"Paris is always a good idea." - Audrey Hepburn

Disclaimer: this post will be full of cliches and over-excited adjectives, but I can't help it! Going to Paris was literally one of the best ideas I've ever had. I was lucky enough to go for Easter weekend, and this was my favorite trip since being abroad. The sights, sounds, friends, and of course, the food, were all incredible, and I could not have asked for a better weekend.

The Eiffel Tower from the top of Montparnasse

First of all, the weather was gorgeous. It was a little cold, but there was no rain and the sun was shining. As always, we started the trip with a free walking tour. We got to walk through the Latin Quarter and see the Fontaine di St. Michel, the Seine River, Notre Dame, Saint Louis Palace, The New Bridge, the Henry IV statue, Pont des Arts (aka the Lock Bridge), the Louvre, the Joan of Arc statue, the Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, the Naval Academy, Parliament buildings, Musee d'Orsay, Ile - de - la - Cite, the Tuileries Gardens, and walk down Champs - Elysees. Throughout the tour, our guide gave us tips about his favorite things to do in Paris that most tourists might not know about. Montparnasse, one of the places he recommended we visit, was one of my favorite things we did in Pairs. Montparnasse is a 58-story skyscraper, and besides the Eiffel Tower, it's one of the tallest buildings in Paris. We went on our second night there, and it was so cool to get a beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower from another place that's so tall.

There were a few things we saw on the walking tour that we wanted to explore further, so we made time during our stay to go to the Louvre (tip for anyone who's interested in going there: if you go in the entrance by the lion statues, there's virtually no wait and this is the closest entrance to the Mona Lisa!), L'Orangerie Museum (where some of Monet's paintings are), the Arc di Triomphe (where there's a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), and the Tuileries Gardens. We walked around the gardens for a while on Easter Sunday, and this, like most of the rest of the weekend, epitomized exactly what I thought Paris would be. It was relatively warm, and there was an egg hunt going on, so there were lots of families there too. We got lunch (savory crepes) at an outdoor cafe, and spent over an hour just sitting outside and loving being in Paris.

Enjoying some sun at Tuileries Gardens

Arc di Triomphe

In addition to the walking tour, we went on a boat cruise tour in the Seine. This was another one of my favorite things about Paris because it was relaxing, informative, and allowed us to see the city from a different angle and to get a glimpse of parts we wouldn't have been able to get to on foot.

View of Notre Dame from the Seine

Sisters reunited in Paris!

We of course went to the Eiffel Tower, and this too, was one of my favorite things (basically everything in Paris was my favorite thing; I can't narrow it down at all!). The first time we went was at night because my sister was there on a field trip with her French class. Trying to get in touch with her was kind of a challenge, but we finally found each other and got to talk for about 10 minutes. I couldn't believe that we got to meet up here! After she and her class went up to the top, my friends and I found a spot near a fountain on the other side of the street to watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle (which it does for five minutes every hour once it gets dark) and enjoy our first of many dessert crepes.

Our daytime visit to the Eiffel Tower was also picture perfect. We climbed the 669 stairs to the second story, and from there took an elevator all the way to the top. The top was much colder than the bottom, so we didn't stay for long, but it was definitely worth the cold. For some reason, I thought I would be disappointed by the Eiffel Tower and that it wouldn't be as cool as it seems in pictures, so I was surprised at how in awe I was when I first saw it. I've seen a lot of impressive architecture since being abroad, and the Eiffel Tower was so different from anything else I've seen. This made me appreciate it even more though, and every time I saw it when we were walking throughout the city, I had to stop and take a picture because I got so excited.

Since we were in Paris for Easter, one of the friends I went with and I went to mass at Notre Dame. We went to an international mass which was supposed to be held in a mix of English and French, but it was all in French except for one reading. I couldn't really understand what was going on (we even accidentally missed the Our Father), but my favorite part was the sign of peace. Everyone was saying it in his or her native language, and it was really cool to see people from all over the world shaking hands and coming together for mass on Easter Sunday.

Inside Notre Dame

In addition to all of the beautiful sights, the food in Paris was also incredible. The bread, cheese, crepes, croissants, bread, salad, desserts, bread, fondue, bread, and bread were all phenomenal. One of my favorite things I ate in Paris though (besides the bread) were macarons, which are colorful little sweets that are kind of like sandwich cookies. We went to a pastry shop called Laduree, and the macarons there were life-changing. My favorite flavor was vanilla, which tasted like a light, fluffy, chewy cloud of deliciousness and perfection. If happiness had a taste, it would taste like this.

Macarons!!!!!!!!

Putting our lock on the bridge

One of the reasons why I loved Paris so much was because of the people I was there with. It was great to see my sister, and I got to go with two of the closest friends I've made in Ireland. When we were walking by a street vendor along the Seine one day, we saw a lock with three keys, so we decided to put our initials on it and add it to the Pont des Arts. On the back we wrote, "for friends and family," and we all put it on the bridge together and threw our keys into the Seine. Very cheesy, I know, but it was fun and cool to leave our mark on Paris! If I ever get to go back, I hope our lock is still there.


Another reason why I loved Paris so much was that it was the perfect mix between busy touristy things and leisure. Since we were there for three full days, we were able to take our time with the sightseeing and really get to enjoy all of the places we went. On our last day there after visiting the Eiffel Tower, we went back to Montmarte, which is the area where our hostel was, and spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and going into different shops. We just happened to walk by Sacre Cour, a cathedral at the top of a hill, at sunset, so we decided to sit on the steps and watch the sun go down. It was the perfect way to end the weekend, and, like London, I wasn't ready to leave! If I had to do it all over again, there isn't a thing I would change about the entire trip; the weekend I spent in Paris was probably the best weekend I've had abroad so far, and I hope I get to go back someday.

Watching the sun set at Sacre Cour - the perfect ending to a perfect weekend