Highlights: watching the sun rise and set over the Eiffel Tower, scaling a wall in Disney World to catch our bus back to Stuttgart at midnight

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First of all, there is SO MUCH TO SEE in Paris! Between all of the museums and old buildings, you could spend a large chunk of time around Paris and still not see everything. 

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My friend and I were in Paris less than 48 hours, but covered so much ground. We of course went to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. Additionally, we visited Sacre Coeur, Center de Pompidou, Sainte-Chapelle, Arc de Triomphe, and Musee l'Orangerie. More on these places below.

 

BUT FIRST....

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Story Time: To return to Stuttgart, we had to take a train to Disney World (just outside of Paris), then catch a bus. We had plenty of time and were enjoying our walk to the bus stop, talking about the last 40ish hours of history and art. Then we figured out that we were NOT where we needed to be. We were walking under a bridge and we needed to be ON the bridge. UH OH. Do we cut through a parking lot? No that didn't lead anywhere. Can we go through these bushes. Nope. Fence. Do we back track the last 15 minutes of our walk... but then we were going to be late. So what did we do? After walking well over 10 miles the past two days and it being after midnight at this point, we ended up climbing through bushes, up a hill and over a wall. We hopped onto that bridge, running at least a half mile with huge backpacks, walking probably another half mile, and finally we reached our bus. Thankfully we made it in time. The bus was literally waiting for the 2 of us. As soon as we hopped on, the bus skirted on its way back towards Germany. 

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Here are some of the other things I did in Paris that were amazing, but far less exhilarating... 

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The Louvre was awesome, for the architecture of the galleries and all of the art. I have never been in rooms with so much art, or such large art. I mean we are talking paintings that are over 10 feet wide and tall!!! 

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Sacre Coeur was gorgeous - the interior and exterior!! You can enter the church at any time during its opening hours. We caught a portion of a mass and heard the choir sing... WOW. 

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St. Chapelle is a small church that is almost entirely stained glass. It is a stunning space despite its small capacity for people. 

 

Musee l'Orangerie houses Monet's famous water lily paintings. This visit started with the building being evacuated literally 10 steps - 10 STEPS - before entering the gallery rooms. Luckily after 10 minutes or so, we were allowed to reenter. Once inside... WOW. Monet is seriously a magician with paint. I did not expect the paintings to be as large either. Some of the paintings were probably close to 40 feet long! There was so much color and paint on those canvases too. The paintings from far away are beautiful, but once you are up close, all of the brush strokes and colors are visible. I gained such an appreciation for his art after visiting.  

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In addition to all of the art and architecture, my friend and I also took a class on how to make croissants. Croissants are time consuming, but fluffy and delicious for sure. It definitely will not be something that I will make often, and not just because of the time. My arteries will appreciate croissants not being a regular part of my diet.... SO MUCH BUTTER. 

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Paris was a quick trip, but a beautiful city, and I know I didn't even scratch the surface. 

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