Paris Sights

I had such an amazing time in France, it really is one of the most beautiful countries I've ever seen. One thing about Paris is that every area of the city has something amazing to see or experience. My first few days there I stuck to the more touristy areas near the Louvre, Eiffel tower, and Notre Dame, but then I decided to see what else the city has to offer. Not that the tourist sights aren't amazing, do not visit Paris without seeing all of the quintessentials.

A really great, but still a little touristy, area is the Latin Quarter near Norte Dame. Here there are some great shops and restaurants, and so many festive side streets and little squares. I thought this was a great area to grab a little street food and just wander around for a bit. There are of course some remnants of the Roman roots here which are also really fun to look for and enjoy. And you can admire the St Michel fountain while you're there.

One of my favorite parts of Paris was the church overlooking the city- Sacre Coeur. You can take a little trolley to the top, but I walked up the million steps to get to the church and see the incredible views of the city. It was really interesting to go into the church because it was a Sunday and a service was happening, which I enjoyed seeing. Unfortunately by this point I had been unwillingly accompanied by a Frenchman who would not leave and did not speak enough English to understand that I did not want his company. I actually lost him in a crowd at one point and he WAITED for me next to the church for over 30 minutes. When it comes to Frenchman trying to befriend you, just say no otherwise you could spend an entire evening trying to get rid of them- word to the wise. Anyways, near the church is an amazing area called Montmartre with some beautiful winding streets, great food, and because it goes up the hill you get some very cool views. Everyone should check out this area if they are in Paris, it is one of those places you can walk around for hours just enjoying. Then of course is the seedy area of Paris where you can see the Moulin Rouge in all of its slightly trashy glory.

One part of the Paris experience that I found slightly overrated was my trip to Versailles. Although the palace is amazing and completely over the top ( the French were not afraid of covering everything in gold which I appreciate) the whole thing just felt over hyped. I think one of my problems was that it was raining that day, and the gardens are not as impressive in the rain when you can't actually sit and enjoy them. Also, none of the fountains were actually on when I went, which really just made the whole place seem depressing, like it was run down. And of course it is low season so no flowers and lots of maintenance being done. Overall, I would really say you can skip Versailles if you are going in winter or the beginning of spring, you can find better ways to spend 18 euros trust me. I'm sure the place is glorious when they pull out all the stops, I know I wouldn't mind living there.

Finally, at least for Paris, I definitely think anyone who goes to the city should take some time to check out the cemetery located there. The Pere Lachaise is an incredible sight, especially if you are used to American cemeteries. This place is packed, they almost stack the graves on top of each other, and so many of the tombs are old an incredibly intricate. Plus you can visit some very famous grave like Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, and Chopin. While I was there I was grabbed up by a local who gives tours and he told me all about the cemetery and the people buried there which was amazing. The places is weirdly beautiful and romantic for a graveyard, and there is a really moving holocaust memorial there with a monument for each concentration camp in the Paris area.

Since leaving Paris I spent some time in Lyon and after an epic journey I am now in Spain. More details later, I am running on literally no sleep for the last 27 hours so not a lot is making sense in my head any more. Also, I have pictures of the graveyard but they are on my phone and I don't have the energy to deal with multiple technologies right now.