I'd decided that because I was going all the way around the other side of the world, I might as well make the most of the trip and go to Paris for a few days before heading up to Sheffield (which is one of the reasons why I flew out so much earlier than I actually had to!). So, on the Tuesday after I arrived (the 25th), I checked out of my hotel in Paddington and made the trek over to St Pancras International, where I boarded a train bound for Paris. It was a really nice trip - the train is really smooth, and the trip out of London and through Kent was lovely, with all these little old farms and rolling green fields. Beautiful. The trip through the tunnel is about half an hour or so, and all you can see are these little lights whizzing by at different times. Then we came out in France, where we had adorable little French farms and villages going past the window.
I got to Paris at about 12.45pm local time, and so went and had a baguette for lunch before figuring out the Metro to get to my hotel - at this point I was really glad that I knew how to ride the Tube in London, because it made it much easier! When I finally figured out where my hotel was, I checked in and found that it was actually a really lovely little place with a double bed, ensuite and free Wifi connection. From there I went for a walk not too far away. It didn't take me long to realise that what I thought was passable schoolgirl French was actually totally abysmal - I think I spent most of my time apologising for not being able to speak properly!
The next day, I got up reasonably early, went down for breakfast in the hotel - which was really lovely. It was traditional French, so I had a petit pain, a croissant with jam, orange juice and hot chocolate. C'est Bonne! After that, I went back upstairs and listened to the end of the Hottest 100 countdown while trying to talk to some special people in a paddling pool in Australia (!!). After listening to Big Jet Plane (I still think that Florence and Dizzee should have won...), I left my hotel and caught the Metro to the city (where, in the station, there was this enormous band playing guitars, banjoes and piano accordions) and walked down to the Notre Dame. It really is an amazing church! What was funny though was that they still had an enormous Christmas tree. It was beautiful, but looked somehow out of place in late January. I was there for maybe an hour, then walked back up and found an ice rink and a merry-go-round, and then went and had a look around a huge shop on the Rue de Rivoli.
After imagining spending large amounts of money, I began to meander up the Rue de Rivoli, stopping occasionally to look at shops, but heading vaguely towards the Louvre. Once I got there, I had to line up in the freezing cold (although, it's got to be said. By then, I couldn't really feel it any more!) and got inside. It was a bit overwhelming, I've got to say - enormous! When I eventually figured out where to buy my tickets from and got my bearings on the map, I wandered through the depths of the Louvre (where they were actually showing some contemporary Russian film art pieces, which was a little odd. But awesome) towards the Ancient Egyptian section. I then took a wrong turn and ended up at the Venus de Milo, which wasn't that exciting, and then back through to the mummies and heiroglyphics. There weren't actually any mummies though - I think one of the main differences between museums and galleries (especially galleries like this) is that museums are happy to show you the mummies, where galleries just show you the decorated coffins.
Anyway, once I worked my way through Ancient Egypt, I saw Nike of Samothrace (which really WAS awesome) and then into Renaissance Italy and Spain, where I saw works by Michelangelo, Titian, Raphael, Goya, Velasquez and - of course - the Mona Lisa. Then I headed over and somehow ended up in the preserved rooms used by Napoleon when he was in charge, saw some royal portraiture, and then ended up looking at Dutch and German paintings. By the time I got out, it was completely dark outside, and I realised I'd been in there for about five hours. So I did what anyone else would do, and went for a ride on a ferris wheel and got a crepe (and managed to get chocolate all over myself... my scarf smelled like Nutella for days!) before catching the Metro back.
Thursday morning, I managed to get up early (for me, anyway) and caught the Metro out to Concorde, and then visited the Madeleine church. I walked all around it, taking photos of everything that had my name on it, before going into the church itself, which was beautiful. I then walked back down to the Place de la Concorde so I could head over to the Avenue des Champs-Elysses, during which time I decided that I never, ever want to drive in Paris. They don't have lanes on the road, they leave it as late to brake as possible, and are all pretty aggressive. It was scary!
When I hit the Champs-Elysses (without getting hit by a car, thank God) all I could think was: "The Champs-Elysses is a busy street...", and I have the feeling that I was grinning like a crazy person because of it. I walked past expensive shops, expensive hotels and movie theatres on my way to the Arc de Triomphe. When I got there, this guy asked me for the time, and I replied that my French was really bad, and showed him my watch. He seemed surprised that I wasn't French, and turns out that his name was Billy, he was from Romania, and had studied in England a few years earlier. He then gave me a huge hug and kissed me on both cheeks - and didn't even try to steal my wallet!
Following the Arc de Triomphe, I Metro'd it up to the Eiffel Tower (during which time I was serenaded by a piano accordionist) and managed to get up to the second level. Last time I was in Paris, the very top was shut because there were too many people, and this time, they were doing maintenance - I guess I'll just have to keep going back until I can get to the top! So I braved the cold and wind and looked at the view, which was amazing. Then I went into the cafe and bought a hot chocolate, and I swear, nothing has ever tasted that good. It warmed me up on the inside as well as the outside!
I then went out and caught another Metro to the Musee D'Orsay, which I actually liked better than the Louvre. I spent a great couple of hours looking at the Impressionists, and then a bit longer in the shop! From there, I walked back up along the Seine towards the Notre Dame again, where I saw it all lit up. I then went to look for an English-speaking bookshop that I'd heard about, and when I couldn't find it after an hour, I went home. Over all, I think this was my favourite day.
Friday morning, I looked up the bookshop on the map, and then went and found it. It was so worth the search - there were piles of books everywhere, old ones, new ones, picture books, reference books, awesome books! I even found a little nook decorated with lanterns that housed a typewriter and a chair. It was really lovely. Then I realised I was running later than I'd thought, so I bolted back to my hotel, grabbed my bags, and raced back to the Gare du Nord to catch my train back to the UK. When I was going through customs, the man was asking me all these questions about my studying etc, and it wasn't until he asked to see the letter from Sheffield that I realised that he was re-visa-ing me! I'd thought he was just interested.
Aside from that slight hiccup, the train ride back was smooth railing (?), which signalled the end of my French adventure. I got back to England at about 4.30. I went and bought my ticket for Nottingham, where I was going to meet Jack so that I could spend a couple of days chilling before getting ready for Uni.
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