All That Jazz: Vive la France

I am finally back in Kaunas, so I will finally dive into details about Paris! This is gonna take a while.

First off, have I mentioned how much I loved it? I will try not to say it too many times, but I hope my point has been made! #BLESSED

When we left for the airport on Wednesday, we had to take a bus to Akropolis, then another to Vilnius. On the way to Akropolis this little old lady got on the bus so I scooted over and she sat by me. She said something in Lithuanian, and I just kinda smiled and said I don't speak Lithuanian. She just paused for a second, and then went off on a story. I had no idea what she was saying so I just smiled and nodded! Haha it worked until she stopped talking and looked at me expectantly. I reiterated what I said before and then she realized. It was our turn to get off so I mumbled "Atsiprasau", and she clutched my arm for a second and said, "Aciu". It was awkward but so sweet!

The flight over wasn't very eventful. I had a window seat! Too bad I wasn't on the side to see Paris, but the other city lights were still cool. The couple next to me were drinking a TON of wine! By the end of the flight the lady was literally leaning over me to see out the window. In my head I kept thinking, "Hmph! Well excuuuuse me!". When we did land I was so excited to hear people speak french! We got a taxi and started driving into Paris. It took about an hour because we landed at Beauvais, but when we did, oh man! I already wrote about how I squealed when I saw the Eiffel Tower. It was so magical to me! All of the buildings were adorably french. Even our hostel! I guess they don't believe in A/C though.

The next morning, we got up around 9:30 and I couldn't help thinking, "What are we doing here? We're in Paris!! We should be exploring!", but I think I was overly excited compared to everyone else. We found a little bakery and I got my first croissant, or two.. They were fabulous, by the way. I was surprised by how much french I remember. I was able to translate some things for my roommates! Not that much... But still! After that we went back to the hostel to talk to the manager because we had a bed bug problem. They fixed it. Let's not talk about that though.

Our first destination was the Eiffel Tower, of course! Can I just say the metro system is twenty billion times easier and better than the Kaunas bus system? It did help that we had an app, but really. Three of us decided we wanted to ride to the top! The line was not as long as I expected. The view was incredible!! My brain couldn't comprehend that I was on the Eiffel Tower. Craziness! We went back down the stairs way, which was also super cool.

Next, we went to Le Louvre. On the way there, I was beside/behind Desteny when we were getting on the metro and I saw some girls unzip her bag. (In my head I'm thinkin, "Ah nah!") I quickly put my hand over the bag, and then one of the girls started tapping me on the arm. I think she was trying to distract me..? She didn't do a very good job of it. They got mad and started making kicking notions towards us and then even spit at us! Geez. Luckily the doors closed and that was that. We were all careful from then on.

The Louvre was absolutely amazing! The outside was so beautiful. And way bigger than I thought it would be! Of course, everything in Paris was bigger than I expected. The same three of us went inside. Turns out, international students get in for free! That was super nice. As we entered, I couldn't help but squeal again! It was so exciting! That palace is ginormous though. We were in there for an hour and only saw 2 1/2 wings! The Greek, Italian, and Egyptian. Everything inside was even more beautiful! Naturally we found the Mona Lisa, and then the Venus de Milo! The stairs throughout the Louvre are marble.. And smoother than a baby's bottom. And also, slightly slanted. Do you see where I'm going with this? So many people slipped on those stairs! I felt so bad but it was hilarious how many people fell down.

After the Louvre we were a little tired so we sat by the River Seine and relaxed. And then we were hungry! We found an awesome Vietnamese restaurant by our hostel. Yummy!! Then, we retired for the evening.

Day two: We started off with Notre Dame. It was so breathtaking and sacred. I loved the stained glass! There was even a congregation worshipping. We walked through and then came out and realized there was a movie being filmed right there! A crew member kept pushing the crowd back. So, it was a bit crowded but still an awesome experience.

The next on our list was Arc de Triomphe. It was a little confusing getting there, but once we did it was worth it! Naturally, it was way bigger in person. We just walked around it for a little while.

We found a cute place to eat and then took a nap back at the hostel. Remember how I said they don't believe in A/C? I woke up so sweaty! Haha but the outside breeze felt really good. We went back to the Eiffel Tower to take pictures, and then found a nice spot to watch it light up! I'll admit, I didn't think of it so much pretty as I did awesome, but at night it was so lovely! Some of the girls wanted to ride a carousel, but I was content to just watch the lights. At the top of every hour, it sparkles! I loved it so much!

We went back to the hostel, but we also discovered there was a crepe place really close so Paris, Cameron, and I went to check it out. It was a tiny shop with about 15 people crammed in there already. I was a little nervous at first but they were so nice! We ordered our crepes and then the guy pulled out Connect Four and said if we won, our crepes were free, but if we lost, we had to take a picture on his snapchat. Of course, he's pro and he won, but I had so much fun! Everyone was laughing and they were so welcoming! I always thought French people would be snobby.. But everyone in Paris was nicer than Lithuanians. (Shame on me) P.S. The crepe was AMAZING!

On our third day (and last), it was our head teacher, Paris', birthday! We went to Sacre-Coeur first, which is the highest point in Paris and has an awesome cathedral at the top. I don't have much to say except what I have been saying- it was beautiful! We climbed so many stairs to get there. I also tried a macaroon! It was pretty good.

We also went back to Le Louvre and soaked our feet in the fountain! I thought that was super fun. Paris wanted to ride a ferris wheel, so we walked over. On our way, a huge crowd of people just started walking quickly past us. It was insane! And they were all on their phones. It was funny but I'm dying to know what so many people were interested in. It was like a human stampede! The view from the ferris wheel was awesome! We were right down Champs Elysees, which has the Arc de Triomphe at the end so that was an epic view. We could see all of Paris! I love this city...

We stopped by Starbucks and then sat on the lawn at the Eiffel Tower for a little longer. I've never been offered so much beer! Haha so this is peer pressure ;) Not really. It was pretty annoying after a while. We walked back to the metro, and then rode to a restaurant we liked. I got two more crepes because how could I not? (On the way home I also got another croissant).

This morning when we got up to leave, it was raining. Desteny said, "Paris is crying for us!". She might've been joking but if I'm being honest, I cried just a little when we left. Paris, je t'aime! A bientot.