Paris, France

Honestly, I didn't have that great of an experience in France... But it wasn't France's fault. I got tendonitis in my feet and was in a lot of pain. My boots formed a hole in the bottom the day it started raining, I got the wrong size skirt and couldn't wear it, the museum I REALLY wanted to visit was closed, I forgot to get an Eiffel Tower key chain, got sprayed with holy water during mass at Norte Dame, there are pigeons EVERYWHERE making everything feel so dirty- Pigeons are the hobo's of the bird world...always hanging on the streets, begging for food and almost always missing a limb or a group of feathers. I definitely need to go back a second time and have a do-over. Here are some of the things I did though:

I stayed in ETAP Hotel Paris La Villette- It was dirty, not close to much except the train station, and it a pretty sketchy part of town... Won't be going back there- 

EIFFEL TOWER

The Eiffel Tower (French: La Tour Eiffel, [tuʁ ɛfɛl]) is an iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Marsin Paris. It was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Erected in 1889 as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair, it was initially criticised by some of France's leading artists and intellectuals for its design, but has become both a global cultural icon ofFrance and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris and the most-visited paid monument in the world. 

I went at night time- next time I'll go during the day to compare... I'm a sucker for city lights at night, so I loved it! It's about 81 stories, you can climb up or take the lift. - Beautiful construction and lots of character + is sparkles in the night time sky-A wonderful experience!

THE LOUVRE MUSEUM

Did you know: If you spend 60 seconds looking at each piece of art in the Louvre, you would be in there for 3 months straight! True story.

It is wonderful and a total candy store for this kid!

ps. Mona is TINY- don't be fooled

SAINT MICHAEL/NOTRE DAME AREA

This is where you will find the BEST crepes, and in France you can have crepes for breakfast, lunch and dinner- and I totally did! There are some fun stores to shop around at, venders (who are a little on the crazy side) and great architecture to see.

NOTRE DAME

Something that was 100% weird and unfamiliar to me, was that people/tourists can wonder in and out of the Cathedrals, even when mass is going on. We climbed the bell tower to try and find Quasimodo and his pals... with no luck, but still a great experience haha. The flying buttresses, stained glass windows and other innovative architectural features in this building are completely phenomenal! During the mass I got sprayed with Holy water by the priest..I don't know, maybe he thought I needed it- but if you're going to hang out for mass, stay in the back :) I definitely did not feel the spirit at all during this experience- I am so grateful to belong to a church that has the fulness of the gospel!  

Walk over to the POINT DE L'ALMA BRIDGE

At the docks for Bateaux Mouches- this is where a lot of the Jason Borne movie was filmed.

Take the SIEN RIVER CRUISE

It's a great way to see the city.

MUSEE D'ORSAY

I was SERIOUSLY excited to visit this museum because it holds many works from my very favorite artists, and impressionism is my FAVE style of art and painting, it was always my dream to go.. It ended up being CLOSED- I actually cried! This is on my "next time" list.

For next time... needed longer here

VERSAILLES (+PALACE) & 

SECRE COEUR &

ARC DE TRIOMPHE &

LA DEFENSE GRANDE ARCHE &

DISNEY EURO

++++++++++++++

(sigh) next time