Paris!

The song Champs D'elissey (or however it's spelled) has been stuck in my head now for a good 2 days. Everywhere I go, it's like straight out of a movie or a song, and it hits me, I'm in Paris! It's like a dream! Exactly like the movies! Who would have thought!

So yes, I've made it to Paris. I took a bus from Amsterdam, sat next to a really nice Czech girl who told me all about the city, and then somehow made it to my hostel by 9pm on Thur. France is definitely overwhelming by yourself, but every tourist feels that way, so the hostels are much more social and lively. I ended up staying in the hostel the entire night, bonding with my roommates, and now I have friends to see the city with which is quite convenient, as none of us really speak the language! Even though it's Paris, and you have to at least attempt to speak French, it's pretty easy to figure out the metro system without knowing the language. So although I felt really uncomfortable being on my own at first, after a full day exploring with friends, my confidence is definitely up and I'm totally excited for the rest of my stay here.

Yesterday, I went on another 'free' tour, and saw most of the city in one afternoon. We went from the Latin Quarter all the way to the Arch d'triumph. Sidenote: I'm not even gonna attempt to spell things in French correctly for the next few posts, so blanket sorry! I went down the champs d'elisse, walked through a couple of gorgeous gardens, saw a ton of monuments and statues and was generally overwhelmed with information. Although it's gotta be comprable to London, since I've never been here everything seemed over the top and amazing. It's all absolutely beautiful. There are so many places to just sit and relax and think and write, it's like my dream city. I can definitely see how it's better to be in a couple here though, it is definitely a romantic city, and you can drink on the street! Anywhere!

In the evening, I went to the Louve with a whole gang of boys from my hostel. It was free night for under 26's, which saved me a good €9. We saw all the major sights, and then ended up getting completely lost as the place is never ending. It was just, again, completely overwhelming. The statues were definitely my favorite part though. They were the most complete Greek and Roman statues I've seen even through all my travels in Italy and Greece. It was like they were completely untouched and perfect. It was amazing.

So today I'm meeting up with my first couch-surfing host! I won't have to pay for a hostel for the next 3 nights which will be really nice, and I'll have a friend who lives in Paris and can hopefully show me around a bit. I'm really excited to meet her, and she lives in a pretty good location so it should be a good time hopefully! Also, my plans for the rest of the trip have definitely changed so now I'm thinking about just staying in northern France for at least another week, maybe checking out Normandy and any other cool day trip places next week. Tomorrow I'm hoping to make it to Versaille, and today who knows! There is just too much to see in this city it's hard to decide! But hopefully I'll figure it out and next post will have lots of great pics of all my adventures here!