Euro Trip (Days 1-3)- Paris, France

As you might be able to notice the posts from this trip have a lot less detail than some others. Well this is likely because I was not a miracle child that thought to start blogging about my life when I was 16. This is all from memory and photos.

In high school I went to Europe for the first time in my life with people from school.  We landed in Paris, France and went down to Rome, Italy stopping over in a few places along the way.

Some of the gals

We spent a few days in Paris. We saw all of the very touristy sites, went shopping and treated ourselves to french cuisine. The food was delicious. There are so many small bakeries and they are all to die for by my standards. 

That fancy famous arch

Arc de Triomphe

 Obviously a must see was the Eiffel Tower. I got many pictures of us as we drove by it but we didn't walk around it at all. Walking through Paris I noticed a very large number of carousels. It seams like a very common theme and it would be nice to see it in the summer when some of these were running and didn't look so lonely.

....and another must see (Notre Dame Cathedral). I had never seen such a big and impressive church. The architecture in Paris was all spectacular but this was one of the highlights.

Notre Dame Cathedral

 There was beautiful stained glass and art in the churches. The amount of money and time that goes into these buildings... I can't begin to describe it. Every little detail is just right. Wood is carved, stone is chiseled, glass is stained with beautiful images.

Stained glass window in Notre Dame

 Even more so in the Louvre. I ran around this museum for a few hours and it was not nearly enough. I would recommend at least a FULL day to see this one thing if not a weekend to fully experience it. 

Pyramids outside the Louvre Museum

Unfortunately as a whole I would say my experience to Paris was not as pleasant as I would have hoped.  The weather was very wet and cold for the few days we were there. Many people were rude to my friends and I (obviously children with no money or style who they didn't think understood french). In one shop people actually told me that I couldn't afford it when I asked how much it was. In another a few of the girls in the shop started talking about us in french. We naturally started talking to them in french and were amused by their reactions. I guess it's not well known that Canada is bilingual?

Although I was not very impressed with the people or the weather in Paris, the art and the culture did amaze me. I love the big churches, elaborate buildings, paintings, food.... I would go back to visit on these things alone and absolutely not enter a single shop.