The rest of my trip to Paris

I'm home from Paris now (sucks to be back) but here's what I did the other two days:

On Saturday I decided to go the Eiffel Tower and I got extremely lost in the metro. I made two friends who were both Russian but living in the USA who were the reason I managed to find my way around. (It definitely pays off to ask people if they speak English if you can't find your way around).

I tried to take photos of myself outside the Eiffel but it's really hard with a selfie stick and also embarrassing to use them. (There are a lot of photos of me looking incredibly awkward).

After the Eiffel Tower I managed to find my way to the Champs-Élysées to go shopping. I knew it was a really long street and I probably wouldn't end up seeing the Arc de Triomphe at the end but before I knew it, I was right in front of it and it was beautiful!

On Sunday, I ate breakfast on the hotel balcony in front of the Eiffel Tower which was so cool, and a nice thing to do before I changed hotels.

I walked to the Louvre in the day time and spent a really long time there (and got lost inside because it is massive). I saw the Mona Lisa but it was so small I almost missed it.

I was going to go back to the Eiffel Tower as I hadn't walked up it and I regretted it but I walked onwards to the metro and there were police around and they had closed it. This was my only crying and phoning home moment and I realised that walking up the Eiffel Tower wasn't meant to be this time but there's always next time! I went back to the Latin Quarter and spent the afternoon buying art by the Seine and shopping in Shakespeare and Company (I did this in the evening too).

I finished the evening by going for a walk along the Seine while listening to music and then sat beside the Seine and wrote.

I honestly think that everyone should travel by themselves at least once in their lives and I'll do a blog post on this at some point. I've had an amazing time, I've been really happy and it's just made me appreciate life a lot more. I can't wait to return to Paris in the future!

Thanks for reading,
Jessie xxx

First day in Paris!

So I'm finally in Paris! Here's a little rundown of my first day!
I had to leave the house at 4 this morning and I couldn't sleep because I was so excited so I'm so tired but I've had a really good first day.
When I got to the Eurostar and said goodbye to my mum I felt really anxious and almost cried. I was seriously wondering what on earth I was doing but I finally got to Paris at about 9am. I would like to mention that I absolutely suck at directions. The night before I was printing every map I could in hopes that I'd be able to find my hotel and I actually managed to find it straight away! (Clearly don't suck with directions anymore!) I love my hotel room. I knew I'd booked a room with a view of the Eiffel tower but I honestly assumed it wouldn't be as nice as it was. Here's a picture of the view:

Hotel room view

I went and had chips and a crepe for lunch (and got ripped off). I then went to the Notre Dame and walked around inside. I was going to climb the tower but it stated raining and I was freezing.

 In the afternoon when the sun was starting to set, I decided to take a spontaneous boat tour (basically just sat on the boat and listened to music while taking pictures of the view). It was so cold but I loved it. It was lovely seeing the Eiffel Tower from the view of the Seine.

Eiffel Tower

After the boat trip I went and had dinner at The Great Canadian Pub. It was a bit more awkward eating by myself than it was at lunch but I brought my notebook with me and wrote.

Although I went to Shakespeare and Company earlier in the day, I recommend going in the evening. It stays open until 11pm and it's much less busy in the evening although there are still people around. This is probably the geek in me talking but I'd definitely rather go to Shakespeare and Company in the evening than to a pub. It's also got such a lovely atmosphere with people playing piano as you browse the books.

After Shakespeare and Company I came back to my hotel room to see the Eiffel Tower  lit up and it looks so beautiful. Can't wait for another day in Paris tomorrow!