Paris!!

I just arrived back in Rome earlier this morning from Paris and I am trying to recover in time for class. Paris was amazing! I seriously love it more than Rome. It is such a beautiful city.
We left for Paris on Thursday evening on an overnight train. We realized once we got on the train, that we each had a different room on the train. So, we got separated. I ended up in a room with a girl who spoke only Chinese and an Italian family with a little boy. I did not sleep very well on the train but as soon as we rode into Paris my lack of sleep disappeared and I became excited. We got off the train and into a taxi when we realized that we did not printout the address to our hostel. Meghan called her Mom and we were able to get the address. Meghan broke down a little and cried but it was only because she hated being in a foreign country where she could understand or speak the language.
Since our train was late, we arrived at the hostel after our group had already left. So instead, we made our way to the first meeting spot in front of Notre Dame and I received my first experience in a French subway. My first view of Notre Dame, I could not help but think that It was smaller than it looked in the pictures, but as we walked closer I realize that it is actually bigger than the pictures. We found our group and met our tour guide, Andy Steves. He was a 5th year Architect major from Notre Dame who just graduated last spring and who was the captain of the Irish Guard. He speaks fluent Italian and French and has travelled abroad ever since he was little with his Dad, Rick Steves, who is a well-known travel guru.
Anyway, we started our tour looking around the Latin quarter of Paris where there are a lot of the old buildings and streets. We were shown this bookstore call Shakespeare and Company. An old bookstore allowed the rooms at the top to be rented out for writers. For a room, they have to devote some time working in the store and read one book a day and then their rent is free. Meghan swears that she will come back to Paris and live at the bookstore to write.
We had lunch at a little café. I ordered a vegetarian quiche, which was delicious, and for dessert, we had a Nutella crepe. It was the perfect thing to have in the cool afternoon.
We took another subway to the Eiffel tower. Unfortunately, the very top of the Eiffel tower was still closed because of the recent terrorist threats but we were still able to go up to the second level, and the view of Paris was spectacular! The sun was also beginning to set which cast a neat shadow of the Eiffel tower over the city below. Andy made sure we had plenty of opportunities to take pictures, considering that the whole group was full of girls, which he seemed to enjoy.
After hanging around the tower for a good hour, it was time for dinner. We walked to this cute hole in the wall restaurant a few blocks away from the Eiffel Tower. The owner had closed his restaurant from everyone else and allowed our group in for a private dinner. For an appetizer, we had a type of salad with bread and cheese and a small bowl of escargot, which was surprisingly delicious. Our main course was a leg of duck over mashed potatoes. I do not even know how to describe it other then AMAZING GOOD! We were served a rich chocolate cake that was swimming in a pool of sweet gravy. As soon as we were nicely stuffed, we headed off again to our next destination.
At this point, the sun had set and it was dark outside. We walked past the Eiffel Tower again, which was lit up, and we walked to a bike rental place. We meet our bike tour guide, Billy, who is a goofy looking energetic man. We choose our bike and took off on our tour through Paris. I loved riding bikes through Paris. We saw the golden dome church, were the body of Napoleon lies, and we rode along the Seine river. We arrived at a boat dock where we locked our bikes and boarded a tour boat. Our guide pulls out about ten bottles of wine and several plastic cups and we rode down the river sipping wine and enjoying the scenic river view of the city. We rode past Notre Dame again, and the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower, which, around 9:00-9:05, started to sparkle. After our boat tour, we got back on our bikes and rode back to the bike rental place where we dropped off the bikes and returned to the hostel for the night.
Saturday Morning, we went to the Louvre where we spent most of our time exploring. Afterwards, we walked to the victory Arch. After learning that it was closed on Saturdays, Andy let us loose to explore the shopping area of Paris. Bethany, Meghan, and me do not like shopping so we stopped at the first coffee house we could find, which turned out to be a Starbucks, and sat inside enjoying our coffee. Might I add that it was raining, so it was a good idea to get out of the rain before any of us caught a cold. We met back up with our group at the meeting place and continued on to see the Bastille, the church on top of the hill called Sacred Heart, and caught a glimpse of the Moulin Rouge. (The street the Moulin Rouge was on was a very awkward street to walk on since the majority of the stores were dedicated to sex including a “sex” museum which we did NOT go in!)
We had dinner at a French restaurant. I ordered French onion soup (yummy!) and a pork dish. For dessert was a thick chocolate Mousse, which was so delicious, I would kill to have it again. (Ok, well, maybe not kill, but you get the point.)
Sunday morning we visited the weekly market, which was like walking through a zoo. The locals crowded around the vendors haggling over prices and buying the strangest things, I have ever seen. I swear I saw a dead rabbit hanging over the head of one vendor. After we escaped the chaos, Andy took us to his favorite park in Paris, and I must say I agree. It was like walking through Central Park. In the middle of the park was a lake with a huge cliff-looking island. On top of the Island was a little gazebo. We walked up to the top of the island and Andy pulled out a couple bottles of champagne and we toasted our time in Paris. He also gave each of us a little metal replica of the Eiffel Tower telling us to remember him when we look at it. I’m telling you, Andy was a awesome tour guide. As some of the girls departed to visit other parts in Paris. Meghan, Bethany, and I followed Andy to another market that specializes in cooked food. I bought another crepe filled with meat, onions, and cheese. I know I say this a lot but, it was amazing!
We finally said goodbye to Andy and we left for Rome again. Our train left at 6:50 p.m. and arrived today at 10:30 a.m. It was probably my favorite weekend so far.