Paris...the place I keep coming back to and can never get enough of. There's something so special about this city, as cliche as that sounds, that I am constantly drawn to it. Maybe it's because I've been in love with Paris most of my life, but even now that I've been there multiple times, it always just as magical as the first time. I don't think I'll ever stop wanting to come back, no matter how many times I've been.
I got the chance to go during my second week of studying abroad in France. It was still the beginning of the trip, so just having met a group of people that's who I went with. It was definitely a spontaneous trip, but I couldn't say no to Paris. Me and my roommates ended up getting our train tickets there the day we were supposed to leave, and luckily we were still able to get them. That train ride there felt surreal as I was still in shock about being in France, and now I was already on my way to Paris. The train ride didn't go quite as planned however, since we were running late to get there and just barely made it in time. Then our train ended up being delayed almost 3 hours and we got to Paris a little after 1 in the morning. Thankfully, the train station had free taxi rides for everyone and we made it to our friend's apartment to stay there an extra night. We didn't fall asleep till about 4 in the morning but we were all ready for our weekend in Paris the next day.
Of course, our first stop was the Eiffel tower after a quick brunch. Walking up to it and seeing it in person never gets old. We stopped for a bit to take some pictures then headed to our incredible Airbnb right in the 2nd Arrondissement. We met up with the rest of our group there and hung out for a bit before getting dinner. At this point we were all definitely still getting to know each other, but I think it was this trip that solidified our close friendship. Paris is where it all started and I don't think it would have been the same without this trip.
Somehow, in a three day weekend we managed to fit in a trip to the Musee D'Orsay, a quick visit to the Louvre, lunch along the Seine, the Luxembourg gardens, watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle each night, a walk down the Champs Elysees, a visit to Laduree, walking to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, the Moulin Rouge, Cafe des 2 Moulins, and a quick stop at the Centre Pompidou. I'm not sure how we managed to do all of that, but it made for quite the weekend.
Paris is a city with so much to do it can feel overwhelming at times, but even though we did so much we made it work and still enjoyed every second there. I hadn't expected to go to Paris during only my second week of studying abroad, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Sometimes the best trips are those planned last minute that you never expected to happen. I knew going to Paris I'd have an amazing time, but what made it so memorable was also because of the people there with me. Somehow these students from all over the U.S. studied abroad at the same place and got together for this weekend to happen. I knew this was a trip I'd never forget. I'm so glad I said yes to it, because Paris is definitely always a good idea.
