J'adore Paris!

At 5:25AM on Thursday morning, I hopped on a train headed for Paris.  Over the next two days we were busy seeing the most important tourist sights.  We were up and out of the hostel everyday by 9AM so we could make the most out of our time in Paris.

Since the boys and the rest of our friends weren't coming until Thursday night we promised we wouldn't see the major sights without them.  Instead we went shopping down the Champs-Elysees.  We took pictures by the Arc de Triomphe and went under the arc to learn more about it. 

Our next stop was the Roman Catholic Church, Sacre Coeur or Sacred Heart.  As you can see it is absolutely beautiful.  We walked all the way to the top because we heard the view was amazing, and it was.  We went through the church but weren't allowed to take photographs.  The area near the Sacre Coeur also had lots of cheap souvenir shops so I bought myself a large coffee mug/soup bowl for 7 euros. 

On Friday we started the day off at the Louvre.  I managed to get in for free since I told him I was 19 years old and studying abroad in London.  We spent about 3 hours there and didn't even see half of what the museum had on exhibit.  Of course I saw the most important pieces.  It was neat to see sculptures of gods/goddesses and paintings that we had studied in my classes firsthand as well. 

After the Louvre we walked to Notre Dame.  We were able to enter for free but again could not take pictures.  It was interesting to see the spot where in the famous painting of the coronation by Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon crowns himself.  The artist however took some creative liberties with the actual imagery of the interior of Notre Dame which I learned while at Versailles.

What's a trip to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower?  We took the metro to one station away so we could walk up on the Eiffel tower and get the best pictures possible.  I think we found a great spot since the pictures turned out so well.  I was quite surprised to see vendors and food stands under the tower when we walked closer. 

Our last stop that night after dinner at a French restaurant near the Champs-Elysees was to take a picture by the Arc de Triomphe at night while it was lit up.