Paris, France in Sunshine’s POV

Hello, blog! It’s Sunshine taking over my mom’s blog for this city. Here’s why. When I was just a little second grader I dreamed of going to Paris, I planned a whole budgeted visit which included details from which ice creams parlors I’d enjoy to an evening at the Moulin Rouge. And now, I’ve finally done what I’ve wanted to do. Since we were only here for three and a half days, we had to really cram our days with the sights and experiences of Paris. We had no time to sit back and reflect, until now. Anyway, since this was my first time in the city of love I’ve dreamed of visiting for about eight years now, here are few of my tips and highlights.

We took a super quick train to Paris and then went straight to our apartment. We’re staying here for free because of a friend’s daughter’s friend... score! We dropped off our luggage and zoomed out the door to see the most iconic attraction of Paris... I’ll give you three guesses. Bingo! The line to merely stand under the Eiffel Tower was outrageously long. My dad opted out on that, mostly because he’d have to drop his Swiss Army knife at security, so it was just me, my mom, and Daniel. Once we were in it was a whole other line to buy a ticket to go up. My mom was doubtful, but I knew we had to do it. We climbed up the steps, I counted 668 total but I was a bit distracted so it could be off.
The view from the top (and by top I mean the second floor, the tippy tippy top cost extra) was beautiful, and I was like: oh yeah, baby, I’m in Paris! After that, I had jelly legs, but we walked along the Champs Elysees. It was super crowded, and I saw a bunch of different people and heard tons of different languages. The whole world was there, or so it seemed. I also saw a lady pick up a dead pigeon. Thought I’d throw that in to catch your attention for a sec. Now the Champs Elysees was cool
and all, but if you know my mom you know she: A. Always has to pee, and B. Can get crabby in big crowds and/or when she’s hungry. You can probably guess what happened next. It was around seven pm so we were all a little hungry, and made the decision to grab something at the grocery store. In line we met a woman from Chicago, which I thought was kinda cool, cause you know, it’s a party I’m the U.S.A. After a quick visit to the outside of the Louvre (which is beautiful at sunset) we took the metro back to the apartment to hit the hay.

The next day we were planning on going to Notre Dame, but the line went on for miles under the late morning sun, so we admired it from the outside. At 12 we met with Georgette and Philip (friends of my grandparents, Meme and Grandpapa. Miss you guys!) on a bridge over the Seine. They popped open a bottle of champagne right then and there to celebrate and Daniel and I each got some, however, he took one sip and poured the rest of his into my cup. Can’t blame him, it was kind of gross. But maybe I’m just not a champagne kind of girl. We sat on the banks of the river and had a lovely French lunch Georgette and Philip brought, they talked about politics and stuff with my parents while Daniel and I waved at passing boats to see how many people we could get to wave back at us. In case you’re wondering, lots.

We wandered around a while longer all around the area, and in the evening we came back to rest and have dinner. But don’t put your P.J.s on yet, no sir, because we took the metro back out to the Latin Quarter. Wow! So many people and lights and food! It was just how pictured a big city to be like at night. My parents had bought tickets for a boat ride on the canal, so at 10:30 we went and hopped on the boat. It was so pretty to see the lights reflected on the water. I was looking out at the scenery when suddenly the Eiffel Tower started sparkling like a Christmas tree! It was a beautiful surprise! It started to rain at the end of the ride, and we ran off the boat. I looked around as we walked to the metro, in awe, because here I was, walking around in the rain at midnight in Paris. I was like Owen Wilson! Didn’t get to meet Hemingway though. We got to the metro (which by the way always smells like pee, sweat, and cigarettes here) and took it home to once again hit the hay.

Day three, we visited the Louvre. For your own safety and enjoyment of the museum, I recommend
not going in mid-August. It was like an ant hill. It was swarming with people from all over the world
who were all pushing their way through the hot stuffy building to take a selfie with the Mona Lisa. I did get to see her, and yes her mysterious smile was enchanting, but I’m not sure if it was worth getting elbowed and shoved to get a decent look at her. Despite the crowds, I was mesmerized by
Frescos, Da Vinci’s underrated pieces, and Michelangelo’s sculptures. One of my favorite pieces was a sculpture called Psyche being reanimated by Cupid’s kiss by CanovaIt was so beautiful and it blew me away that Canova was able to make the stone look so soft and affectionate. Art museums are always draining, so after that Georgette and Philip took us to a lovely restaurant for lunch. It was charming and everyone was satisfied with a delicious lunch. After that we walked around some more, seeing some iconic sights of Paris such as the opera. At night we went to the Sacre Coeur in Momart up on a hill that had a great view of a Paris. The little village around it was adorable and just how I imagined Paris, little cafes, music, artists waiting to draw people on every corner. I also had a delicious warm Nutella crepe and a coffee to complete the Parisian dream.

The last full day in Paris arrived, and I was exhausted and not feeling my A game. However, my parents were determined to go inside Notre Dame. We waited in the long line and went in. Here’s some advice about it from me. It looks just like all the other churches I’ve visited in Spain and France, only you’re elbow to elbow with people desperate to take pictures of everything in there. If you really want to see it, go to any other city and visit the local old church. Also, don’t be expecting a hunchback. Because there is none. After that, we spent hours and hours in the Roman ruins in the crypt under Notre Dame which yes, I think you should see, but no, I don’t think that much time should be devoted to it. For anyone under 25, pretty high on the boring scale. But learn your history, I guess. We had sandwiches in the park, and since it was 5:00pm and I was exhausted, we headed back to the apartment, and that’s that.

While Paris is charming and beautiful and mostly everything I hoped it would be, I can only sigh and wish I’d been alive to see it before every inch of it was covered in tourists and every coffee shop raised their dollars for everything on the menu. But despite the long lines and cigarette smoke, Paris is still a dream.