Paris Diary:
- Carina Campbell-Welsh
- Jun 10, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 20, 2019
Happy New Year!
Thats right, on the 1st January 2018 me and my friends went to Paris. We flew with easyJet to the Charles de Gaulle airport where we were met by a downpour of rain which didn't't help my headache, which was possibly due to the few drinks I had had the night before. As everything was shut on New Years Day we decided to to go straight to the hotel we were staying with, which was Trianon Gare De Lyon. The hotel was in an ideal location with only about 10 minute journey on the underground to the city centre. This for me was a cultural holiday and left me with many amazing memories.
FOOD AND DRINK:
Cafe's and restaurants are a must when in Paris. Nothing can beat a continental breakfast before exploring the scenic streets of Paris. I would recommend eating out when possible and time permits in Paris as the city has many different places to offer. Although, restaurants near museum/ landmarks can be expensive considering that I spent 8 euro on a Pepsi max. A safe bet to save money on beverages in all places in Europe is just always order water or ask to see their drinks menu first.
One of the best places we ate was a small restaurant next to the Louvre where we ordered pizza and pasta before further exploring. I would also recommend the cheese soup as a starter, trust me I wasn't convinced either by the sounds of it but this dish makes for a perfect starter or a tasty fill me up.
When in Paris we treated ourselves to a croissant and coffee every morning as this in my opinion gives you the full Parisian experience.
SIGHTS:
When it comes to sights in Paris we weren't short of choice. Our first sight in which we came to was the Eiffel Tower. We never went up to the top as we never pre booked tickets and the queue was very long. Pre-booking tickets for this is something you should plan in advance if you're wanting to make it to the top on your visit. However, as we went in winter we were able to go ice skating at the bottom of the attraction for €6 for the half hour. This was one of my favourite parts of the trip as it seemed magical although out a fairytale. There is also a Christmas market which we strolled along afterwards which sold trinkets and souvenirs.
The next attraction which we came to was the Arc de Triumph. This caused great confusion to me and my friends as to how to actually reach the attraction as it is situated in the middle of a round about. I did suggest running
across (not to be advised if you want to keep all your limbs.) However, not to fret there is an underpass which takes you straight there. You should build in some time to spend there as there is plenty to do whether it be reading the scripts on the walls or getting the perfect photos.
Another sight which was a highlight of my trip was Notre Dame, this was perhaps one of my favourite aspects of Paris due to its sheer beauty both inside and out. Although, I'm aware that after the tragic fire recently this particular attraction may not be possible to see the inside of the architecture but I would still go to see its staggering beauty from the outside.
MUSEUMS:
The two museums that we done (although there are plenty more) were the Louvre and Musee de Orsay. The Louvre was my particular favourite as this covered a wide range of history in which I was interested in and had paintings such as the Mona Lisa which you have to go see if you're in Paris. In addition to this the museums in Paris are student friendly and all under 21's get free entry. We managed to see all the Louvre apart from the islamic part which we didn't have time for although my favourite parts were the Egyptians and the greek statues.
The Louvre also offers a restaurant which I would recommend going to for lunch as the Louvre will take up much of your day as it did ours. Once again as a vegetarian I never struggled to find anything here that I could eat nor did I in any of the places we visited in Paris. We had to pick when was best tatted the restaurant though however, as it does get very busy during lunch hours with like minded tourists.
The second museum which we attended was Musee de Orsay which held my favourite exhibition which was of Van Goth exhibits. Van Goth is one of my favourite painters and artists with 'Starry Night' being my favourite piece, I loved seeing all the different paintings so much so I went through this exhibition twice. Another one of my particular favourites was 'le lit' which was painted by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who was an allay to the LGBTQ community and painted the two women in bed together to show their intimacy rather than sexualising their sexuality and gender. This inspired me a lot as he was very ahead of hi time in comparison to other artists and peoples minds towards gay rights. It is even documented that he stayed faithful to his good friend Oscar Wilde throughout Wilde's trial.
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