Finally, PARIS.

I've been in French classes pretty much as long as I've been in school.  I've had countless Paris posters, trinkets and the like displayed in my room for years.  I've taken many courses about Paris, seen many films about Paris and listened to much music about la ville lumière.  I'm a French major for crying out loud.  However, only after last week can I say I've actually visited the city, and, I can honestly say, it lives up to the hype.
I definitely had sort of mixed feelings about my first trip to Paris.  I know, sounds dumb; but, I had heard so many horror stories about visiting the city - it's dirty, it's dangerous, forget about finding an agreeable Parisian, etc - and I was a little worried that my idea of Paris would be shattered.  Au contraire! I found it to be no more dirty than any other big city (let's leave the Métro out of this...), felt relatively safe pretty much everywhere I went, and to my surprise found just about all of the people I came across to be incredibly inviting and, dare I say it, friendly.
We started the week off on the right foot, with a nice French dinner followed by a short trip to the Eiffel Tower- made it there just in time to see it sparkle on the hour!.  Paris is quite an expensive city to indulge your foodie-ness, but it's 100% worth the splurge.  Fixed-price menus are definitely a wise decision and wine by the carafe is budget friendly, and, unlike in the States, is actually pretty good quality wine.  I had my first (and second!) experience with duck in Paris and ate a good amount of steak - two of the dishes the French do particularly well.  See my Paris Restaurant Reviews for more information about my dining experiences! (coming very soon!!)

 

Paris is a HUGE city.  There is so much to see and do, I could have easily spent another week or two exploring.  We started our Sunday in the Bastille Market (a food market), it was really cool! Too bad we didn't have access to a kitchen to do some cooking!  It was fun to simply walk around, the sight of all the products, shoppers and vendor; the sound of the vendors shouting out "Vous-désirez?!" and such, the performers singing/playing the accordion or street organ; the scent the fresh produce, fish, cheeses, breads and pastries.  To sum it up, basically foodie heaven.

The following day was my favorite of the trip.  We started in Musée de l'Orangerie, which houses several of the massive Water Lily murals by Monet among other Impressionist works (my fave kind of art!), walked around what came to be my favorite part of Paris - Saint-Germain, climbed to the top of Notre-Dame and Sacré-Coeur and what really took this day over the top - picnic of baguettes, cheese, wine, etc right in front of the Eiffel Tower.  It really doesn't get much better than that!

Tuesday's big activity was a trip to Versailles. The palace and especially the grounds were magnificent.  However, were less than thrilled to fight through the crowds (even in March!!).  The best part was definitely walking around the extensive grounds.  I can see why Louis and Marie-Antoinette didn't want to give it up!! All of the flowers were just started to bud and the statues were unfortunately still covered for the winter.  I can imagine Versailles would be breathtaking in the summertime, but I'm sure it's packed to the brim!



















Some other highlights of the trip include the Musée d'Orsay (Impressionism), strolling the Champs- Elysées, climbing the Arc-de-Triomphe and enjoying the best view and, of course, best shopping in Paris at Galeries-Lafayette.  By the time we made it to the Louvre on the last full day, we were too tired to truly appreciate it.  Walking through the main hall, I was thinking to myself, 'Wow.  I've been to more castles than grocery stores in the past three weeks, seen more priceless works of art and ancient artifacts than I could possibly process...' Museum overload!!  What an experience!

So yes, Paris is worth the hype.  Could I ever live there?  No, probably not; too big and busy for me.  Would I like to go back?  Absolutely.  There is so much more to see and do and of course EAT!
I was ready to get on that train back to Munich.  After over a month away, I was, believe it or not, actually looking forward to getting back to my StuSta apartment.  I've been enjoying a little bit of downtime and being back in the city I've come to call home for now :)  I am truly, truly grateful to have had this wonderful experience.  Three more weeks of break (including a few days in Budapest!) then classes will start again.

An turas iontach go hÉirinn! (An amazing trip to Ireland!)

From a few days ago: 

It’s been quite a while since I last felt this sad for a vacation to come to its end.  I’m sitting in a Coach heading back to Dublin, watching the Irish countryside from the window; I honestly don’t want to leave!! In these short six-ish days I have fallen in love with this country.  I can’t really put my finger on a specific reason why, but Ireland feels really comfortable, really livable.  I could definitely see myself returning here for an extended amount of time, especially when I’m able to rent a car and explore the country on my own.

I left the states on February 28 and got on a plane to Munich and then went on to Dublin.  I had originally planned to spend a day at my apartment in Munich before travelling but somehow I did a little overlap on the bookings, oops! At least I could just get right on the next plane…  Heidi met me at the Munich Airport and we were on our way!

Needless to say I was pretty tired that day in Dublin, but it didn’t hold me back at all!  The adrenaline and excitement of being in a new place kept me going strong throughout the day.  We hopped on a bus* and headed to the city, I was amazed at the incredibly cheap rate of €2,30!!  We dropped our luggage (my enormous 50 lb suitcase from the States- yikes!) off at the hostel and did a little exploring, LonelyPlanet Guidebook in hand – Thanks Lisa!!. 

Dublin is a pretty cool city, definitely very globalized.  The university is beautiful; we walked around the grounds for a bit and went into the old Trinity Library.  The library is HUGE and incredibly astounding.  The Long Hall is lined with marble busts and contains 200, 000 or so antique books, a nerd’s paradise.  We also got to see the Book of Kells with this ticket, written in beautiful calligraphy and dating to around the year 800 that’s a pretty important book! 

