It was something I had been really looking forward to.

Before I even knew my UK visa had been approved and before I’d booked a flight from Louisville to London, I knew I was going to Paris. My friend Claire found a good deal on EuroStar tickets and snatched them up immediately. She’d never been, our other friend Meghan had never been, and I’d spent half my previous time there at Disney World.

But then the trip didn’t exactly go as planned.

I contemplated even writing a post about this trip because when I looked back at my most recent posts about Southeast Asia they mostly mentioned the time I was sick in Singapore and guess what? I was sick in Paris too and didn’t want to look like someone with the worst immune system in the world. Or a whiner. Or a hypochondriac.

But…even though it wasn’t the greatest time for me (the week leading up to it was one of the most miserable of my life, I spent the Tuesday before we left in the emergency room because they thought I might have malaria, and I couldn’t eat anything or walk more than about 20 feet without needing a break), it still had its good points.

There was perfect weather. I mean, the kind of weather you dream about for a weekend getaway. Crisp fall air. Blue skies with sunshine and the perfect amount of wispy clouds.

There were amazing meals, like this one at a small restaurant we stumbled upon our first afternoon in Paris. A meal with a creamy risotto topped with a thick slab of foie gras and the biggest salad I’ve ever seen. It was a meal I enjoyed about four bites of, but the four bites were enough. Enough to kind of see why France thinks it has the best food in the world.

The after photo of the risotto and foie gras. I wish there a before pic. I really do. But we were hungry and it was just so good.

There was a less than amazing meal at the top of the Georges Pompidou Center. But the less than amazingness of was made up for by the sheer perfection of the view.

The less than amazing duck.

Made up for with this.

There were sights I’d always wanted to see, like the Basilica of the Sacre Coure in Montmartre and the Louvre, that I finally was able to.

There was laughing at all the people crammed up against the Mona Lisa, trying to snap a photo of a painting you can see in just about any art history book.

There were naps under the Eiffel Tower, which if you’re going to nap in public is THE place to nap in public, when I was too tired to walk any further.

And there was the best photo of me ever taken on a trip. Ever. It is the best because it looks like I am trying to be all cool. But in reality I had no idea the photo was being taken and it’s more likely that I’m about to cry because I’m so tired. And so hungry. And in so much pain. It’s currently my Facebook profile picture, and whenever someone liked it, it made me laugh. If only they knew…

If there’s anything I’ve learned while traveling this year, it’s that travel doesn’t always go as planned and you just have to roll with it.

This time I also learned that Paris is only a 2.5 hour train ride away from London.

It helped me deal with the first lesson a little bit better.

Oh Yeah, I Went to Paris is a post from: Farsickness

How did we spend our 24 hours in Paris?

First, we grabbed coffee and pain au chocolate near our vacation apartment rental for a traditional French start to the day. Then it was onto the Eiffel Tower, what I was most excited for. When we arrived it was quite cloudy, and even though the ticket office said there would be limited visibility at the top, we bought tickets to the highest viewing level in hopes that it wouldn’t be that bad. As it turned out, limited visibility was a bit of an understatement. Paris was covered with a thick blanket of wide fog that made seeing anything impossible.

The “view” from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

One level down and we were able to see this.

Back on ground level, we spent a good chunk of time taking pictures with the tower in the park below reveling in the fact that we were HERE. In Paris. At the Eiffel Tower.

From there we headed to the Arc de Triomphe and then walked down the Champs-Élysées, occasionally stopping in stores like Louis Vuitton to ogle goods we could only dream of affording on a student budget.

We continued on with our walk, toward to Louvre, with a stop for lunch at a small bistro where we gobbled down Nicoise salads and cheese. Just outside the restaurant we stumbled into a souvenir shop and decided that berets were a necessary purchase.

When we arrived at the Louvre, we didn’t go inside and browse the art, but instead created our own by taking a few pictures with out new berets and the infamous Louvre pyramid.

Next we walked along the Seine, admiring the merchandise sold at the stalls set up next to the river, until we got to Notre Dame. Again, we didn’t go inside, but rested our tired feet while admiring the architecture and laughing at other tourists taking pictures just as ridiculous as ours. At this point we headed back to our apartment, with a brief break for banana and Nutella crepes, to get ready for our evening out.

We started with dinner, where I struggle getting some delicious escargot out of their shells, and then returned to the Eiffel Tower to revel in her beauty at night. I’m usually fairly low key traveler, but when I saw the Eiffel Tower start to sparkle I let out a shriek. And may have done a little dance. I finally realized. I’m traveling. I’m in Europe. This is what I’ve always dreamt about.

Our last stop of the night was the Quartier Pigalle for a show at Moulin Rouge. While I wouldn’t recommend this show to anyone (think topless cruise entertainment), a walk around down the Boulevard de Clichy is extremely entertaining.

Though we hadn’t spent a long time in the city, we flew out happily knowing that in 24 hours we’d managed to experience a little bit of Parisian magic.

Flashback Friday: 24 Hours in Paris is a post from: Farsickness