Taking the Eurostar train between London and Paris was definitely worth it. Highly recommended. We got right into the city into a subway station. The woman selling the tickets to the subway had a sign posted right in her window that said “I don’t spek English.” Welcome to France! This was going to be the first time that I was in a country where I didn’t speak the language. A completely new experience.

Somehow Jessica figured out which train we needed to get on and we found it. It was late at night so we were just heading back to our hostel that way we could get an early start in the morning. Once we walked up the steps from the metro station Blanche, we found ourselves in the Red Light District. Straight ahead of us was the famous Moulin Rouge. We were a little scared to be in this area this late at night, but we made our way to our hostel (which was 10000x better than the one we stayed in in London).

We met our roommates who had been in Paris for some time. They were able to give us some tips- one being the 3 1/2 hour walking tour through the city. We decided we’d do that in the morning.

When we woke up we went downstairs for the free breakfast that our hostel provided. It was actually an unexpectedly incredible breakfast! There was this incredible chocolate granola cereal that had chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. It was more like a dessert, but it was delicious. (And of course no French breakfast would be complete without croissants.)

Then we made our way to the meeting point at St. Michele’s fountain. The fountain was beautiful and as we stood there waiting we saw a model and a photographer doing a photo shoot. That was pretty cool!

Our tour guide was named Arnaud (R NO) and even though he had a French name he told us that he was from California (his parents just happened to name him that). He’s been living in Paris for a long time with his Parisian wife and child and has been a tour guide for a while, too.

He gave a great tour of all the most important parts of Paris. We saw the Notre Dame cathedral, the great bridges, the Louvre, L’Orangerie, Museau D’Orssay all of the monuments, Champs de Lise and much more. Even though we didn’t go into anything, it was a great over view of the city. It was just what we needed since we would not be spending much time in Paris.

That night we decided to go on a second walking tour with the same tour guide. This time we toured Monmarte (which is where we happened to be staying). This section of Paris is so full of culture and history. We saw where Van Gough lived, where Picasso lived and even different restaurants that the famous artists frequented. Also, in Monmarte is the Sacred Heart Church which we went inside of. It was one of my most favorite churches of all the ones that I have seen so far in Europe. The artists square that still exists today seemed to take us back in time. This part of Paris was really incredible.

That night we went out to dinner with some friends that we had met on the tour. Afterward, we decided to go to Monteparsse (the only skyscraper in the city) to go to the top and see the view of the Eiffel Tower. We didn’t end up making it on time, but we still had a great night around the city with our new friends.

The next morning my sister and I went to the Louvre because she really wanted to see the Mona Lisa. Although we were warned that we would be disappointed, having this low expectation made us appreciate the artwork more. The Louvre is HUGE and very overwhelming! There are so many pieces of art it is amazing.

After this, we met up with our neighbors who happened to be in Paris at the same time we were! (Strange but great!) We went out to lunch together and tried escargot! I did not think I was going to try this EVER in my life, but it actually was not too bad.

It was awesome to see my neighbors, just another great piece of home to spend time with in Europe.

That night Jess and I actually made it to Monteparsse on time. We went up there when it was dark so we could see the famous Eiffel Tower light show. It was really beautiful and it really felt like a dream come true for us to see this. Since we were little girls we had these little Eiffel Tower statues that our grandmother brought back as souvenirs for us from her Paris trip. To see this infamous statue now in person was really something for us.

Unfortunately we did not have very much time in Paris. There was so much more we wanted to do but did not have time. I hope one day to go back and explore this amazing city again. One woman we met while we were in Paris was there for her seventh time. She told us she keeps coming back because she loves it and there is still so much more to see. Paris really is that great of a city. And I’m so happy that I was able to share an amazing experience like this with my sister.

Location: Paris, France