A Weekend in Paris.

Going into my short summer in Europe Greece was definitely on the top of my list of places to travel to, followed very closely by none other than Paris of course. We got to ride first class on the bullet train from Stuttgart to Paris, which included a meal both ways - the most gourmet travel food I've ever had in my entire life, probably because the Parisians do not do anything (including train food and street lights) half ass.

Our first day was spent exploring the Louvre and surrounding gardens, a dream of mine since I've been little. Almost an entire room in the Louvre is devoted to the master pieces of French painter Jacques Louis David. In the 10th grade I did a research project on David (one where the teacher made us use books for research instead of the web, so I got to know David pretty well) and getting to see his HUGE painting up close and personal was a real treat. And of course, there's the Mona Lisa which was surprisingly bigger than I expected her to be - opposite of most people I think.

Day two was devoted to a visit to the Longchamp store and Fat Tire Bike Tours (they have tours in Paris, London, Berlin, and Barcelona if you ever go to one of those cities go on the tour, just take my word on it). Although my bottom still hurts from taking both the day and night tours, it was an absolutely great day and such a neat and informational way to see the city. Great, great, great!

Hanging out in the really long line to enter the Louvre through the pyramid, which is obviously not original to the actual rest of the building.

The Venus de Milo, not entirely sure what's so special about her, but she was a starred attraction.

Napoleon's Coronation! One of David's biggest masterpieces.

Why yes, I stood in the huge throng of Asian tourists to get a front row look and snag a picture of the Mona Lisa, who ended up being a tad bigger than I expected.

Winger Victory, one of my favorite statues in the whole museum.

We bought Longchamp in PARIS!!!!

This was given to Napoleon as a peace offering, but it laid in this square on its side for 30 years before they figured out how to put it upright. Napoleon died before they figured it out.

Napoleon's tomb, he's buried there with his wife and fourteen of his closest army officers. 

My favorite way to see the Eiffel Tower, lit up from the Seine.

Night bike tour = über fashionable neon reflective vests.

Got bikes? A pretty neat way to tour the city.

And now: the obligatory silly pictures with the Eiffel Tower. I'm pretty sure its illegal to leave Paris without taking at least one, so we took three!

A lovely sunset from a pedestrian bridge lined with hundreds of "love locks."

Going into this trip Mykonos was my favorite place in the world, but after this weekend Paris is definitely it! Such a rich and gorgeous city. Also, being able to walk through the streets and say "I'll be back soon" is something I never thought I could say truthfully, good thing its only a three hour train ride from Stuttgart!

xoxo,
Abby