WHAT TO DO IN PARIS?

So today is our last day in Paris. I'm so bummed that we are leaving! I have come to love the hustle and bustle of where our hotel is and I'm finally familiar with the area. Today is our completely free day in Paris and we are all at a loss of what to do. We have done so much in the last couple of days (hours really…) that we have trouble deciding what to do. So the first vote was for visiting Moulin Rouge. Since there aren’t any better suggestions we decide to head out. After Ali, Tessa, Whitney, and I recover from the shock of getting hit by a drunken bum we figure out what train we need and where to connect. We finally get to the our connection and the metro to the Moulin Rouge stop isn’t working. So we decide to walk. Bad idea. The walk was so long and the streets were crowded with really weird, smelly people. When we finally get there after a 30 minute walk past some not so nice things we hear Janessa say “This is it. This is what we walked so far for??” What we had come to see was a building with a windmill sandwiched between some other buildings. We took maybe 3 pictures and turned around. The next stop was my suggestion…Le Cimetière du Père-Lachaise.


Now I know that this is a nerdy suggestion (and its me…what do you expect!). After walking for another 45 minutes we got to the next open metro stop and got on to head to Père-Lachaise. When we got there our group decided to splitJanessa, Ali and I decided to go explore for a bit and Jake, Whitney, and Tessa went to find a patisserie.

The cemetery was so amazing! There were tons of sections filled with family tombs and this amazing burial chambers (I guess that’s what you call them…) and some of them were amazingly detailed…they looked like small cathedrals. We hunted out some of the celebrities that we knew were there. We first got lost looking for Jim Morrison.

But not to fear, we found some tipsy Australians who decided to team up and help us (they had been looking for Jim Morrison for at least an hour…I think they were the ones who needed some help haha). After finding Jim Morrison and partying ways from our newly made friends we continued our search for Oscar Wilde. (As an English Major I couldn’t pass this up!!)

We actually more accidentally stumbled upon Oscar Wilde. His grave was my favorite of the ones we had seen. His grave was covered in kiss marks left by those who adore his works. Someone had even written “Here lies the best man who ever lived”. Although this statement is quite debatable, his writings are pretty fantastic. (If you haven’t had the privilege of reading Wilde, remedy that! Start with “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Quite witty and hilarious.) Since Ali and mine’s English cravings had been satisfied (at least for now) we headed off to find the burial site for Edith Piaf (Janessa’s must see). We finally found her and then realized that we had to go and meet up with the others. I didn’t want to leave! The cemetery was beautiful and there were tons of amazing people buried there that we hadn’t found yet. But away we went.

As we were leaving Edith Piaf’s grave a lady stopped us and asked ”Edith Piaf?” Since the lady had an accent and because I was feeling confident in my French I responded “La prochaine gauche et Edith Piaf est a la droite”. (not completely correct, but it gets the idea across…)“Gracias” the lady responds…oops.

Next we hop back on the metro and head to Le Marais. (A shopping district not to far from where we are staying). After walking for a bit and not seeing anything tempting we head over to the site of the Bastille. (Finally…some history!!! YAY!) We get there and admire it from afar. After a picture or two we again split ways. Jake, Whitney, Janessa, and Tessa go off for more shopping areas and Ali and I venture off to find Victor Hugo’s house. We follow the signs and (after using some poor French to get directions) find it!!

It was an interesting apartment to say the least. It was kind of a let down because it wasn’t actually how he would have had it. It was all based on letters. But it was still cool to see none the less. Ali and I go back to the hotel and plan on climbing to the top of Notre Dame, but we sadly run out of time. (It was bittersweet. So amazing…but so many stairs!)

Instead we walk over to Pont Neuf (one of the most famous bridges in Paris) and then back to Notre Dame to go sit in the park behind it. After a bit of time just sitting and chatting we go back to the hotel and wrap up our last night with a big group dinner and a yummy crepe! I love Paris!!