Paris

THURSDAY

We made our 6:25am flight and we were finally off to Paris.

We were both exhausted and passed out on the flight and the bus we caught into the city center. From there we had to take the metro to our Airbnb. There is a super helpful app called NextStop Paris. It helped us get from point A to B via Metro and it can be used offline!

We had booked in advance to go to Disneyland Paris. With only two hours of sleep, we grabbed some lunch and went off to the happiest place on earth (true). We got the 1Day/1Park pass and it was relatively cheap, and we chose to go to Disneyland Park instead of Walt Disney Studios. When I was ten, I went to Disneyland in California, and I vowed to go back to a Disney Park when I was 20. I had to keep that promise. We went during their 25th Anniversary, so they had extended hours and a special light show when the park closed. I suggest going on a weekday, because it wasn’t as busy as we were expecting. I am so glad that we did Disney. It woke us up and it was nice to take a break from the go-go-go mindset we had for the past cities we had visited. I am not a huge roller coaster fan, but Leigh convinced me to ride Big Thunder Mountain. We went to go check out the waiting time, and it was thirty minutes. We didn’t want to wait, so we went instead to the Haunted Mansion (right next to Big Thunder Mountain). When we got out of the Mansion, we looked over to Big Thunder Mountain, and one of the carts was stuck on a hill. We were very relieved that we decided to skip that line, because that could have been us. The light show at the end of the night was magical. The fireworks and projections onto the castle were so fun and a great way to end a hectic day.

FRIDAY

We did Paris in twelve hours.

Our first stop was Notre Dame. Going into the cathedral is free, so if you have the time, I definitely suggest checking it out. It does get crowded, so going earlier in the morning you’ll hit less crowds. Going up the cathedral tower does cost money, we got a discount for either being under 26 or being a student, and it was only €8.

The second stop of the day was to Sainte-Chapelle. We got in for free for either being under 26 or being a EU student, its normally €10. There are two levels and the top level is breathtaking. Highly suggest going in. Next we went to the Louvre. Both Leigh and I weren’t too interested in spending a lot of time in there because we only had a day to spend in Paris. We got in for free by showing our Italian student visa. We got a map and bee-lined to the Mona Lisa and then left. The size of the building is overwhelming and people could spend days in there. I suggest picking up a map and picking a section to spend your time in. We were off to the Eiffel Tower. We didn’t want to go up, so we just walked by to take pictures. We had to go through security just to walk under the tower. Something that wasn’t there when I was there in 2012.

We then went to the Arc de Triumph, where we got in for free as well. We showed our student visa, but normally it would be €10 or €12 (can’t remember). I would suggest picking to climb up either the Notre Dame or Arc if you have to pay the full price. You will get similar views and lots of stairs at both- we were dying at the end).

I’m a sucker for macarons, so we stopped in at Laduree Macrarons located on the Champs-Élysées shopping strip. It is on the more expensive side, but well worth it and you get a cute box as well. They also have a store in Florence. We finished off the day with dinner near the Eiffel Tower, at Pizza Fiorentina, which we do not suggest going to. There was a bug that came out of my soda can, and I asked for the waiter and he scooped it out with a spoon and that was it. We then walked to the Eiffel Tower to see the light show. It starts at the top of the house and lasts for five minutes. I suggest watching it at least once during your visit, because it is very pretty and it was a good way to end our time in Paris.

A couple of things we didn’t expect is how affordable Paris was going to be. We thought it was going to be the most expensive leg of the trip. I think it was partly because we got into so many attractions for free because we were students. Also, security is incredibly tight (due to the recent attacks?). Like I mentioned above, we had to go through security just to go under the tower. When we were wandering down Champs Elysees, all the stores we went into had security at the door doing bag checks.

Overall, spring break was a success. We walked 63 miles and 214,463 steps over eight days. I will most definitely be returning to all the countries we visited.

Next week I will be taking a solo day trip to Siena.