Partying in Paris

After spending only a few short days on Spanish soil, we were once again in the air and heading towards the most romantic city in the world, Paris France. We arrived in Paris by noon, and were soon in the heart of the city at the quaint flat of our friends Celine and Guillaume. After a delicious helping of Ratatouille (excellently prepared from scratch by our friend Guillaume), we were out and about, exploring the City of Love. Our first stop was at the iconic Arc de Triomphe, a symbol of power and strength. From there we strolled down the street and caught our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, all lit up and glittering every now and then. We then made our way to the Louvre, one of the world's best and most elaborate museum. While inside we were able to see such masterpieces as the Mona Lisa (she wouldn't stop starring at us) and the ancient Greek statute, Venus de Milo. We spent a good few hours walking through the museum and still we weren't able to see it all. The neat thing about the Louvre was that the museum itself was almost as interesting as the pieces in it. It would take at least a week if you wanted to see all the exhibits! We left the museum and headed back to our friend's flat, and from there we headed for the evening. We spent the night celebrating Christmas, drinking French wine, eating French baguettes and pastries and just chatting with those around us. It was truly and authentic Parisian experience. The next day we were up early and out the door, heading toward the Eiffel Tower. We made it just in time to stand in line with all the other people, who thought that this clear sunny day would be the perfect day to go to the top. The line didn't last long, only about half an hour, and before we knew it, we were up at the very top of the Eiffel Tower (and freezing our mitts off!). The view from the very top was magnificent, as we could see all of Paris laid out before us. And because it was so clear, everything was so visible. We could see the Seine River, L'Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, as well as the Notre Dame Cathedral. It was a breathtaking sight, and we were glad that we did it. After taking many, many photos with the tower, we met up with our friends at Montmatre. We saw the Basilique du Sacre Coeur which is a famous church built on a hill overlooking Paris. We toured the church, and then headed out for a fabulous lunch together. On our way back from lunch we walked through the "shady" part of Paris, and we were able to see the Moulin Rouge (although we never saw Nicole Kidman or Ewan McGregor there). At this point we said goodbye to our friends and thanked them for a wonderful Parisian experience. We made our way to our last stop on our itinerary, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and were once again blown away by the beauty that was Notre Dame. From there we quickly hopped on the subway, a bus, and then on our plane back to Spain. Our weekend in Paris was a whirlwind, but we made the most of the time that we had, saw what we came to see, and made some new friendships along the way. Paris will always hold a special place in our hearts and we can't wait to return there once again someday!