Paris, France-- "the Capital of Europe"

We (debatably) saved the best trip for last-- Paris, France! The only thing I would have done differently was give myself more time there. Such a  modern and unique city.

The first thing that everyone told me when I said that I was going to Paris was that it is freezing there. So me and a few friends went to a secondhand store called "Humana" to buy actual winter coats before the trip, since we all were under the impression that it doesn't ever get cold in Sevilla when we packed. Just so you know, yes, it does in fact get cold here in Sevilla...

We left Friday morning for the airport, not too early. Luckily, my friend was nice enough to lend me a duffel bag so I didn't have to pay a fine again for my carry on. I slept on the flight. Then, we had to take a pretty long bus ride to the actual city. We didn't really get to Paris until late afternoon-- 4:00 pm on Friday, so if I could redo it, I would plan an earlier flight or one to the closer airport.

Paris was a kind of gray city-- cold and dark, but nonetheless breathtaking. And it was cold , like everyone said it would be. We explored that first night, saw the Sacred Heart Basilica, some cute candy markets, and of course, the Eiffel Tower.

Sacred Heart, or Sacre-coeur, in Montmartre, the same neighborhood as our hostel (which I loved!).

 We saw a lot of cats. This was one in a convenience store...

In one convenience store, when we checked out, the cashier flipped a switch and a discoball turned on. So neat! I was hysterical.

A carousel I saw the first night, wandering.

I also loved the stores in Paris-- wish I had more room in my suitcase to bring home some of that world-class clothing!

Love locks <3

The Eiffel Tower was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It's massive and very pleasing to the eye. At night, it sparkles every hour, on the hour, for 10 minutes. We spent most of our nights there and taking pictures with every kind of pose imaginable.

The next day we did some more exploring. Some of my favorite sights:

The Wall of Love, which has "I love you" written in several languages (understatement).

The metro: I love public transportation. I have learned in my time in Europe to take advantage of it! We bought 10 trip passes in both Barcelona and Paris and it made the trip much easier and time-efficient.

Me-- loving life, waiting for the Parisian metro

 Some little plazas...

 And of course, the Notre Dame Cathedral. What an amazing work of art and architecture. It amazes me to see such an old building still standing in perfect condition. Nuns were singing inside, and the line to get in moved really quickly. I was impressed by the whole experience of the Notre Dame.

Stained glass window, possibly the oldest / largest I have ever seen.

The Shakespeare and Company Bookstore and cafe: just kind of passed by, but still cool. Apparently it's really famous (?).

THE LOUVRE ahh. I never thought I would see the Monna Lisa in person. Much smaller than I thought, but almost surreal to think I was a few feet away from one of the most famous paintings in history, created by one of the world's most talented men ever.

We decided also to try macaroons. Mine was "rose", which didn't really give me a good idea of the flavor ahead of time. Still unsure about it-- I think it was raspberry or some other kind of red fruit. Delicious, despite my not knowing the real flavor. The world will never know.

Saturday we went out and went to the Eiffel Tower afterwards, to watch it light up again. We had a great group of girls and shared lots of laughs. Unfortunately, we couldn't do any more sightseeing on Sunday because we had to leave early to catch our bus and then our flight. I am glad I am finished on RyanAir, because I don't think I will ever have a scarier landing again in my life. We literally bounced off the runway and were tilting heavily side to side. People were screaming in fear. Would you believe they still had the nerve to play their "Congratulations! This has been another on-time flight by RYANAIR!!" jingle? People. Ha!

I can't wait to go back one day, because I know there is still so much more to see!