So Much to Do, So Little Time

Today was by far the most exhausting day I've had in Paris since my arrival. We walked all day starting from 9:30am until 7pm. For breakfast, I ate a raspberry croissant from a popular bakery around the corner from my hotel. After that we went to the Louvre, where we walked through the surrounding garden. The weather was hot today, so it was so relaxing sitting beside the garden's water fountain. Our first stop was at the Orangerie, where we got to see Claude Monet's Water Lilies. My personal favorite was definitely the day version, since it had more colors and details.

As a quick snack we stopped by a macaroon shop, called Pierre Herme, afterwards. They had so many colorful and unique flavors, and I ended up getting the apricot and pistachio flavor and the lychee, rose and passion fruit flavor. Along the way we walked throughout the Palais Royal area, where we saw so many luxury department stores, like Chanel. My professor also introduced us to the oldest coffee shop in Paris where Coco Chanel used to go to. There, they have a very rare Indonesian coffee for the cheapest price, so I plan on trying that one of these days. 

Once we got free time the girls and I went back to the Louvre garden to grab some flower-shaped gelato. I treated myself to the grapefruit, passion fruit and cherry flavors. The highlight of my day was when we visited a carnival in the garden, which had several fun rides. Because the prices were so expensive, we decided to only pay 5 euros to go on the swing carousel, which was so much fun. From up there, we got to see a spectacular view of Paris and some of its most popular monuments, like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. 

At 4:30 we had to visit our professor at the Moulin Rouge stadium, and from there we walked to Montemartre, which is the highest hill in Paris. It had the most beautiful view I've ever seen, and there, I got to see a skyscraper view of the city. All I could make out were thousands of white rooftop buildings. At the very top of the hill was a gorgeous bleach white church that was surrounded by many cute little shops. I had the chance to try a chocolate and banana crepe, which was my very last activity for the day. As much as I loved this area I was so exhausted by that time that I just wanted to go home. I wanted so badly to have enough energy to further explore the area. However, I unfortunately have to visit again another time when my schedule isn't so jam-packed. So far, I can safely say that I love Paris so much, and it definitely stole my heart more than London!