A day in Paris...

To say the first days of my trip were stressful would be a gross understatement. It was more like post-apocalyptic hell, smelly, crowded and seriously uncomfortable.

Rachael (my travel companion) and I began our adventure by flying into Paris. Needless to say, getting any sleep on the plane without the assistance of drugs is a physical impossibility so we arrived seriously exhausted. Despite feeling puffy, sleep-deprived and ill the flight into Paris was lovely (photo on right is image of French countryside from my airplane window). We schlepped our bags from the airport to our hostel. We had spent the miserable plane trip dreaming of a hot shower and a nap at the hostel, but were turned away until 4pm (it was barely 9am when we arrived). We changed clothes in a dangerously unhygienic bathroom and dragged our tired selves to the Louvre and the Decorative Arts Museum to pass the hours until we could return to our hostel.

After studying art history for the last 4 years, the Louvre was like a dream come true. Admittedly, I was a bit starstruck as if surrounded by A-list celebrities I had only seen in photos. I nearly forgot that I was on the verge of fainting for a few delicious hours. Overall, the Louvre is a fascinating place. The place is crawling with tourists from every corner of the world. I have never heard so many languages bouncing around a building at the same time.
Functioning in a sleep-deprived daze, I attempted to photograph everything I saw so that later, when I reinserted by brain I would remember and appreciate the experience. Below are some of my favorites (the sculptures certainly are photogenic, don't you think?)














In an attempt to rejuvenate, Rachael and I stopped for cappuccinos and sandwiches next to the Louvre. Although adorable, the birds were quite brave and made a habit of snatching food from the hands of tourists, including yours truly. Luckily for him, I was willing to share (or just too tired to fight it).

We expended the last drops of our strength on a quick walk-through of the Decorative Arts Museum. I regret not having more time and energy to look around as it was a fascinating place. However, passing out in the Art Nouveau room sounded like a bad idea. So, we dragged our tired selves back to hostel for wine and attempted to plan our travels to Rome the next day. In my next entry, I will describe how horribly wrong this went.

The best thing I can say about our hostel is that it had a well stocked bar. Other than that, the shower was a hole in the wall (ew, not worth it) and sheets had to be rented. Sleep once again eluded us thanks to a couple of Spanish guys singing the Macarena and playing guitars (no joke) until 3am. We left the next morning at 5am in attempts to catch a plane to Rome. More about that disaster later.

Picture of our hostel!
(jk, that's Napoleon's apartment at the Louvre)