A Day in the City

          Parisian day number three was another eventful one! The three of us ended up sleeping until almost 10:00 AM this morning and I am pretty sure dad slept nearly 11 hours! Once we were all showered and ready to go for the day we headed to the metro to try another form of city transportation. On our way there, we passed the Luxembourg Gardens and it is the equivalent to Central Park in New York City.  I am excited because there were so many runners that I absolutely would be safe to exercise and run in the park! We then made it to the metro, got tickets and got on the train. Our first stop was the Notre-Dame de Paris and since it was sunday we were able to see the actual church service while it was happening! There were tourists actually cutting the line of the congregation so they could take communion there! In French, Notre means our and Dame means lady so it is referred to as "our lady of Paris". The Notre-Dame will be 850 years old next year and it is crazy to think that that extensive of a church could have been built so long ago!

The Seine River looking out from the Notre-Dame.

The Notre-Dame!

Pops and I in front of the church!

We then went to the Eiffel Tower and completely fell in love with it! Although there are lots of people and pooping birds, it was definitely a sight to see and might be a frequent visiting stop of mine throughout this semester! It is absolutely huge and the view from the top is too incredible to explain! 

Waiting in line for tickets to the top, underneath the Eiffel Tower.

In the elevator, headed to the second level!

View from the second level!

Looking to the top from the second level.

At the very top of the Eiffel Tower!! Crazy beautiful!!

We were able to see the Arc de Triomphe from all levels of the Eiffel Tower but this is the view from the very top! It is huge!

          Even though I am not afraid of heights the ride to the top was literally breathtaking, in all senses of that phrase! The view was incredible and I am glad I was able to share that experience with my dad! As we walked around the top portion of the Eiffel Tower, dad and I came across a French man proposing to his girl friend! She was in tears and it was so cute! I felt bad that we interrupted their moment but it was really neat to see!

          After coming down and getting our ground legs back, dad and I were starving and I got a strawberry crèpe and he got a French hot dog! Delicious!! It was neat to eat our snacks and walk along the Seine to get back to the metro!

          School starts tomorrow and I have decided I am only taking along a pencil and a notebook? They have given us no instructions except to show up at 9:00 AM for orientation so I am assuming that I will be prepared with those materials!

          Tonight is dad’s last night in Paris and even though it was culture shock for him, I think he really enjoyed his time here and learned a lot too! I am sad to see him leave but I know he is ready to go home too! I am glad we have pictures to look back on and plenty of funny stories to share!