J’adore le Paris

Bonjour! Or as I like to really say…hey ya’ll! I made it back safe and sound from Paris after a full weekend of experiencing different sites and making my way around a city that I have briefly visited. Now can I begin by saying I have the worst French accent ever. Between my training in Spanish and my slight south accent, it was a disaster in the making. After a few dirty looks and help from my friends on the trip, I progressively learned over the weekend a few phrases that got me through my stay.



**Just a heads up…this post is extremely long, BUT I promise you will be entertained throughout so get excited! Also, two videos are posted because it wouldn't let me do a full length movie.

So where do I even begin…I suppose the beginning would be a good place. On Friday, me and my flatmates (Jessica, Kirsten, Sam, and Jacki) ventured to the train station at 5:30 a.m. Quite the early

morning to say the least! We hopped on the coach and were whisked away on the Chunnel to France. I sat by an extremely nice lady who lives on the outside of Paris and gave me some great tips for my stay. After speaking for about an hour, I passed out for the rest of the way (despite my original goal to journal) and the next thing I knew I was in Paris! We went straight to buy our pass on the metro (quite a struggle at first considering we didn’t have euros) then made our way to our hostel, St. Christopher’s.

After checking in and dropping off our belongings, we headed to the famous Moulin Rouge…and let me tell you, it was very small unlike the image you see in the movie. It was still neat to see it and

walk around the surrounding community. We then decided to go to the Sacre Cour (famous cathedral) and on the wayfound a quaint painting shop where we found great artwork as well as a carousel. This was sooo much fun…it has been quite a long time since I have done this! Then we took some pictures (jumping of course) and made our way all the way up the steps and came upon a juggler from NY. He was really entertaining and we enjoyable to sit and watch. The cathedral itself was beautiful but what got me the most was the amazing view we had of Paris. I suppose it was the mixture of beautiful (perfect) weather and the fact that I was in France…but I couldn’t help but tear up just a bit because I was actually doing what I have wanted to do for so long-TRAVEL and ADVENTURE around the world!



Check out PART ONE of my Shea's Shananigans in Paris :)

After doing this, we ventured back to our hostel to take a quick breather and research a good place to eat for dinner. We took the metro over to L’ Encriers and got a bit lost, but in the midst of being turned around, I ran upon the place I stayed at when I visited with my senior class! What great memories that was and to think I was standing back in the same place just three years later. We finally sat down for dinner around 7:30pm and ate some French cuisine (well I got a vegetable lasagna) but it was still marvelous. We then decided to go see the Eiffel Tower before the night ended and we got there right in the knick of time to watch it sparkle as we stood underneath it. Then it was back to the hostel for a good night’s sleep before rising early on Saturday for another full day.



The next morning, we arose and had free breakfast at our hostel (cereal with warm milk, baguettes with nutella, orange juice). By the way…nutella is the best thing ever to be created! Hazelnut and chocolate are soooo great together on bread-YUM! Me, Jacki, Kirsten, and Sam decided to visit Versailles

Palace while Jessica met up with her friend studying abroad in France. Versailles was absolutely beautiful! This is where Louis XVI lived…so much history! Although it cost a pretty penny to visit, this was definitely worth it! Between the magnificent tapestries, elaborate cathedral, the fabric on the walls, the gorgeous pictures, hall of mirrors, gardens, water works, music, atmosphere, etc…it was amazing to say the least. We spent a few hours traipsing through the halls and learning about the history then took pictures in the gardens while watching the fountains. We had a splendid time within the palace and as we were leaving, there was a small infantry marching down the streets…talk about a perfect ending! And I even got to take my picture with one of them.

We left town on another train and went back towards the Eiffel

tower to do the Seine River cruise…we got to see sights such as the Louvre, where Princess Diana was killed in the tunnel, the American church, golden flame, etc. It was so much fun and nice to sit down for a while after being extremely hot all day. I was definitely NOT prepared for nearly 80 degree weather!
 After our cruise we mounted the grand tower at sunset and got to the very top right when it was pitch black. THEN the lights started to sparkle and it was simply marvelous. One of the best things…we met an adorable couple from Cary, NC! I know….and it gets better-they had a son who used to go to Elon and transferred to Appalachian. What a small world, ya know?! Anyways, we finished up and went off in the distance to sparkle one last time. Then it was back to the hostel to get ready for our last day in Paris L

PART TWO of Shea's Shananigans!

Sooo the day finally came for us to leave…so sad! We checked out and ventured off to a small market to get last minute items then went to the Arch de Triumph and walked down the Champs d’ Elysee to finish off our wonderful weekend. We had to meet back at the hostel to grab our bags and get on our train home. Although it was sad to leave Paris, I was ready to be back “home” in London. Despite some awful smells (that town needs some DEODRANT) and rude people at times, it was a fabulous weekend that I would recommend for all to visit. Bonjour Paris…Cheers to London!