My first stop was Umea, Sweden to visit Emilia. After a bus two trains and three planes, I finally made it! Although Umea isn't a huge tourist city, there was still plenty to do plus Emilia cooked me a lot of traditional Swedish food. By the way, we do Swedish meatballs totally wrong. She showed me around her city and we went to an art museum. I met some of her friends and saw where she studies at University. We also went to this other museum that had different art and exhibits. One of the exhibits was about the evolution of skiing and that was super cool being a skier and all. We were going to go skiing at a nearby mountain, but she had hurt her arm the week before from soccer so we found other things to do. I was only suppose to stay until Wednesday, but my flight got delayed too far in advance for me to catch my second flight because of the strike ending the day before so I had to reschedule it for the next day.
When I finally did arrive in Paris, France, I had the most amazing time. I was sad that I only had two and a half days there, but it was such an experience. I would for sure go back again! I went to the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Basilica di San Denis where they have many kings, queens, and royals buried, The Palace of Versailles, L'arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Plus my friend took me around to see some other things as well. The Disney store in Paris is to die for. It is so fancy and also full of everything Disney and a great place to stop. Overall, I did a lot of stuff in a short period of time. I mostly just hit the main tourist attractions which made me very touristy, but it was an amazing experience. I can see now why people love Paris so much. The metro and train system was rather easy to figure out and the trains were very consistent. There was usually another train every 15-30 minutes.
It was truly an experience to see things I have always heard about and seen in picture. I had never thought I would be standing in these places and seeing all the amazing history that I spent hours studying about. I'm not going to lie that I got a little emotional at being able to say that I've been there and seen that. I mean how often to you hear people say, "Oh yeah, I've been to the Palace of Versailles." It's just not that common. Not to mention being a social studies minor and having a love for history and being able to stand in the presences of where huge historical events happened and where famous people had stood was true bliss. I almost couldn't contain myself. When I saw the hall of mirrors or saw a famous painting in person, I would just continue to be amazed at how close I was to great things. In the Musee d'Orsay I saw Van Gogh paintings and I almost lost it. I have never been able to see them in person, but he is my favorite artist of all time.
I just want to thank my friends Emilia and Samantha for letting me stay with them and feeding me for the most part. I appreciate that they took time out of their schedule to show me around and tell me about their city. I am truly blessed to have such amazing people in my life who are here for me.
After experiencing all these thing for myself, I want to give some tips in hopes to make your travel experience hopefully great.
- The Louvre is a labyrinth. It just goes on forever. I know I didn't see everything while I was there. You need at least two days to get through everything, but it is worth it. Even though I am not a huge art fan, I was so glad that I went and experienced it. It does take a little while to get in so plan accordingly. I went for about half a day and saw a good amount of stuff. They have a little bit of everything from everywhere. Also go see the Medieval Louvre which is an underground part where they have the old castle walls exposed!
- Musee d'Orsay is a more modern art museum. It is inside an old train station and has lots of interesting art from many different styles of art. Even if your not that much into newer art, I think you should stop by. It is worth checking out.
- The basilica was not some place I was aware of before hand, but my friend suggested it and I have to say that even though it was a little bit out of the way, it is an easy thing to go in and out of in an hour or two. Plus how can you pass up a beautiful medieval church where kings had their ceremonies and where many famous people are buried???
- The Palace of Versailles was a have to on my list and I don't regret it. Although it was a huge building there isn't that much space and I got blocked in by these two huge guided tours that filled the space making it hard for me to take pictures and see thing in general. I waited for them to leave and get ahead of me so I could enjoy the rest of my time with less people. The house is huge but rather easy to get through. The gardens are huge and probably much prettier in the summer. Plus the fountains might be going then too. I didn't end up seeing the Grande Trion or the Petite Trion which I regret, but I can always come back. I think if you have the time, take a look and see them. They are very important parts of Versailles and worth the walk or train ride over.
- I loved seeing the Eiffel tower, but I'm going to tell you know that it is a huge tourist trap. Although I wish I would have climbed up it, its a lot of waiting in line or stairs. Plus when you get a panorama of the city the tower isn't in your picture. Plus it is really expensive!!! I don't think it was worth it to climb up.
- L'arc de Triomphe is a good idea to climb. It gives you the same panorama of Paris for a better price and the Eiffel tower is in it. Plus the l'arc de Triomphe has more meaning than the Eiffel tower does.
- Notre Dame was cool, but looked like every other medieval church I've ever seen. Besides being the center of Paris, it is not as big as you think and has much the same art. Unless you want to attend a mass, it's only worth about an hour of your time and a place to say that you've been to. I honestly wasn't that impressed by Notre Dame, but don't regret seeing it.
- Use the train and metro system while in Paris. It is very organized and convenient. Make sure that you buy the right ticket and have a ticket or you can't get in/out of the stations. Try and buy a pass made for tourists because it will save you a lot of time.
- Marmont is the highest point in Paris and also where all the artists are. If you have time, wander up that way and you can enjoy a beautiful view and have access to some amazing art. In the summer, there are musicians that play there too. It has a great atmosphere and it is a great place to go.
-Cori
