Week 5 This week I took a trip to Paris with a friend from high school, Jenna. It was a happy coincidence that we both ended up studying abroad in London during the same semester. Before the semester started, I went traveling with my mom and Paris was one of the destinations we visited. I loved the city so much when Jenna asked if I wanted to go again, I immediately said yes. To get to Paris we opted to fly because it was cheaper than taking the Eurostar. If you really want to take the Eurostar, I suggest booking early or keeping your eye out for deals. We took a late flight out of Gatwick airport to Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport on EasyJet, one of the popular low-cost European airlines. Our flight landed around 10:30pm and it took less than an hour to get into the city by train. Even though it was a bit late, the RER (train) running into the city from the airport had a good amount of people and the metro we took in the city was busy. Read my TRANSPORTATION section for more information on the city's public transport system.
We booked a female dorm, which online said had 8 beds but in our actual room there were only three of us. This hostel did not have storage lockers but the other person in our room and the people in the two other rooms were just leaving their stuff out, so we decided to tuck our backpacks under our beds and let the comforter drape over to hid it. Everything was fine. The only electronic device I travel with is my phone and the only important "things" I have with me are my wallet and passport, and I kept all three on me at all times. This hostel provided complimentary breakfast which included an assortment of breads, your choice of yogurt and/or applesauce, coffee or hot cocoa, and cereal. This hostel was also centrally located. It was in walking distance to Notre Dame and a metro station was just two minutes away. TRANSPORTION Buying tickets for the city's public transport system is fairly easy. There are ticket stations at every metro and RER station. If you are buying one way tickets, you will need a different one for the RER into the city and the metro once in the city. Paris is both walkable and not. Depending on what you want to do and see, some of the sites can be far and taking the metro or bus can help save you time. We decided to buy a two day Paris Visite travel pass which gave us access to all of the Paris transport network (metro, bus, tramway, RER) in zones 1-3. You can buy a pass valid for 1, 2, 3, or 5 consecutive days. Another way to approach public transport is buying one way tickets. For me, I used the metro and buses a lot during this weekend trip especially since it was raining, so the two day pass came out cheaper than if I had only bought one way tickets. I found the public transportation system in general to be easy to understand (and I don't speak French other than a few words and greetings). It is very similar to London's system and I would even argue that it is simpler. Google maps, Apple maps, and Citymapper all worked for me and Jenna to get directions. Like when taking any public transportation, be aware of your surroundings and your belongings. I only traveled with my belt bag which I wore under my puffer jacket. OUR ITINERARY We had two full days to explore beautiful Paris! There were some activities we planned ahead of time and bought tickets for in advance, and there were others that were more on the spot decisions. While both days were gloomy and rainy, we still had a great time in the city.
Luxembourg Garden These gardens were beautiful to walk through. All the trees were turning fall colors. Jenna brought her film camera and got some beautiful clips of the gardens. Hôtel des Invalides From the gardens, we walked over to Hôtel des Invalides which is home to military museums and Napoleon’s tomb. It took us about half an hour and there was a light drizzle the entire time. While I was cold and wet, it was a nice way to see the streets of Paris and the city’s beautifully designed building exteriors. Arc de Triomphe When I came with my mom, I got to see the Arc de Triomphe from the street. Jenna and I decided to book tickets to go up to the top. It was a lot of stairs, but even with heavy cloud coverage, the view was amazing. Eiffel Tower at night From the top of the Arc we could see the bottom of the Eiffel Tower before the clouds, but something I dreamed of seeing was the tower all light up and sparkling at night. At the top of each hour the tower sparkles for five minutes. DAY 2 Lourve This day started with going to the Lourve Museum to drop Jenna off for her tour. When I came to Paris with my mom, we visited so I decided to go explore more of the city while she did her tour. If it hadn't been drizzling, I would have stayed and wandered around the museum gardens. Instead, I decided to take the metro and go to other places since I paid for unlimited metro rides with the two days. Palais Garnier (Opera House) A quick metro ride away from the Lourve, the Palais Garnier (Opera House) was stunning. As I came out from the metro station, I was greeted with beautiful blue skies (it had been gloomy and rainy the whole time so far) that framed the opera house. Famous composers lined the outside. I only recognized a few like Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris The most well-known museums in Paris you need to pay for like the Lourve and Musee D'Orsay. In a quick google search, I found a few museums in the city that were free. This modern art museum along the Seine River was one of them. Since it was a Saturday, there were also a number of open markets going on in the city. When I exited the metro station, lining the middle of the main street was this open market (picture below on the right) filled with fruit and vegetable stalls, meat, fish, and every items you could think of. As I was walking down, it felt never ending. Eventually, I reached the museum I wanted to go to and exited, but still there were more stalls continuing down the street. This museum was known for its La Fee Electricite exhibit which took up an entire room. It depicted different events relating to electricity and was truly magnificent. The second collection I liked was a husband and wife due, Josef and Anni Albers. They used different mediums and art styles, but their story was beautiful and you could tell they had a passion for their work.
Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle One of the most iconic places in Paris is Notre Dame. Still undergoing restoration work, people were not allowed to enter, however, with the restoration and cleaning of the building, you could really see the bright limestone that used to be covered in grime and dirt from the city air. From Notre Dame, we walked to another cathedral, Sainte-Chapelle. You had to pay to go in so we admired the building from the outside. Centre Pompidou A unique building in the heart of Paris, I went to Centre Pompidou to watch the sunset. It is also home to an art museum and public library. The escalators are on the outside of the building, creating an interesting building aesthetic and giving riders stunning views of the city. I have never been a "must go to Paris" type of girl, but I have to say the city and its people truly charmed me. I love Parisian architecture and its rich history. I would 100% recommend visiting.
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Kaylee MikiI'm a college student from Hawai‘i studying abroad in London and looking forward to traveling around Europe and sharing my experiences. Archives
January 2023
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