PARIS for the wknd <3

I got to spend the WEEKEND in PARIS. We left London on Friday July 24th, got on a train and headed to Paris. The train was crazy ..verrry loud with lots of dancing, sing, and alcohol (for some).

------> Amanda & I on the Eurostar :)


After only 2 hours I met Paris. With a group of 113 people it gets a little hectic & stressful when we are moving through train stations ..but after a successful transfer from the train station through the Metro in Paris we made it to our hotel. (People say the Metro is easier to use than the London tube. I say FALSE ..people in the Metro speak french, people on the tube ENGLISH). I was already excited to get to spend the weekend in Paris, France but to make it THAT much better ..our original hotel the University of Dreams had booked for us their air conditioning broke ..what to do? UPGRADE OUR HOTEL. We ended up staying at the Concorde Lafayette Hotel in Paris, sooooooooooo nice. (I'll tell you how nice in a sec, haha). We get our keys & blah blah blah, so I go to my room ..

------> my hotel room in paris


The first thing I do when I get into a hotel room is open the window and check out the view.. and this was by far thee best view of any hotel I have ever stayed at, EVER.

------> the view out my hotel window <3


My most important objective in Paris was to see the Eiffel Tower and lucky for me it was right out my window. But that wasn't enough. So a bunch of us met up and walked down the road for dinner. After dinner we wandered ..hoping we would end up at the Eiffel Tower eventually. Well to our surprise we found the Arc de Triomphe.

-----> the girls in front of the Arc de Triomphe


After many photos of and with the Arc, we continued our journey. Then we finally saw it ....

------> eiffel tower!!


------> This is a picture my friend, Meghan took (candid) of how excited I was!! hahaha


-------> just gorgeous :)


Clearly the most logical way to spend your first night in Paris is to lay in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower until the clock strikes 10:00PM and the tower lights UP! So we did just that ..

------> Amanda & I laying in the grass WAITING :)


------> Jonny, Amanda, & I


And then it happened ...

------> The lights ON ..& it was SPARKLING <3


------> Jonny, Amanda, Me (scarf in the face, haha) & Scott - jumping picture!


Saturday, July 25th ..we got up and made the decision to go to the Louvre & see the Mona Lisa w/ some people from our program! We are walking through the lobby and GUESS WHO I SEE? Amy Roloff, the mom from the TLC show "Little People, Big World". I am pretty sure its my 1st celebrity encounter hahaha. Then we were walking out of our hotel and who do I see coming in? Matt Roloff and 1 of his sons, (also in Little People, Big World). I was SO excited haha. I said "Hello" to him and he smiled & waved back. They weren't famous in Paris (obviously the show isn't aired their) but I knew them and they were staying at our hotel!!

-----> For those of you who haven't seen it, this is the Roloff Family!


We eventually made it to the Louvre.

------> Me outside the Louvre.


Obviously our first task once in the Louvre was to find the famous Mona Lisa. We hung out & walked around two hours + ..admiring all of the crazy paintings & sculptures!

-----> Here she is, in all of her small glory (big glory, small picture)


After the Louvre, we walked Paris for awhile. Eventually made it back to the hotel, got ready, and met at the bar in our hotel on the 34th floor (very top). The drinks were expensive, but good and the views were amazing.

----> My cosmo (w/ a straw) BEFORE


------> And after (& yes this is me trying to be "artsy")


------> The 34th floor bar.. romantic!


We then made the decision that we were going to have a dinner picnic in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower. So we began our walk. We stopped at a wine store to pick up the beverages for our picnic (ps - if you go to Paris..drink WINE, not to get drunk but because it is cheaper than beer, soda, and even WATER. crazy? yes!). And we found an italian pizza/pasta restaurant that had take-out and we headed to the park.

------> All of us almost to our park - Eiffel Tower <3


SUCH AN AMAZING WEEKEND :)

My days in Europe are winding down (only 10 left) but I have one more weekend trip ahead of me. This weekend (actually on Thursday) Amanda, Kelly, and I are flying to Dublin for a long 3 day weekend. We already have a ton of things planned (Guinness tour, Jamesons tour, a guided tour of the countryside, etc hahaha). And we are staying in a hotel right by Trinity College and the Temple Bar District. I am already too excited. Lucky for me we leave in a day!!