Paris Day One

Friday I went for my Paris weekend adventure. I took the Eurostar train from King's Cross station in London to Gare du Nord in Paris. The journey only took 2 hours and it was an opportunity I just couldn't say no to. I travelled with my friend Jan and we left for Paris at 5:25 am! I know its a bit extreme, but we're young and crazy and what better time to take such exciting trips. We arrived in Paris about 9:00am and was immediate thrown into a cultural overhaul. Every sign was in French, every announcement was in French, and I was pretty sure that Jan and I were the only ones in the entire city not speaking French (over course there were tons of other tourist, but at first glance it was a bit overwhelming). We quickly found our hotel, took a quick power nap and then started out to explore the city.

First up was the Louvre of course! The Louvre is the world's largest palace and museum. The sight of it alone is breath-taking not to mention the many masterpieces that are inside. On such a time crunch we only allowed ourselves to see top priority pieces including: the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and my favorite Winged Victory. After our tour through the muesuem we ventured out into the courtyard where I. M. Pei's controversial glass pyramids are located. It is said that the pyramids only invoke 2 emotions in people, love or hate. Well for me it complete Love! I thought they were unbelievable and I couldn't imagine the Louvre without them.

Next up we strolled through the Jardin de Tulleries and took a river boat ride down the Seine, taking in an initial view of some of Paris' highlights. After a long day of travel and a full day at the museum we found a french cafe to dine at and called in an early night in preparation of a big day ahead.