We took a flight from Madrid to Paris. We were lucky enough to fly into the city during nighttime, so the entire place was illuminated with light. I even got to point out the beautiful Eiffel Tower to Bailey, from the tiny plane window. After our flight touched ground, we made our way to our hostel which was located in the super cool, hip area; The Latin Quarter. Our home for the next few days was called Young & Happy, which we thought seemed quite fitting for us. We got there quite late, and we're super tired so we got our beds ready and were set to sleep; except when the lights go out, we somehow turn into the biggest giggle pants EVER. Me and B were laughing so hard, over basically nothing at all, but isn't that always the funniest thing to laugh about!? Our bunk bed was shaking we were giggling so hard, but trying to hold it in as to not wake up our roommates. We were finally able to get some shut eye, and we're ready for our first day out and about in Paris! This city is well, FULL of incredible fashion and jam-packed with really awesome vintage/thrift stores. We hit up one called Free'P'Star, which was floor to ceiling covered in clothes. I was like a kid in a candy store. We dove right in and found a few cute finds, all for ridiculously cheap! Now that is the way to shop! We then made our way over to the big, beautiful, fabulous Eiffel Tower. She really is amazing, you gotta admit. We hung out with her for a little while, got some cool pictures, then headed over to Musee du Louvre. The first time I was in Paris and went to The Louvre, it was very fast paced (b/c we had a guide), so I was only able to see a few hand picked pieces. This time around, we were able to mosey slowly around and really take in and appreciate all the place had to offer. One of my favorite things about looking at art is standing in front of a massive piece, and contemplating where exactly was the very first brushstroke. I like thinking about those sorts of things. We spent a nice couple hours in the museum, and checked out the famous glass pyramids outside. On our way home, we stopped at the cutest little crepe shop and had delicious Banana Nutella. The woman made it with so much love and care, and you could taste the goodness. We met our roommates from London, and had a night full of incredible laughter.
We started our next day, with climbing to the top of the Arc De Triomphe. Being able to gaze over Paris is magnificent. We spent about half an hour just taking in all the different views; the streets, the houses, the famous monuments. It started to get really windy and rainy, so we made our way down the famous street; Champs Elysees. We tucked our way into a little cafe and sipped cappuchino's while people watching. We then hopped on the Metro (which by the way, we felt like we spent half of our lives on while in Paris b/c it's too big of a city to walk from place to place quickly), and arrived at Notre Dame Cathedral. It's free to go outside so we went in and appreciated the beautiful stained glass windows. We also couldn't help but reference to "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" probably more times then necessary. Another side note: for some unknown reason we find the most strangest things to talk about while in churches. Like seriously, things that have nothing to do with religion, or buildings or anything related to a basilica. It's weird. Anyways, something to note about this city, is the people really are ridiculously gorgeous. As in; "Is that person even human? They aren't allowed to be that beautiful if they are. Oh, screw them!" The French men dress to a T, and the women ooze sexiness and simplicity. It's the best city in the world to people watch, take our word for it!
On a rainy day in Paris we went underground. Yep, that's right...WAY underground. Down into the Catacombs of Paris. It was creepy and eerie and really, really cool. There is 6 million skeletons buried beneath the streets and the metros. It's the largest underground necropolis in the world. You follow the underground trail for a good long while, stopping at points of interest and reading about the workers and how they built these underground tunnels. It's really neat to see all their initials and names carved into the walls around you. Then you hit the skeletons, and those babies don't stop! We were absolutely blown away at the never ending amount. They aren't just chucked in though, they are meticulously set up in such an order that makes it look quite artsy. In columns and rows, so precise and planned out. Once we made our way through the millions upon millions of skulls and bones, we walked up to the brightness of daylight.
Our umbrella was practically getting raped from the rain and the wind. If it wasn't smacking one of us in the face, it was snapping backwards and smacking a stranger in the face! So we scurried into a nice warm coffee shop. This was in December remember, so all the shops were decked out in full out Christmas cheer, making fresh holiday drinks and gingerbread treats. I couldn't take it much longer and had to express my love for the scents. I said something to Bailey along the lines of "It smells soooo good in here!". She replied back with, "Uh yea. Yea it fricking does. It smells like someone baked fresh cookies and shoved them up my nostrils!". She's a real gem that girl.
We found the nearest metro station and headed on home. We had some dinner, dried off a bit, and relaxed. It was our last night in dear Paris, and Bailey had yet to see the Eiffel Tower at night, when it sparkles and shows off. I knew it went off every hour on the hour so we bargained on getting there for the 10 o'clock hurrah. Left the hostel. Got on the metro. Rode the metro. Sat across from an old, drunk bum puking. Ew. Got off the metro. 9:58 pm. Started running. 9:59 pm. Running faster. 10:00 pm. There she goes. Seeing her burst into a magnificent disco ball, makes your heart burst just as big it seems. The Eiffel Tower at night is truly amazing. The entire city at night for that matter is amazing! We went to our favorite viewing spot and just rested against the cold, metal gate staring up at Paris' beloved landmark. This was another favorite moment. We were both so in awe and bewilderment that THIS is our lives. That we get to stand right here, in this moment, and this is what we get to be looking at. We reflected on all the wonderful things we have done, and all the truly stunning things we have seen. Trust me, we have never not once taken this trip for granted. We do realize how lucky we are to be so young, and already have done so much. Not everyone gets to do these kinds of things in the span of their entire lifetime, and we counted our lucky stars every single day that we were able too. We played this little game where we would close our eyes, block the outside world and just think of everything wonderful we've done, and then open our eyes and add what's right in front of us to that list. Those are the moments you can take a big, giant stamp that says BLISS and smack it down straight across our foreheads.
With love,
M & B
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