Paris

This past weekend I had the privilege of traveling to Paris! We arrived on Friday afternoon and made it to our hostel successfully. Our hostel turned out to be located around the corner from Moulin Rouge. Lets just say that we were near a very interesting street with a lot of adult shops... We took the advice of the woman at the front desk and went to a nearby French restaurant. We were not sure what to order....I ended up with steak (I requested well-done haha), Emily had steak with stinky cheese, and Christy had a salad with stinky cheese and ham (I ordered the right thing for the first time in my life!!!). After that, we went back to the hostel to rest for the night.

The hostel was small (we are in Europe haha). We had a private room with a bunk bed and a cot. We also had our own bathroom! If one of us needed to walk across the room, we would have to take turns standing in the correct place. It was very tiny and the walls were thin, but we were thankful to have a roof over our heads!

Saturday we decided to take a hop on hop off bus tour. It was designed so that you were able to see all of the big things in the city and you could get off wherever you wanted! Buses came every 15 minutes so we could stay as long as we wanted. The bus was a double-decker bus; I have always wanted to ride one of these! I was so excited for our tourist trip around Paris, but there was a problem...Paris was cold....really cold. We checked the weather before we left and it was supposed to be 60 degrees. I thought that was a pretty comfortable temperature for walking around a town! We all packed very lightly (we only took a carry-on bag) and none of us brought enough clothes...I wore a tank top, shirt, cardigan, jeans, and a light scarf and I'm pretty sure my lips were blue. Paris 60 degree weather is VERY different from Kentucky 60 degree weather. Our teeth chattered the whole time. Sitting on top of the bus in the wind probably did not help the situation very much, but we HAD to sit there to get the good pictures!

We got off of the bus at the Arc de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower. It was so unreal to see these famous monuments in person! They were hugeeeeeee! I really could not believe that I was looking at it in person. We took a lot of pictures and tried to soak in the reality of what we saw. After the tour, we returned to our hostel and put on every piece of clothing that we had brought. Then we went out to dinner. This time I had duck, green beans (I think they were French cut haha) and potatoes! It was a great dinner! When we were walking home I stopped at a vendor to get a famous crepe. Oh my goodness it was awesome! It was like a thin pancake/waffle and you could choose the topping. I had Nutella with mine. I'm so thankful I tried one and I need to figure out how to make one at home (cough cough Kelsey).

Sunday morning we went and visited Notre Dame. They were having mass, but they allowed visitors to walk on the sides during the service (talk about a distraction!). This place was beautiful! There were many stained glass windows (which I love). I was also able to see the gargoyles outside!!! We stopped by a cheese shop on the way home to try the famous French cheese. As soon as we walked into the shop, the smell hit us. We sampled a piece of cheese and (of course) none of us liked it. We also tasted some wine that might as well have been gasoline. I finally just ordered a coffee at a cafe (the last thing I hadn't tried in Paris). I was given one sugar cube with my coffee and I just started laughing. I politely told the server that I was going to need more sugar. I don't know how many he gave me, but I put them all in. I strongly believe that you cannot put too much sugar in coffee :) and it was delicious!!!!

Paris was a very beautiful city. All of the buildings were very pretty and I felt like I was in a different world. It was a nice place to visit, but I was once again reminded of how much I love my old Kentucky home. I miss nature. This sounds cliché, but all I see these days is buildings (the city life). I don't think I was made for big city life haha! I need trees and grass at least!!! I am having a great time and I am enjoying Europe, but there is no way I could live here (I can hear your relief). 

My birthday is Friday and I keep forgetting about it. I am going with some friends to Rome for the weekend and I am SO excited!!!!! There are a lot of things that I want to see there. I am also looking forward to some legit Italian food (yummmmmmmm)! And gelato! This is going to be one unique birthday. Instead of celebrating with my favorite set of twins (Kara and Karinne-they have the same bday) or making birthday wishes with Maggie, I will be in ROME. But don't worry, I plan on walking the streets of Rome while singing "22" by Taylor Swift. 

p.s. Maggie and Morgan- prepare for a day of birthday wishes upon my return ;)