Spring Break: Paris

Among all the cities I visited this break, Paris still has my heart. It was just as beautiful, romantic, and simple to get around as I'd remembered.

My only hesitation about hitting Paris over spring break was that I'd already gone just a month before. Turns out there was no need to worry though: I ended up doing way different things from the last time. For instance, even though I'd been to the Louvre before, I hadn't had time to see the Mona Lisa. Everyone says it's hardly worth seeing, but it was still something I wanted to cross off my bucket list. Maybe it was just my low expectations, but I was not at all disappointed by it. Sure, it's probably fifty times smaller than the painting across from it, but I still managed to take a decent selfie, and that's all that matters, right?

Another new experience was seeing the Eiffel Tower in the daylight. It's still cool and all, but I have to admit I much prefer it at night. There's a certain romance in looking at it lit up that even single ol' me is a sucker for.

Eiffel Tower in daylight: cool but industrial-looking.

Eiffel Tower at night: industrial-looking but gorgeous.

I also got to walk through the Versailles gardens for the first time this trip. It wasn't freezing out, but it was still sort of dreary and probably would have looked better on a sunny day, but it still made for a really cool walking spot. My friend and I wandered around for a couple hours having a life chat, and I can't think of a more perfect spot.

The greenery of Versailles made it feel more like spring.

Daffodils brought some needed cheer to a dreary day.

From my experience, the stereotypes about the French being rude aren't totally accurate. During lunch at a restaurant off the beaten track in Versailles, the waiter was very patient and didn't mind explaining what each of the dishes were. After our meal, he even gave us complimentary coffee, probably because we looked like we needed. Plus, during the meal, a man at a nearby table heard my friend and I speaking English and came over to tell us other places in France we should visit. We ended up having a long, eye-opening talk about French policies in terms of immigration and religion.

In that restaurant, I also got to try some actual "French" fries. Not that those are the most authentic of French foods, but I made sure to also try French onion soup and a blackcurrant violet macaron from the Ladurée near Champs Elysée.

I swear matching my macaron to my nails was an accident.