Even though it was a little cliché, spending Valentine’s Day in Paris was a dream come true. There were couples everywhere and I wished that my boyfriend could have been there with me. My roommate Greta substituted for him and we seriously had the time of our lives. The coolest thing for me was putting a lock on the famous Pont de l’Archevêché, also known as the “Lock Bridge”. This is a very big attraction in Paris. The sides of the Pont de l’Archevêché are filled with

literally thousands of locks. The bridge is famous because people come from all over to lock a lock onto the side. Normally the lock is decorated or has initials or names on it. Many couples do it together and then throw the keys in to La Seine River. The bridge was especially packed on Friday morning because it was Valentine’s Day. Couples filled the bridge locking their locks, kissing, and taking pictures. For only 4 euro you can buy a lock from a vendor on the bridge. Greta and I both purchased locks and locked them forever onto the Pont de l’Archevêché, something I had wanted to do since I had heard about this tradition. A man on the bridge even gave Greta and I free roses!

Because it was a little rainy out, we decided to have Friday be our museum day. We visited the Musée d’Orsay (suggested by my grandfather) and saw Monet, Van Gough, Cézanne, Renoir, Manet and many others I didn’t even know. There were a lot of young children there on school trips learning about the paintings. Talk about an awesome field trip! After about two hours of wandering around the beautiful old converted train station, we walked right across the river to Le Louvre. Right as we were getting there we heard a loud cheering noise. When I looked across the way there was a huge crowd of people letting hundreds of heart-shaped red balloons up into the air right in front of La Pyramide du Louvre. Paris was really embracing this holiday. We spent about another two hours in Le Louvre, but I probably could have spent 24 hours there and still not have seen the whole thing. Of course I took the classic selfie with the Mona Lisa (like every other person there).

Besides the Tour Eiffel, Le Louvre must be one of the most visited places in the world. There were SO MANY tourists there from so many different countries. There were a lot of Americans there too, which took a little bit of adjusting to. In Montpellier I am used to walking down the street or taking the TRAM and not really being able to fully understand what people are saying around me. But when I was in Le Louvre, almost everyone was speaking English and I thought my head was going to explode. I felt like I was listening to 500 different conversations at one time and it was very overwhelming. Going back to America is definitely going to be an adjustment. After Le Louvre, Greta and I did a little bit of shopping and then heading back to our apartment. We were so lucky to get such great accommodations while in Paris. One of our friends from Montpellier told us about an apartment that we could rent for the weekend that was cheaper than most of the hostels in Paris. It was a cute little place with two beds, a small bathroom and kitchen, and in a very central location. Having the kitchen meant that we could save money by cooking in rather than going out to eat and we definitely took advantage of that. Friday night we stayed in and cooked ourselves a little meal. It was starting to feel like we lived there! The next morning the first thing we did was scope out the nearest Starbucks (obviously).There was one about three blocks from our apartment; I was in heaven. Greta and I had been planning on going to Versailles that morning but the weather was a little rainy again. We also heard that the gardens aren’t open during the winter and that they are one of the best parts about Versailles. I had wanted to visit this château since I had learned about it in my French History class. I was upset when we decided not to go, but figured it was incentive to make another trip back there at some point in my life. We got to visit Notre Dame and of course Tour Eiffel. Tour Eiffel was our last visit.

We went on Sunday, which was the nicest day of the weekend so our pictures are incredible. The line to go up in the elevators was incredibly long so we decided to walk up the steps. This would have been a feat for anyone but we also were carrying all of our luggage from the weekend with us! It was a great workout to say the least. As crowded as it was up on the top it was very peaceful and serene. It was the perfect way to end our amazing weekend. I really underestimated how huge of a city Paris was! The metro system was a little confusing to figure out at first so we wasted quite a lot of time trying to figure out how to get from one place to the next. I still would have loved to visit the Catacombs, Sacre Cœur, and Jim Morrison’s gravesite. We might just have to book another weekend there before I go back to America!