really like Americans, and how expensive everything supposedly is, but was really excited to travel with my good friends Brittany and Delia over Thanksgiving break. We stayed four nights in Hostel Montmartre Clignancourt, which was cool. It was near a McDonald's and a kebob place, and right next door to a small bakery called Boulanger Patissier that we went to everyday for breakfast (best croissants of my life!) The three of us had a private room with our own sink, but the whole floor shared one toilet and one shower! Surprisingly, it was never a problem. I actually didn't even see anyone else use the bathroom. We were on the 5th floor (room 507, I believe), which entailed climbing the old spiral staircase up five stories everytime we entered or exited the hostel. Our flight was Wednesday, November 25th. It was originally at around 9:30am, but RyanAir decided to move it up to hours to 7:30am (I guess they can just do that... but we can't complain because the roundtrip flight was $30). Therefore, we had to be at the Madrid airport at around 6am. Brittany and I slept over at Delia's house the night before so we could all go to the airport together early in the morning. We were going to split a cab, but ended up getting on the metro right when it opened at 6 and saved ourselves about 24 Euro! But to get to my p
oint, we didn't sleep much the night before.. maybe 3 hours or so. The latter is my attempt to justify the 3-hour nap we took when we checked into our hostel. We were exhausted after the flight, the one-hour bus ride from the metro to the city center, and trying to find our hostel. When we were trying to navigate the metro I was thinking 'what are we doing here? none of us know any French. this is kind of scary, etc,' but luckily Brittany and Delia led us around the city all weekend and it was fine! (Have I metioned that I am terrible with directions? If someone knows what they're doing, I just follow). Anyways, so we woke up when it was dark outside and realized we fell asleep for 3 hours! It was a rainy day anyways...? We still experienced Paris though. We went to see the Eifel Tower and the light show at night, which was very cool, and walked along the river. We also got crepes and espresso at a cute cafe nearby called Campanella (chocolate and chantilly-whipped cream). We had more of a full Paris day on Thursday, November 26th (Thanksgiving!). At 11am we met in the Latin Quarter for a Sandeman's New Europe Walking tour. This company gives 3 hour walking tours in many major European cities that are free! You just tip the tour guide at the end based on how well you think they did. We walked to and learned interesting infor
mation about the major sights, including, Notre Dame, the Louvre, garden, gift from the Egyptians, Petit and Gran Palace, Celancau/Charles DeGaulle, and the Institute of the French Language. Fun fact from our tour guide: the workers at the Institute of the French Language spent 3 months deciding whether the new word ipod should be masculine or feminine. They made it masculine. Our tour ended at Avenue des Champs-Elysees, this main street that has great shopping and the Arc de Triump at the end of it. There were also beautiful lights and a CHRISTMAS MARKET on part of this street on both sides. There were a ton of booths with all kinds of gifts, Christmas ornaments & decorations, food, drinks, and sweets. This was probably my favorite part of our time in Paris! We walked down the street, peaked our heads into the huge Louis Vuitton store, and got to the Arc de Triump where we took a ton of pictures. We spent a lot of time
looking throughout the booths at the Christmas market, specifically the food. I ate a weird combination of things and we all probably ate too much, but hey, it was our Thanksgiving dinner!! Some of what I consumed includes chocolate covered strawberries (amazing), a chocolate macaroon, a ham & cheese crepe, hot chocolate, and a chocolate beignet. (I know-chocolate overload.) I think all of that random food put me in a food coma (I probably would have had the same effect had I eaten turkey..) and I accidentally fell asleep at around 8:30pm! I can't tell you the last time that has happened.
mation about the major sights, including, Notre Dame, the Louvre, garden, gift from the Egyptians, Petit and Gran Palace, Celancau/Charles DeGaulle, and the Institute of the French Language. Fun fact from our tour guide: the workers at the Institute of the French Language spent 3 months deciding whether the new word ipod should be masculine or feminine. They made it masculine. Our tour ended at Avenue des Champs-Elysees, this main street that has great shopping and the Arc de Triump at the end of it. There were also beautiful lights and a CHRISTMAS MARKET on part of this street on both sides. There were a ton of booths with all kinds of gifts, Christmas ornaments & decorations, food, drinks, and sweets. This was probably my favorite part of our time in Paris! We walked down the street, peaked our heads into the huge Louis Vuitton store, and got to the Arc de Triump where we took a ton of pictures. We spent a lot of time
looking throughout the booths at the Christmas market, specifically the food. I ate a weird combination of things and we all probably ate too much, but hey, it was our Thanksgiving dinner!! Some of what I consumed includes chocolate covered strawberries (amazing), a chocolate macaroon, a ham & cheese crepe, hot chocolate, and a chocolate beignet. (I know-chocolate overload.) I think all of that random food put me in a food coma (I probably would have had the same effect had I eaten turkey..) and I accidentally fell asleep at around 8:30pm! I can't tell you the last time that has happened. On Friday, November 27th, we took a day trip to Versailles. We went all throughou
t the palace and ate our packed lunches outside in the beautiful gardens! We bought lunch meat and cheese to make sandwiches on a fresh baguette from the bakery. We got some other food at the grocery store and saved a lot of money on this meal. It was really cold outside, but a fun experience. After lunch we walked far back into the gardens to see Marie Antoinette's palace. It was really cold and I was complaining. I'm not used to much cold and up until this point I had been fine! Maybe it was just because we were outside for a long period of time, but that was the coldest I've been throughout all my time in Europe. We stopped into Starbucks to get some hot chocolate before getting on the train to go back to Paris. We hurried to change/get ready to go out, and go to the Louvre. The Louvre was so awesome inside! I would have liked to spend sooo much more time there, but we were only in there for under an hour because we did the pub crawl with the New Europe group, which started at 9pm. We saw some pretty cool sculptures, paintings, and the Mona Lisa though, and spent some time outside by the fountain (beautiful night atmosphere!) We had a good time on the pub crawl and met a lot of people from all over- Canada, Australia, United States... Brittany, Delia, and I were going to take a cab 
back to the hostel when we were ready to go home, but decided to start walking in the general direction to get a cheaper cab fare. To my surprise, we ended up walking the whole way back. It was far.. we were somewhere near the Arc de Triump, and our hostel was near the Sacre Coeur. I, again, was complaining because I was cold and tired, but ended up saving ourselves a lot of money again. And, we technically got to see many parts of the city we wouldn't have seen, many of which had cool Christmas lights up!
