Monday I traveled home from Malaga, Spain where I said my goodbyes to an AMAZING and much needed spring break trip! I have had my eye on the warmer weather of France, Spain and Portugal for a long time now. If you can recall my excitement 10 days ago already, you can remember all that I had planned! My spring break trip was a very busy week; each day was jam packed, sleep was not an option at most times. To reiterate my week, my trip began from Dublin to Paris from April 6-April 10^th, Barcelona from April 10^th– April 12^th, then Lagos, Portugal in on a ‘weekend excursion’ from April 12^th-April 14^th. During my trip, I was lucky enough to celebrate my 21^st birthday! This was a special memory that I will never forget. I cannot believe I am 21 now!

On Friday Morning at 3 am, my friend Katie and I left our Galway apartments to fly to Paris- BVA, a small airport about an hour outside of the city. Thanks to Ryanair, we were able to get the cheapest flights I could imagine… even as low as 16 Euro! After a difficult packing job for the 10 days we were going to be gone, we made it to Paris smoothly where we met Katie’s friend, Olivia, who is studying abroad and hosted us for the weekend. It is always fun to stay with someone that knows the city because it saves you a lot of time from figuring out what to do and where to go. Needless to say, Paris was a fabulous city from the moment I set my eyes on it. Romance was definitely in the air, and I could tell from the buildings, food, and people. Initially I did not know what to expect from Paris and the French, but they were cooperative and easy to communicate with. The only frustrating thing is that you never have any idea what signs read because French is not like Spanish or anywhere close to English.

On Saturday, we got settled into Olivia’s apartment around 3pm and took a nap after traveling for 12 hours. Saturday we had a relaxing day walking around the 12^th district of Paris where Olivia lived in “Gare De Lyon”. We quickly became familiar with the metro system which we relied on all weekend, it was very easy thankfully. I really appreciate how easy it is to navigate large cities because it is something I have never had to do growing up. Saturday was great because we felt no pressure to see everything ASAP; it’s tough when you travel places for only 1-2 days and the pressure takes over to go 100mph. Saturday we went shopping in the main shopping district near Notre Dame cathedral and enjoyed two good baguette sandwiches fresh from Paris. Our night was fun as we were excited to take on Paris.

The real site seeing began Sunday when we were refreshed and ready to see more of the city. We began Sunday with the Louvre- where the Mona Lisa is and famous paintings and sculptures are located. It was a beautiful sunny day! The museum was free, and we enjoyed taking pictures in the main square of the Louvre which was beautiful and known for its glass pyramid, the entrance to the Louvre. Olivia took us to the famous ‘Love Lock Bridge’ where many lovers come to leave a piece of themselves in Paris. I wrote on a lock for Reilly and me! Now a part of me is in Paris forever. We continued on to see the magnificent Eiffel Tower. Paris is so big that you would think you could see the Eiffel tower from anywhere, but you cannot. So we kept looking with big eyes all weekend to see if we could spot it. The Eiffel Tower is just as beautiful as the movies. That really was an unreal site. Our day didn’t stop there as we traveled back to the shopping area and walked into the MAGNIFICANT Notre Dame cathedral…and MASS WAS GOING ON! We joined the candle lit mass and were able to take communion from Notre Dame… What a fabulous unexpected encounter! That is something I will remember forever.

Monday we definitely felt accomplished from all we did on Sunday, so we again slept in and left for another area to see where Olivia attends school in the city. It was a beautiful area with many shops and bakeries, so we shopped all day and ate some fabulous Paris pastries. My friend Katie bought some very special designer sunglasses to remember her trip with and she was very excited- Christian Lacroix! How fancy! Monday I was excited because at night it was my 21^st birthday, so at night we celebrated into Tuesday morning, our last day in Paris.

Tuesday April 9^th, my 21^st birthday, we went up to the famous Sacre-Couer Hill in Paris which reminded me a lot of Florence: small cobblestone streets, restaurants, shops, bakeries, and a home-filled atmosphere. The streets were absolutely beautiful and it made you forget that you were in the middle of a big city. This famous hill overlooks the entire city of Paris and it is breathtaking. The three of us girls had a nice lunch where I finally got a famous Paris Crepe and we had a gelato for dessert, birthday eating at its best! We also went to the famous Arch de Triumph which I have seen in hundreds of movies. It is huge and I cannot believe the traffic circle that exists around it. The French say it is the most dangerous traffic circle in the world and I believe it! The Arch is located right at the end of the high end fashion district of Paris. I could not believe I was in the fashion capital of the world! That street is where all the magic happens. We made it appropriate by walking around eating a plain baguette. I was in heaven. 

Tuesday night we went out for a dinner in honor of my birthday and I had an awesome steak and French fries and lots of wine with my girlfriends. That was very nice of them to recognize my birthday with me; it was not easy being away from all your friends and family. To top off a perfect birthday in Paris, we went to the Eiffel Tower to watch it be lit up at night and ‘sparkle’ for the first five minutes of every hour. This was my favorite part of my birthday. Watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle is probably the best thing I have ever seen in my life. What a 4 day trip we had!

Tuesday we packed up our things in order to set out for Barcelona early Wednesday Morning. The trip continued! It did not seem like it could get any better. I had the most fabulous birthday weekend in the most romantic city of them all!

Location: Paris, France