so, let's make this post a trip recap, eh? (updated with pictures)
my journey, as you are all well aware, began in grand ol' paris. being the great organized person that i am, i forgot to top-up my phone before i left, and was unable to do so when i got to paris. this caused a lot of problems because i needed it to get in contact with my friends mellissa and catherine in paris. because of phone trouble on their end as well, i was unable to communicate with them until around 8pm in paris.
so, the first thing i did in this new city was travel towards the eiffel tower. at least it was a place that everyone knew. let me tell you, i think it is a hell of a lot larger than i thought it was going to be. after traveling for eight hours from york to paris, it was just wonderful to sit and relax underneath this massive and inspirational structure. after sitting for quite a while, i decided it would be a good idea to just walk and possibly find my hostel. no map, no phone, not even a bit of knowledge of the french language, and being awake for more then 30 hours combined to make it a bit difficult. it took me over four hours to head from the eiffel tower to the latin quarter where my hostel was located. i did get to see a lot of amazing things, and was able to get a few decent photos. my friend, jake (who was in london) was able to top my phone up for me which helped a great deal in my travels.
^ me in front of notre dame (looking dapper)
after an exciting night with mellissa and catherine, i spent the next day wandering around, eventually finding my hotel which i was staying at the next night. i feel like i did not do as much exploring as i would've liked to this second day, but i did finally take some more pictures. mellissa and catherine had already been to paris a few times and weren't really as interested in seeing the sights as i was. that night, i met back up with them (after a great shower) and we proceeded to a concert in the heart of the city. mellissa and catherine were staying with a friend living in paris and he took us to this great venue, la fleche d'or. from what he said it was one of the trendy clubs in paris (i'm not 100% sure of that, but it was still awesome). the entrance fee was quite expensive (8 euros) but the music was good and the people were even better. i met a few of hatem's friends and they were all really great people, willing to talk about paris and the rest of europe as well.
^ mellissa attempting to play guitar (notice the pick still stuck in the first fret)
^ mel and catherine outside the club
the next day, i had to check out of my hotel and i wandered down towards the louve and some of the other sights on the river. i really was enamored with all of the architecture in paris. it really has a feel that few cities i have been to have. i really didn't have very high expectations for paris, but it exceeded them and more. after being unable to meet up with catherine and mellissa at moulin rouge, i was able to get a hold of kelsey, one of jake's friends studying abroad in italy. she was in paris with a few friends and let me tag along as they went sight-seeing. we toured notre dame, which at the time was concluding it's palm sunday service. the place is incredible, but seriously, i still haven't found a cathedral more impressive than the york minster. it was almost anti-climactic being in notre dame. anyways, after that, our group ventured around paris, getting lost for over an hour, then finally finding the sacré-cœur basilica. this was definitely the best part of the paris trip. the view was amazing. you could see the entire city stretching on forever. it was just really moving, i almost am unable to put it into words. i would say that there is no better spot in paris than this fantastic church on the hill. definitely worth going back to.
^ the louve
^ moulin rouge on a rainy day
^ the view from sacré-cœur basilica
^ sacré-cœur basilica
i then finally met back up with mellissa and catherine and we prepared for our overnight coach to amsterdam. the bus ride wasn't the best and i really wish i would've booked train tickets in advance because if booked far enough in advance, they would have been a lot cheaper than even the coach was. well, arriving in amsterdam around 6:30 am isn't the greatest. we were all pretty exhausted and confused, not the best way to start out in amsterdam, but things started to look up, and holland turned out to be a big highlight of the trip - which is what the next post will be about.
*impossible nights*
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