t the palace and ate our packed lunches outside in the beautiful gardens! We bought lunch meat and cheese to make sandwiches on a fresh baguette from the bakery. We got some other food at the grocery store and saved a lot of money on this meal. It was really cold outside, but a fun experience. After lunch we walked far back into the gardens to see Marie Antoinette's palace. It was really cold and I was complaining. I'm not used to much cold and up until this point I had been fine! Maybe it was just because we were outside for a long period of time, but that was the coldest I've been throughout all my time in Europe. We stopped into Starbucks to get some hot chocolate before getting on the train to go back to Paris. We hurried to change/get ready to go out, and go to the Louvre. The Louvre was so awesome inside! I would have liked to spend sooo much more time there, but we were only in there for under an hour because we did the pub crawl with the New Europe group, which started at 9pm. We saw some pretty cool sculptures, paintings, and the Mona Lisa though, and spent some time outside by the fountain (beautiful night atmosphere!) We had a good time on the pub crawl and met a lot of people from all over- Canada, Australia, United States... Brittany, Delia, and I were going to take a cab 
back to the hostel when we were ready to go home, but decided to start walking in the general direction to get a cheaper cab fare. To my surprise, we ended up walking the whole way back. It was far.. we were somewhere near the Arc de Triump, and our hostel was near the Sacre Coeur. I, again, was complaining because I was cold and tired, but ended up saving ourselves a lot of money again. And, we technically got to see many parts of the city we wouldn't have seen, many of which had cool Christmas lights up! Saturday, November 28th we had to do everything we didn't do yet. We wen
t to see the Eifel Tower during the day, the Invalides, and inside the Notre Dame. This day was really rainy and gloomy, and we were thankful that it wasn't like that up until this point. We were lucky to have two really nice days. On the way to the Notre Dame, we encountered this really cool drum line/ group of drummers? on one of the bridges! They were very talented and kept going despite the rain. I think they were a group for a charity in Africa. In the evening we went to see the Sacre Coeur (this church on top of a hill), which was near our hostel. I am soo glad we did this at the last minute and didn't leave it out because it was very beautiful! I have seen a lot of churches, cathedrals, etc. throughout my time here in Europe, but this was different from anything I have seen. It was more circular, and had different little chapels with pews/chairs and candles all around. It was 
very peaceful. Another notable thing about this church was the huge painting of Jesus on the wall and ceiling above the altar. Because it's on a hill, you can see a great view of Paris from the Sacre Coeur. It was another one of my favorite things in Paris. After this we ate a good meal with wine in a restaurant and reminisced about our trip. Overall Paris was beautiful and I had a great time!! I actually enjoyed the food there more than the food I ate in Italy! I would like to go back some day.
t to see the Eifel Tower during the day, the Invalides, and inside the Notre Dame. This day was really rainy and gloomy, and we were thankful that it wasn't like that up until this point. We were lucky to have two really nice days. On the way to the Notre Dame, we encountered this really cool drum line/ group of drummers? on one of the bridges! They were very talented and kept going despite the rain. I think they were a group for a charity in Africa. In the evening we went to see the Sacre Coeur (this church on top of a hill), which was near our hostel. I am soo glad we did this at the last minute and didn't leave it out because it was very beautiful! I have seen a lot of churches, cathedrals, etc. throughout my time here in Europe, but this was different from anything I have seen. It was more circular, and had different little chapels with pews/chairs and candles all around. It was 
very peaceful. Another notable thing about this church was the huge painting of Jesus on the wall and ceiling above the altar. Because it's on a hill, you can see a great view of Paris from the Sacre Coeur. It was another one of my favorite things in Paris. After this we ate a good meal with wine in a restaurant and reminisced about our trip. Overall Paris was beautiful and I had a great time!! I actually enjoyed the food there more than the food I ate in Italy! I would like to go back some day. 
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