City of Love (Part One)

Some may call me insane for skipping my last class before finals to fit in a visit to two more countries, but it was the absolute best decision I made all semester (and I know I say that a lot...). I had such a relaxing long weekend. Especially because I spent it with basically the best girl in the whole world:

Here we are waiting for our Argos order (EU converter plugs) to be processed :)

The journey from my flat to Olivia's (at the University of Stirling) involved a bit of proactive planning the night before. In case you don't know me, being proactive is not a strength of mine. So in order to catch all the right trains on Thursday, I made this plan:

A sticky note probably could've done the trick, but I like to have "pretty" directions :)

We spent most of Thursday and Friday on campus (partly because I had an essay to finish up by midnight and partly because we were having too much fun talking to go elsewhere!). I did get to meet some of her Scottish friends and enjoyed eating in a [clean] kitchen.

Left (at the mall), Middle (on campus), Right (Olivia's room). 

After lots of laughter and little sleep, we headed to Edinburgh airport... I've learned to master doing homework on flights! We arrived in Paris early that afternoon, exhausted yet excited. 

Our hostel, above, was a really nice one, but since we booked separately we weren't assigned the same room. Hostels are always a bit of a gamble; I ended up with two random guys in a room for three. 

Thankfully, by the second night, we managed to switch Olivia's stuff into my room and the creepy old guy next to us had himself outnumbered. (This seems less comforting now that I write it on paper but oh well. We got out safely).

My bedroom window shows off the buildings; all different hues of tan...So Paris! 

We got an early start on Sunday morning with baguettes for breakfast:

Our hostel was close to Boulevard St. Germain, so there were signs everywhere.  Of course I had to take a picture to send to a certain someone :)

(I talked to Noah later that evening. "You didn't tell me you were French!" He said, "With a name like mine I figured you knew."  Fair enough...)

Apparently this is my go-to pose. Here's me at Jardin du Luxembourg.

Olivia knows Paris like the back of her hand. So the best thing about this trip was how relaxed we were (well I was, anyway! I just let her lead the way). We didn't see all the top tourist attractions and that was okay; we didn't feel like we needed to. We just spent time reflecting about the semester and  how much our lives had changed in such a short time. (As well as some good old people-watching  in Luxembourg Garden!)

Especially intriguing to watch: French family dynamics and sailing toy boats.

Our next stop was this AMAZING historic bookstore. 

Store's motto: "Be Not Inhospitable to Strangers Lest They Be Angels in Disguise."

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside but I highly recommend visiting this place, especially if you love library vibes :) 

I don't have many pictures of our touristy things; I knew Paris was notorious for pick-pockets so I didn't take my phone out much and I wanted to enjoy wandering around. Here a few random scenic pictures though of the city:

Cour du Commerce de Saint-Andrė

Taken on our walk to Notre Dame..notice the street vendors. 

Isn't she just the cutest??

And a few typical Notre Dame pictures (they don't do its vastness justice!):

Fun fact: these bible stories were created visually to teach French people who didn't know how to read. 

 And because it was December, a little Christmas Village was on display. (By 'little' I mean the figurines...not the display itself. That was huge!) 

We continued our journey with a stop for ice cream:

Just two girls dreaming by the Seine...

:)

And then we headed to Sainte-Chapelle, one of the few buildings we paid to see. (But seeing the stained glass was totally worth it!)

How insane is the detail on these windows??

With daylight dwindling, we left for our final destination of the evening...

It wouldn't be a trip to Paris without this sight!

We read somewhere that the best "secret" spot to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower is right near Trocadero Metro stop. It certainly was! We were nowhere near the tower, but for me, that made it all the more impressive... it is absolutely massive. (And makes for a fun photo shoot background!) 

The best thing about this spot was the (relative) lack of tourists. 

And one last picture because this happens to be my favorite: 

Eiffel Tower + Metro = The City of Love

It was a perfect day <3