We spent the next day exploring the city further.  The highlight of the day in my book was definitely lunch.  Heidi and I are really good travel buddies- we both like to enjoy at least one nice meal while travelling.  Lunch is definitely the way to do it, the prices are typically significantly lower than in the evening and there is definitely much less of a wait.  The Winding Stair offers creative presentations of classic Irish dishes, and at lunch we got it for a fixed rate of around €20 for a two course meal.  I ordered a brie-leek tartlet that went all out Irish and ordered Corned Beef with a horseradish Mash and Heidi ordered Fish Fritters and a Potato-Vegetable Pancake.  It was divine.  Everything was cooked perfectly and the flavors melded seamlessly.  Apparently the Irish eat 50% more calories than their European counterparts; based on this hearty meal, I’d believe it!

We decided tea and cake would be a valid substitute for a real dinner in light of our big lunch.  We found the perfect place, Queen of Tarts* and we split a big pot of Earl Grey, I ordered Carrot Cake and Heidi ordered a Blackberry Crumble, both accompanied by an enormous glob of whipped cream.  Irish Carrot Cake***  The Carrot Cake was just the right texture and with the light layer of cream cheese frosting, it had just the perfect touch of sweetness.  We capped off the night with a pint of Bulmer’s Cider (basically alcoholic, bubbly apple juice) and prepared for an early bus ride to the West Coast of Ireland, to Galway city. 

This bus was, again, an incredibly good deal.  It cost us less than €20 for a roundtrip ticket across the country, granted it’s a two-and-a-half hour ride, but still that’s a good deal.  Luckily the lady sitting next to me on the Coach had previously lived in Galway and helped us to find our hostel*, making our lives a lot easier. 

After a bit of exploring it was easy to see that Galway and the West Coast Area is most definitely the part of Ireland we wanted to spend the majority of our time.  The brightly colored buildings, the musicians scattered about the area, the sounds of music and laughter wafting from the pubs and the incredibly friendly, welcoming nature of the Irish people, and on top of all that it’s on the beach.  Do I really have to leave?!  We stopped in at the classic Galway pub, The Quays (pronounced “Keys”) and then moved to Coílis lkdfajks fa for a pint.  If I could pick any evening activity it’d be, hands down, an Irish Pub.  I just love the environment, it’s like a little community- the people are so friendly, the drinks are always flowing and the music is so inviting. Even though there are clearly a good amount of tourists in the pubs, they all feel like a locals’ place. 

The next day we got back on a bus for a tour of Connemara, another great deal - €20 for the day!  We learned a lot of Irish history and saw downright amazing sights.  We saw ruins of medieval abbeys, the town of Cong (site of the film, The Quiet Man), the so-called killer sheep and Connemara ponies, the gorgeous Kylemore Abbey and gardens, and some simply beautiful countryside.  We unfortunately didn’t get the chance to do the Cliffs of Moher tour, but I think I’ll make it back to Ireland before too long ;-) 

We made it back to Galway in the early evening and made a quick stop in a pub for an Irish Coffee to get warmed up – so yummy!  We made a light dinner of fresh Fish’n’Chips before going to the pubs for the last time (for now!).  Dad, I did it!!  Got a Guinness just for you!  To be honest, it wasn’t bad, it tastes a little bit like chocolate.  Not my favorite but not bad. We found a really cool pub called The Front Door and got our last Snakebites (Lager, Cider and a dash of Black Currant Juice).  We sipped our drinks really, really slowly not wanting to leave.  We walked home feeling totally satisfied with our trip and sad to see it come to an end. 

Walking around this morning before I had to catch the bus I decided to get myself a little souvenir to commemorate this first trip to Ireland.  In addition to the Irish Blessing I had gotten at Kylemore, I wanted to get something typical Irish.  The Aran Wool sweaters are gorgeous, the stitch is symbolic and they (the real ones, at least) are handmade.  It’s that perfect chunky sweater I had been looking for the whole winter!  However, the price for a handmade sweater wasn’t quite in my budget, and let’s be real, it’s almost Spring and I’d have to cram it in some suitcase at the end of the summer.  I think I’ll save that one for next time :- ) Instead I opted for something produced in Galway and recognized all over the world, the Claddagh Ring.  The hands represent friendship, the heart represents love and the crown represents loyalty.  Wear the ring with the heart pointing towards your body if you are married/in a relationship and pointed away from your body if you are available.  Much more compact for travelling and equally as meaningful! I’m quite happy with my purchase!

This is definitely a trip I will always remember.  It was short, but we packed a lot in.  We got to see a lot of the country and experience the Irish culture.  I think next time I go I’ll skip Dublin and just go right to the Coast or South.  I am eager to learn more about Ireland and to plan my next trip. 

Tonight I’ll be getting on a bus/ferry to London.  You’re probably wondering if it’s really that close.  Well no, it’s not really.  I’ll leave the Dublin Bus Station at 8:00pm and arrive in London at 8:30am, at just over 12 hours, that’s longer than my flight from the States!  It’s easier to travel this way with my luggage and definitely much cheaper- €38 for the whole journey.  It’s not going to be comfortable, but I’m young, I can deal with it!  More updates to come!