The City of Love—Paris, Parigi, París. Who would’ve known how quickly I would fall in love with the city? To be honest, I didn’t even think I would like the city. Prior to going, I’d been warned about the rude people, the overcrowded streets and tourist traps, and how the city was simply “overrated.” These warnings made convincing me to buy a ticket really difficult. Thankfully, I have some pretty persuasive friends. Paris is a city that’s vibrant and full of culture; it’s a city that I am glad I didn’t miss out on.

My trip wasn’t very long. My friends and I went on Friday and came back late on Sunday. Leaving was one of the hardest things I had to do; the city captured me and I didn’t want to leave. Paris is a difficult city to see in such a short time. Everything is in its own arrondissement, so traveling around took quite a bit of time. (I cannot tell you how many Ubers and taxis we had to take!) In addition to that, there was striking/protests going on about their public transport (i.e. underground tram), so the streets were crowded with traffic. Regardless, once we got to where we were going, walking around was easy. Most of the hotspots of the city (the Louvre, Museo d’Orsay, Eiffel Tower) are in the same general area. Everything is within a 30-40 minute walk—this is a lot, but think about all of the things you will see in between.


The first day that we were in Paris, we did not do much. We were exhausted from a day full of traveling, so we ended up grabbing dinner at a pizzeria before crashing for the night. The hostel that was stayed at was called Le Montclair Montmartre. While it was not horrible, the hostel also wasn’t the best. For one, the beds in our room didn’t come made. They give you sheets and you have to make the bed yourself, which is pretty weird to me. I don’t go on vacation to have to make my own bed. Strike one. Two, the bathroom didn’t come with soap to wash your hands. That speaks for itself. Strike two. While I could nitpick and give them more strikes, I’m not, but I probably would not stay there again.

On our second day in Paris,  we went to get breakfast at Breakfast in America. It was a cute little diner that served delicious food. I ordered scrambled eggs and ham with potatoes and freshly squeezed orange juice. After we ate, we went to shop at Primark. I love this store; it’s full of cute clothes, shoes, and accessories. The only downfall is that it’s super busy. We stayed here fore about two hours before we went out to explore Paris more.


We started at the end of the Seine River. There, we went to the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore and walked our way towards the Eiffel Tower. I could not tell you how much I enjoyed the bookstore. I bought three books (and got the official stamp!) about social justice, and I was tempted to get more. Their collection is endless! It’s nothing like Liberia Aqua Alta in Venice, which was more eclectic. Shakespeare and Company was modern and everything was easy to find. Once we left the bookstore, we were all starving, so we decided to get lunch. We ended up eating at Shiso Burger. I got a cheeseburger, and it was pretty delicious. The restaurant drew us in because of its modern decor and neon lights. (Obviously that’s perfect for a picture!)

During our walk to the Eiffel Tower, we walked along the Seine river, where a lot of people seem to take their lunches and hang out with friends. If I lived in Paris, I would do the same thing because it was really nice down there. It was a pretty cool way to get away from the hustle and bustle of tourism at the top. My favorite part about walking along the river was the guy playing his guitar and singing. When we finally went back up to the top of the river, we found the Bridge of Love Locks. Paris technically began to take these down in 2015, but apparently they left a portion up. After all, it’s the City of Love, so I guess they wanted to keep some of it.

Around 6:30, we finally reached the Eiffel Tower. It was as perfect as I could imagine. One thing I knew during my trip to Paris was that I was not going to leave without seeing the tower. It’s the staple of the city. It lights up (or turns off) in in solidarity of events that happens worldwide; it sparkles; it stands during all events. It’s the epitome of Paris.  While you can go up the tower, we decided not to because the line was long, and it’s not the same as seeing it. I don’t really care about going up. After taking our pictures, we walked around the same area, where there are carousels and food. We wanted to wait to see the tower sparkle. This was probably the best thing; it was so magical.



On the last day we were in Paris, we went to the Museo d’Orsay and the Louvre. It was a more touristy day, but it wasn’t too much. We enjoyed taking photos (both of ourselves and photojournalism), and we had a delicious lunch outside at another cafe. I had a burger, fries, and coleslaw (which was pretty darn good). We left the city at 6:05 so that we could make it to the airport in time.  Since we didn’t fly in-and-out of Charles de Gaulle, we had to take a shuttle early enough to get back to Beauvis, which was about an hour-and-half away.