PARIS!

Midterms are officially over!  
      This week I got a chance to explore l'Université libre de Bruxelles when I went looking for a good library. Compared to the Vasalius College and Vrije Universiteit Brussel campuses--where I have all of my classes, the ULB was much, much nicer and actually felt like a real college campus. It was a beautiful sunny day, so I decided to walk from school to the ULB campus (~30min). This university is actually closer to my house than VUB, and the students speak French as opposed to Dutch! There were hundreds of students hanging out outside and once I got into the library, I had some trouble finding a seat, but I finally found one a few floors up. I'll definitely be back there soon.  
      But, enough about my studies. I'm sure you're only interested in hearing about Paris. Well, it was a bit of an adventure getting to the train station on Friday morning, since there was another Brussels public transportation strike. I wound up taking a train from the Watermael station (near my house) to Gare du Midi, so I could take another train to Paris!
      Well, that was a bit of an adventure. But, once I arrived in Paris...it was AMAZING. This weekend was incredible and nearly indescribable. I went with 3 of my friends (Zoe, Rachel, and Beverly) from ISA. We had the time of our lives walking, and walking, AND walking around Paris and the weather was magnificent. It was sunny and reached about 50 degrees each day. 
I took a 9:13AM train to Paris with Zoe, and the train was only about an hour and 22 minutes (yup, that's all)! When we arrived, we did get a little lost walking to the Palace Hotel, in the 10th Arrondissement. But, we eventually made it. We dropped off our stuff in a 4 person bedroom, which was only 35 euros for 2 nights. It doesn't get any better than that. 
      We walked from the hotel to the city center and, at this point, were starving. So after stopping to take some pics of a man chalking up a picture on a sidewalk (pictured right), we sat down outside for some lunch. Yes, it was a little cold out, but there was a heat lamp right above us that kept us nice and toasty. 

Rachel, me, and Zoe

      Next, Zoe and I took a stroll along La Seine on our way to the Louvre and the little Arc du Triomphe, where we were supposed to meet my friend Rachel who took the bus to Paris instead of the train. We then met up with Beverly (she took a later train) and walked through the Champs-Élysées. We almost saw Liv Tyler, who was supposed to be making an appearance at Sephora, but after waiting 10 min for her arrival, we decided there were plenty of other (and much more exciting) places to go and people to see in Paris. So, we continued on until we reached the Arc du Triomphe and then paid to climb up to the top. The views from the top were great--we could see the Eiffel Tower in the distance!
      Then we continued on to the Eiffel Tower, which was perfect timing...the sun was beginning to set and, so the Tower lit up. After hours and hours of walking, we could not wait any longer for dinner. We found a local market that was brimming with restaurants and people. It felt good to sit before our walk back to the hotel, which took almost 1.5 hrs. Whew. 
      The following day, we went to visit la Sacré Coeur Basilica in the morning. On the way, we found an authentic boulangerie and each got a croissant. It was irresistable and delicious...The Sacre-Coueur is a Roman Catholic Church that is situated at the top of a hill in Montmartre--the highest point in the city. Surrounding this Church were a bunch of little boutiques, in addition to a square with nearly 50 artists painting and selling their artwork to the crowd.  

View from the boat tour

      After walking another hour or two back to the city center. Rachel and I split off to go to Notre Dame and les jardins du Luxembourg (Luxembourg gardens). On the way, I picked up a crêpe, with fromage et champignons (cheese and mushrooms). Yum, yum. The gardens were beautiful and the weather suited us perfectly. We sat down for no more than 15min before we headed back to Notre Dame to walk around inside and explore the Latin Quarter before taking an hourlong boat tour throughout La Seine at 5:45pm. It took us by all of the important sites--Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Le Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, etc. 

Latin Quarter

      Rachel and I met up with Zoe and Beverly again for dinner in the Latin Quarter. We each ordered the prix-fix menu for 10 euros and I got a chance to try some French onion soup. It was a relaxing evening, after a long day. But, it we weren't quite finished yet. I have a friend who is studying abroad in Paris and I wanted to see her at least once before I left, so my friends and I walked over an hour to the 11th Arrondissement just to see her. It took longer than we were expecting and by this time, it was around 11pm. There was no where to sit down inside, without having to buy a drink or food, so we just stood outside (and by this time the temperature had dropped) in front of, what we would soon find out, a pâtisserie. I have no idea why, but at 11:30pm, this cute little pâtisserie decided to turn on its lights and opened its doors. It seemed like fate. We had no choice but to go inside and check it out. Rachel and I bought a small box of macorons, which is something that Paris is famous for. On our way back to the hotel, we witnessed a car robbery, which we tried to report to the police, but were unsuccessful. It was a crazy night, but we packed tons in that day.

In front of Le Louvre

Outside at Le Musée Rodin

      The next morning, and unfortunately the last, we checked out of our hotel around 10am and tried to fit in the remainder of our to-do list. We went to the Louvre, which I had already been to, but it was once again enlightening. And, apparently, if you spend 3 seconds in front of each picture it would take you over three months to see everything in the entire museum! We only spent 2 hours there, viewing the Italian, French, English, and a little bit of Greek artwork. Then we walked another 30-40min to see Napoleon's tomb, followed by some lunch in a park, and then onto Le Musée du Rodin (which had a lovely outdoor component). 
      The last stop was Le Marais, which used to be the Jewish Quarter of Paris. It was filled with some of the more expensive shops and cute bakeries. It's a great place to go on Sundays when most other stores and areas in Paris are closed. We couldn't resist eating one last thing before we left Paris...we walked into a bakery called Pralus. They're known for their loaves of Brioche, which are filled with rose sugar-coated pralines and are called Praluline. Rachel and I split one on our way back to the hotel where we picked up our belongings before heading back to the train station, Paris Nord. This weekend was one-of-a-kind and, absolutely, one to remember. I have never, ever, ever, walked so much in my life. We, basically, only sat down 2 times the entire weekend, which was to eat dinner. The rest of the time we were on our feet. We limped back to the hotel room every night and this morning I woke up and it felt like I had broken both of my feet. But, it was no doubt worth it. J'adore Paris.



-Arielle

Beverly, Me