“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Paris Day Three

The Arc de Triomphe

The Eiffel Tower

Paris Day Three- Sunday, Jan. 31st 2010

Last day in Paris! So sad… I don’t want to leave, but I have to. Getting up today at 9:30 was very hard.. but 4 hours of sleep is nothing I’m not used to. The first thing we did after we stopped by a café was go to the Eiffel Tower in the morning. We took a lot of pictures and we were about to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, we were even waiting in line to go to the top for about 30 minutes but we left because the line was moving real slow. We were in a rush to go to the Arc de Triomphe- located in the center of Paris of the Place Charles de Gaulle. The arch is 49.5 m in height (162 ft.) and 45 m (150 ft.) wide. When we got there we were really confused because it was in the middle of a circle- literally 5-6 lanes of traffic were circling the monument with no cross walk. So without thinking much into it, we ran across the street and almost got hit by about 10 cars.. it was fun though- Europeans don’t get as pissed off as Americans do when you walk into the street. Later on we found out that there was an underground tunnel that had a gallery and a gift shop that you were supposed to take. Haha. After we saw the Arc de Triomphe we walked down the main street where we found many stores and restaurants- Louis Vuitton, Armani, Mercedes Benz, McDonalds, Ferrari, candy stores, watch stores, perfume stores, shoe stores, you name it. I found a very cheap black suit jacket that I bought for 30 euros- it was 70% off!

After shopping we took the metro back to the hotel, Bryce and I packed away our one bag of stuff and headed to the bus station with the girls where I bought a bus pass and boarded a bus shortly for the airport. The flight back to Pisa was okay, Bryce and I slept most of the time- even on the train ride back to Florence. My experience in Paris was perhaps one of the best experiences of my life- it was definitely the best weekend of my life. It was well worth the money, the lack of sleep, and the stress I am soon to embark when I get back to school. I hope oneday I get to visit Paris again. Now I see why Paris is called the capital of Europe.

“If you’re lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast” ~Ernest Hemingway

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