Hey guys! It's now our last full day in Paris and it's raining so we're having a chill day.
If y'all read my previous post, my first impression of Paris was pretty poor. But having since immersed myself in the culture and avoiding dodgy areas, I have really grown to love this city in the 5 days I've been here.
It's got so much to offer, yeah the people are a bit rude and you'll stick out like a sore thumb if you're Asian but there is just so much culture here!!!!! i love the food, I love the language and I love the atmosphere of this city.
Idk where to begin haha
Well first off, my 4 other friends that I'm here with, I'm glad I'm here with them cos they're so chill and supportive and they keep an open mind and we're just learning so much about each other. Like Em and Danny really appreciate history and art and we've gone to a number of museums which I would have shyed away from if I was on my own, like Tate Modern in London and the British Museum where we saw cleopatra's mummy. Like wtf how cool! I thought I wouldn't enjoy it much cos I didn't study it or whatever, but each piece has a plaque explaining the artwork or the artefact and it's so interesting to actually learn more about the stuff you kinda only hear about in everyday life.
The louvre was fun too, we saw the Mona Lisa which was pretty epic and we got to try Paris' best eclairs afterwards.
Idk how to explain why I love Paris but I think it was when I first understood how to take the train on my own. Their train system is so much more efficient then Sydney's (but then again, everything is better than Sydney trains lol) I was able to navigate my way through the city and I knew which stations I'd need to switch trains at and stuff. Idk I guess it was then that i felt like I fit in and I was apart of this busy place. Understanding the train lines lead onto understanding and appreciating the proximity of things in this city, like you could take the metro to a place 3 stops away and it would take u 5 mins or you could walk and it'd only take 10 mins, like shit is so close. There's so much to do and like London, things are open really late. We've had many 10 pm dinners and that seems to be the time most people go too
Em and I spent yesterday just wandering around and we found this nice alleyway with authentic French food for a good price and then we spontaneously went on a little trip to Versailles. This is outside of Paris btw, and it was literally only 30 mins away! I loved the trip, even though it was short. the conversations flowed and I felt a lot closer to Em. Also the palace was really nice and shiny!!! There was a point too when we were still in Paris, near Notre Dame. We stood on the Pont De Arts bridge, which is the one with all the locks that crumbled under its own weight last year, over the River Seine and the breeze was flowing through our hair and we were just looking out at the city. In silence and in conversation, I felt so peaceful and so at home. Idk it was a nice day
We also went to a club called REX. We arrived at like 130 and it was dead. Drinks were 10 euros (ie $15 AUD for a vodka cranberry wtf) and there were no pass outs. The music was really good though. At this part of the night they were playing deep house and I was having so much fun! But we went for a durry, and came back to a packed house and different music. It started to get packed at around 3. The local Dj played weird music like it was house but it was like disco or something and it just wasn't what we were after lol. That was a disappointing experience. But afterwards we had arguileh and crepes.
Paris is lovely. it takes about 2 days to do all your touristy things but there's still so much to immerse yourself in afterwards! I kinda wish I could stay here longer so I can see the rest of France. But alas, it is Amsterdam next. Hope it also exceeds my expectations
Edit: I LOVE COFFEE HERE OMG. It was my first time having a long black and it was soooo good and smooth. Then I felt a bit daring and had an espresso the following day and omg it was so smooth! I didn't even crash from the caffeine. I love black coffee!