Paris and the last week

So last Friday I went to Paris! It was definitely the most beautiful city I have ever seen. We left early Friday morning and took the eurostar there. Once we finally got there, we had a panoramic bus tour of the city. We saw the Concorde square with the new Paris eye, then our first and only stop was at the Eiffel tour. Of course, I basically had a photo shoot there, taking pictures of myself from every angle. We then got back onto the bus and went passed the Arc de Triomph. It was a lot bigger than I was expecting it to be. Gotta love that Napolean complex. We then drove along the river, which was so pretty. There were little stalls that sold used books all along it. After the tour we went to our hotel and then went to a genuine French restaurant. It was so good, even though the portions were really small. It kinda forced me to get some crème brulee for dessert, not that im complaining. After dinner, we went to the Louvre. Even the outside is amazing, with the glass pyramids. We went in for free, which makes it even better, and walked through the museum until we reached to Mona Lisa room. It was so weird that we were able to just walk right up to it ad take pictures too. It was a lot smaller than I was expecting, but it was still so cool being in the presence of such a masterpiece.

Saturday, we had a walking tour. We walked all over. I loved seeing the outdoor cafes and flower shops and even an original statue for Louis XIV, and I learned that there are 18 Louis-es. Our walking tour ended at Notre Dame, and it was really cool seeing the gargoyles and everything. After that, Meaghan and I walked across the river and had lunch at a creperie. It was so delicious. Maybe the best crepe like in the world. It was banana, hot chocolate, ice cream, and whipped cream…yum! From there we went shopping where I bought a beret. We then went real shopping on Champs-Elysees, which was so incredible. It put 5th Avenue in NY to shame. Meag and I decided that we can’t leave Paris and visit the original Louis Vuitton there without buying anything. Might have been a mistake, but it was definitely worth it. After our amazing day of shopping, we went and had some French pastries, which were of course amazing. After all of that, we were exhausted and took a nap, then went out to dinner for another real French meal. I tried escargot, and it was so good! Once I got over the part that I was eating snails, I really liked them. That night we went to the Eiffel tour. Seeing it twinkle was so unbelievable. It was so pretty! We wanted to go to the top, but it was closed because of overcrowding which totally sucked, but nothing we could do. Even from the bottom just looking up at it was gorgeous.

Sunday we had another walking tour. This time it was in northern paris where all the artists are. We saw the place where all the artists used to go when they were struggling. We then saw the square where all the current artists are that do the caricatures and everything. I would have liked to have gotten one done, but we didn’t have enough time. I liked seeing them there, because I had always heard that paris had a lot of them, so I’m glad I saw them. I also saw a mime there! After that, meag and I decided we needed to have escargot one more time while in paris, so we had it for lunch. Again, so good. After that, we needed to go back and get our stuff from the hotel and leave. I definitely loved paris, with the exception of their metro because it was super confusing. Other than that, it was great. The shopping, the food, the unbelievable beauty, it was all perfect.

Monday was my last day of my british history class. We were expecting a final of some sort, whether it was a paper or a test, but we received neither. I definitely was not going to complain about that. Even though it wasn’t a serious class, I did learn a lot about history and my professor was the most brilliant man I have ever met.

Tuesday was my day in parliament. When I first got there, I went to a boring environmental meeting. After that was cool though. I got to go to a reception in the House of Commons and meet some pretty interesting people, including other MPs. After that, I went to lunch with her researcher. After lunch, I got to go to a cool meeting. Then, I was given a ticket to the public gallery and sat in on the debate going on in the House. It was a really good day, definitely an experience most people don’t get.

Wednesday, I interned then handed in my portfolio. It was such a relief once it was handed in to know that I was done with all my work. After that, a few of us went to Oxford street to look at the Christmas lights. They were pretty, but definitely not as dramatic as the ones in America. I like the American ones better with more color and detail.

Yesterday was my last day interning. It really was sad. It is hard saying goodbye to the people that you spend 8 hours a day with 4 days a week. We went a restaurant in parliament to celebrate my last day. I really really enjoyed my internship, especially the people. I liked going there every morning because of what I got to do and who I got to do it with. In the afternoon we had 2 cakes, because 1 apparently wasn’t good enough. They also got me a label maker because they knew how much I loved it! It was definitely a good few months there that I am surely going to miss.

Today I went to CAPA to drop off my internship evaluation and time sheet. I am officially done with everything!! It is such an awesome feeling. From there I went to see 10 Downing Street, which was such a disappointment. I couldn’t see the house or anything because of the security they have there. It in no way compares with the White House. From there I went to Knightsbridge, I felt like I needed to see Harrods one more time. Later this evening, we had our departure dinner. It was so weird having that considering it feels like we just got here. The food was really good, and it was nice to have (almost) all of us together for one last time before our goodbyes.

Tomorrow is devoted to packing, considering I leave in less than 48 hours and my suitcases are still empty. Depending on how much packing I get done, I might check out the winter wonderland in Hyde Park. Sunday I am traveling home all day. I cant believe that day is actually here, it came out of no where.

This was a pretty incredible last week. I did so much, including visiting Paris. I think I ended an awesome semester pretty well. It definitely ended on a good note.

One more overall reflection blog to come…