So this weekend (June9-10) I boarded a Eurostar and took of to the lovely city that is Paris France.
Paris has always been a city i hold close to my heart. From the traditional monuments that draw people in to the quiet streets on the forgotten parts.
Unfortunately being there for only 36 hours did not give me a lot of time to sleep. In fact I maybe had slept a total of 10 hours in total from when I left the night before to the night I stayed.
Of course the first stop that I made was off to Tour de Eiffel. One of my favourite landmarks since I was young. I stretched my jacket out before lying down in the grass and enjoying the people watching before the hostel was ready to go in.
Once unloading all of my belonging I paused for a quick 2 hour nap (part of my 10 hours total) before jetting off to the next stop.
Learning that you can get a student fare for the underground is truly a blessing. I headed out to Montmatre to climb Sacre Coeur. Given it was on the list of top views I knew I had no choice but to make the 300 step climb. (my legs are obviously feeling it now).
Let me tell you, the view was absolutely breath taking, and after taking certain photos and playing with various lighting you could see touch of pink on one sight while the other side was clear blue skies.
Once combing down from the climb I checked my watched and hoped that I could catch the sunset from a slightly closer view point of the city.
Trekking off to Arc de Triomphe I willed my legs to climb a couple hundred more stairs. If you thought the view from Sacre Coeur was nice, Arc de Triomphe was another view in itself.
*Small tip is if you show your student ID you can typically get a discount in order to climb these places*
Unfortunately I misestimated the time of the sunset and knew that I wouldnt be allowed to sit up top the Arc for 2 hours and headed off to the famous pyramids at Musee de Louvre.
There I had to awkwardly take the typical tourist picture, which came out horrible, but I did get a stunning view of the sky changing pink as night fell upon Paris.
Alas the dreaded *rain will begin falling in 20 minutes* flashed upon my phone, but not before I could hussel myself off to Eiffel Tower for the traditional night shot.
By then we had hit 11:30pm and I knew i needed some much needed sleep. Especially if I wanted to go off to see the sunrise in 5 hours.
Post my little 3 hour nap by the time we were back, I was up and ready to rumble again. I headed out to Place de Trocadéro to take photos of the sunrise over Paris. Though it was a cloudy morning, I wasnt completely disappointed with the photos I took. I came across a couple taking their wedding pictures and couldn't help but sneak a few photos myself.
Post sunrise I snuck off back to bed for a couple hours knowing that check out wasnt until 11 and our train was at 5. Once i felt more refreshed I headed off to Notre Dame. I lit a candle for my grandmother who passed last summer and toured around the Cathedral. Unfortunately my main reason for the visit was short lived due to needing tickets in advance in order to climb to the top. I told myself, do i really need ANOTHER photo of the city scape of Paris.
I headed along the Seine river and took photos of some famous bridges. Sometimes stopping to sit and enjoy the people walking by.
I plugged in a couple more top photo spots and headed off to a little known cafe that had flower walls and purple seats. Though it sounds like a stereo typical Parisan cafè but it makes for a perfect photo opt.
Finally, I took myself over the river and through a mini island before coming across Rue Cremieux. This street is known as one of the most colourful streets in Paris with each house painted a different colour.
Though my weekend was action packed and offered a lot of tourist stops and quiet destinations, it came with a heavy cost. Unfortunately after my first nap I noticed my phone notifying me of a 8pm train ticket. It dawned on me that I booked a return trip same day and had a huge decision to make. Do i pack up and go home only to have seen soley the Eiffel tower or do I hunker down and pay the change fee and fare difference.
I could fly out Early morning enjoying the rest of the day but miss the sunrise, I could fly out a bit later in the afternoon watching sunrise and cutting the day in half, or spend the most on a new train ticket and getting the most out of my 36 hours.
I decided to hunker down with the fee and limit myself to other spending in order to enjoy Paris, after all the last time I was here was 4 years ago.
Paris, France June 10th, 2018