The past few weeks, I’ve found myself thinking about home more and more. I think that it is normal. With just under two weeks left, I am stuck wondering what my life is going to look like when I get back to the states. However, this past weekend I had the chance to let all of that go. Myself and several other students from Penn State, one girl being the other geoblogger in Besan�on (I’m looking at you, Meaghan Basile!) spent the weekend in Paris. You might be thinking, so what? That is something that every student who studies in France does at some point. However, the thing that made this past weekend special was the fact that it was le 14 Juillet. Known to many Americans as Bastille Day, it is essentially the French version of independence day.

Before departing early Saturday morning, I had a lot of fears that the city would be full of tourists and that we would never get to do anything substantial. I was certainly surprised when I boarded my train Monday morning to come home.

We kicked off the trip by grabbing breakfast and heading straight to the Eiffel Tower. We decided to be economical and climb the tower to the second story and then take the elevator the rest of the way up. All I have to say is that I am glad that we did. It was amazing to stop at each of the landings and see myself getting higher and higher above the city of Paris. Plus, when we finally reached the second floor landing, the view was already incredible. You can only imagine our excitement to take the elevator the rest of the way up. However, due to it being close to lunchtime, the ticket office closed for almost an hour. Luckily, we were the first tourists in line for when it reopened, so we were able to continue our ascent pretty quickly.

After purchasing our tickets, we all became kind of nervous to get to the top. We climbed in the elevators and before we knew it, we were going up. While I am deathly afraid of heights, I somehow mustered up the courage to watch out the window as the people and buildings on the ground got smaller and smaller and smaller. After stepping off of that elevator and walking to the railing to see the view, I realized that it all was worth it. The view was absolutely breathtaking.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Paris. We saw the Madeline and the Arc de Triomphe, walked along the Champs Elys�e, and even ate in a real Parisian caf�. As I laid down for the night, I didn’t think that anything could top my first day in Paris. Little did I know that Saturday was just the beginning for me. We kicked off Bastille Day by attending the parade that runs along the Champs Elys�e that included armed forces, policemen, and firemen (both mounted and unmounted). Even the President of the Republic was there! It was unlike anything that I had ever seen. The uniformity was incredible. Watching hundreds of horses parade right on by me in perfect formation was astounding. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen.

After the parade was over, we wanted to get out of the area, so we opted to go grab lunch in the Latin Quarter. It was one of the best decisions that we made. The food was delicious, and it gave us a moment to regroup before embarking on an afternoon of sightseeing. We decided to visit the Pantheon since we were nearby which turned out to be one of my very favorite parts of the trip. It was a huge and architecturally beautiful building. However, the part that really astounded me was the crypt that lay beneath the building. There are many famous and extremely influential people buried in the crypts. Just a few of the many include Voltaire, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Marie Curie, and Victor Hugo.

We also visited Notre Dame (The line was too long to go inside, but it was worth the view.) and the lock bridge. I ate some of the best macaroons of my life this weekend as well. However, the highlight of the day was still yet to come. The finale of Bastille Day is the fireworks display that is launched from the Trocadero. All I can say is that it was fantastic. It was worth the three hours that we spent sitting and simply waiting for the display to start. (Believe it or not, there were people that were waiting longer than us!)

Although it was a crazy, crowded weekend, I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. This was officially my first time “in Paris” due to the circumstances that occurred at the beginning of my trip. I don’t think it could have gone any better. I think that Paris is one of those magical places that just put everything into perspective for you. While I was there, I couldn’t believe that I was standing on those streets. So much history has happened there. It felt surreal.

Location: Paris, France