Brussels and Beyond: Paris

Our art class took the Thalys train to Paris at 8:30am on Saturday morning. Although we were tired, we were thrilled when we arrived in sunny and warm weather. We dropped our bags off at the hostel before first going to Musee D’Orsay. It was a beautiful museum, not only because of the artwork, but because of the gorgeous architecture as well. After the museum, we went to the gorgeous Luxembourg Park where we had a picnic lunch that Madame Martine had prepared. We then walked down a series of famous streets and stopped at every statue for a very thorough explanation from Madame. By the time it was dinner, we were all tired and very hungry, and we did not know what to expect when Madame told us that we were going to a Tunisian restaurant. We sat down at the table and the servers brought out huge platters of cous-cous, roasted chicken, and vegetable stew. It was absolutely perfect after the long day we had.

On Sunday, we went to Versailles. The palace was beautiful, and we took the tour through the famous hall of mirrors before going out to the garden. The garden was incredible. There was classical music playing from speakers all around the gigantic park, and the weather was perfect. Kevin and I rented a rowboat for the big lake in the middle of the park before we all rented bikes to ride to Marie Antoinette’s property. We all had a good laugh while watching Madame ride the bike at breakneck speed while still managing to lecture us relentlessly. We saw a bunch of strange animals in Marie Antoinette’s garden, and got to see the inside of her palace. When we got back to Paris, David, Kevin, and I walked down the Seine to the Eiffel tower. We sat on the lawn in front of it and watched the light show that happens every hour. It was a beautiful night, and because it was the off-season for tourists, it wasn’t terribly crowded.

On Monday, we went to the Louvre. It was so cool! We got to see the Mona Lisa and many other famous pieces. We were grateful once again that we were there in November, because the huge lines and crowds I had always heard about were virtually non-existent. When we had finished touring for the day, a group of us got crepes for dinner and then went to the Arc De Triomph. We climbed the stairs to the top and had the most beautiful view of the entire city. We then went to the Champs De L’Elysee, and window-shopped before heading back to the hostel.

Paris was an absolutely incredible city and the weather made everything even more enjoyable. I will definitely be returning as soon as I can.