am a current junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Italian at Sewanee: The University of the South. I am a proud member of Kappa Delta sorority, and am a coxswain for Sewanee's crew team. In my free time, I enjoy kayaking, reading, going for runs, and playing with my dogs.</p>
