Bonjour!!! I’m finally writing about my last stop on my trip to Europe. My dad and I spent 3 days in Paris, and it was definitely a trip to remember.
I wanna talk about everything we did, but I also want to talk about how much this trip changed so many things for me.
So first, like usual… I’m gonna break it down by each day.
Day 1: We started our day at the Musee D’Orsay. It’s an art museum and it was stunning! Unfortunately, I find museums really boring. (I wish I felt otherwise) My dad really enjoyed it so I was glad but It’s not something I would do again just because I was falling asleep the whole time….. We also visited the Eiffel Tower this day… It was amazing! But it was SO busy and crowded. We didn’t go up, the lines were too long, but we took some photos and looked at it from the ground. We also took a boat tour down the Seine river which was really neat to see everything from the river view.
Really quick….. we did most touristy stuff in Paris, and you’ll realize I pretty much say I didn’t care for any of it… That’s not because I’m a brat and don’t value history or anything, it’s because when I travel, I value small things like the food, the current culture, and local villages/towns. I like those type of things when I travel and when I was in Paris I just didn’t quite enjoy doing to tourist things. I enjoyed the local cafe’s and shops and their amazing bakeries the most.
Day 2: We started at the Louvre, looked around at that (didn’t go into the museum because well… you know why), then we made our way to the Tuileries Garden which was stunning, we passed the Place De La Concorde, then made our way down the Champs Elysees to the Arc De Triomphe. The Champs Elysees is ridiculously crazy. It’s full of americans and crazy tourists. It also has a ton of american shops and did I mention it was crazy crowded? NOT FUN. We went there to go to Laduree (a macaroon place/restaurant/bar) which was so cool to go and see, but everything else was just wow…. a little too crazy for me. We walked back, took a nap, and went to dinner in more of a local area and it was marvelous. Absolutely incredible! (Plus they had some french shops which was way better)
Day 3: We went to Notre Dame and Le Marais this day. Notre Dame was the one touristy thing we did that I adored. It was so cool because we went on a sunday and Mass was going on. It’s a magnificent church. Truly stunning. Then, we made our way to Le Marais, which was a super eclectic area I really enjoyed. We kept walking this day and ended up going so far we ran into all of these small busy streets where it was all true parisians. You know you aren’t where a lot of americans are when NO ONE speaks english. It was so fun, we went to an edgy rustic restaurant and had to speak some french because they did not understand english and It was just my favorite day. That’s what I really value in trips. Food, the people, and venturing off to unknown places.
All in all, I had the best meals of my life… the best time with my dad, and a huge wake up call on how much more there is to life. My blog is here for me to be honest and real. That’s why I want to talk about something that’s really important to me.
Being in Europe, they have such a different culture. I really value the way they carry themselves and how much they appreciate the small things in life. Living in such a materialistic environment you can get easily swept away. It’s all about what you drive, brand names, how many clothes you have, how much money you have, how much you spend, etc. Being in Europe, they are the total opposite. It was such a breath of fresh air to be able to relax and be around people who are so friendly and don’t care about how much money you spent the other day in Sephora. People talk to you, have coffee with you, want to know about your life… it was incredibly nice. I get really overwhelmed being around people who care so much about what I have and not who I am. It gets to me way more than it should and I hate that. There is so much more to life and this world than how much you spend at the mall or whether you have a Honda or a Mercedes Benz.
Being there, I decided how cool it would be if I went back next summer, with a friend or two and just traveled all around for 4-6 weeks. Now when I say, travel all around Europe, I don’t mean by nice hotels and first class train rides like I got to do with my dad. I really want to travel there, by backpack (a serious backpackers backpack) and live off of $50 a day. Crazy right? I think it’s just what I need. I want to travel and stay in hostels, and just value simple things like the people and the amazing food for 4-6 weeks. What do y’all think!? So, from right now until next summer THAT is where my money will be going, I’ll be saving it for that. I’m seriously challenging myself! (Y’all have to make sure I go through with it)
This trip was incredible and I am so so thankful for it. What do you value in life?
Thanks for reading!