Spring Break: City 1 of 6
A Day in Paris
It’s 5:20am in San Sebastián and Allison and I approach a very concerned looking Stephanie and Hannah. Where is Anastasia? I think. The plan was to be on the 5:30 Euskotrain to Hendaye. Stephanie fills us in, letting us know that the trains don’t start until 6 and that they haven’t been able to get in contact with Anastasia.
So this is how we begin the two-week-long Spring break, I think.
The train, I figure, won’t be that big of an issue, just a bit more stressful. It takes around 40 minutes to get from San Sebastián to Hendaye, which leaves us about 6 minutes to cross the street and board our 6:46 train to Paris. The Euskotrain, luckily, is never late.
Although Hannah and Steph have already tried to call Anastasia, I decide to try her through Facebook Messenger. It rings a few times and I’m convinced she’s sleeping. But just as I’m about to lose hope, I hear her frantic voice on the line. I quickly explain to her that we are leaving on a later train and that if she wants to make it, she has to leave now and get a cab.
The train station opens and the three girls and I board the train. We sit near the front doors exchanging anxious looks as we wait for Anastasia to arrive. What would she do if she missed the train? We agree that she’d probably have to take the cab to Hendaye, not the cheapest way to travel.
At last she bursts through the doors! We cheer and Anastasia collapses to the ground, panting.
Making the connecting train was as easy as crossing the street and the rest of the day ran smoothly. We arrived in Paris around noon and our first stop (after picking up some wine, cheese, and macaroons -cliché, I know) was the Eiffel Tower.
We had a picnic with a lovely view. Thankfully the rain hadn’t hit yet. I’d also Like to take a moment to thank my dad for the travel-ready wine opener. It proved to be quite useful in this situation.
Although not as pretty as the others, the chocolate macaroon was most delicious
Fun Fact: I got my nails painted for New Years and they lasted the entire 5 months I was abroad
Me, Anastasia, Allison, Steph, and Hannah
After our picnic, we walked over to the Arc de Triumphe, which was cool to see because I hadn’t seen it the last time I was in Paris. