Paris Day 1

As a continuation of my Europe posts, here's the second half of the trip.

We got back to our hotel in London at about midnight after seeing Billy Elliot and had to be up and ready with our luggage packed for 4:30am to be at the Euro Star station for 6am. I had an early breakfast by myself again before going back upstairs to get my suitcase and backpack.

 I got my second stamp on my passport and wandered around the little convenience store with two girls Emily and Lucy before getting on the train. I bought a little London Metro logo pin and the latest issue of Company magazine. I bought probably my tenth Coke because I knew I would get nauseous.

I took a nap on the train and one of the girls on the trip was nice enough to get me one of those motion sickness wristbands. After I think 2 hours, we go to Paris. It was freezing cold and windy and rainy and it made me feel so unsure about the city, as I thought I would immediately feel at home as soon as I got off the Euro Star.

We left our luggage with a van that took everything to our hotel and then we headed off to Montmarte. 

We walked all the way up to the Sacre Coeur and then got to spend almost three hours (!) doing what we pleased. 

I ordered some lovely crepes with fruit and ice cream. It felt mandatory on my first day in Paris.

After poking around in all of the little shops and cafes, we began a walking tour of Montmartre lead by our tour guide Francesco, an Italian lawyer-turned-actor.

I geeked out here because Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain is one of my favourite movies, and most of the film was shot in Montmarte because it took place there. I got to see the Two Windmills Cafe, where Amelie worked as a waitress in the movie. We got a bunch of weird looks from the people inside, but it was so worth it.

We headed over to dinner and then took the Metro to Trocadero to go on a river cruise on the Seine. I can't even begin to explain the feeling I felt when I turned the corner to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up. This was one of the things I was looking forward to the most and my heart just sunk to the ground.

I decided to sit on the outside portion of the boat and began making friends with some Dutch high school students. They were rowdy and fun and we were all laughing and shouting every two seconds while everyone else who sat on the inside looked really unamused in my opinion.

We took the train back to our hotel, which was one of the most modern and comfortable hotels I have ever stayed in. I know I mentioned this earlier with our hotel in London, but this room was just much more accommodating (aside from the rude hotel staff and the limited selection of breakfast).

My favourite photos from Paris can be found here.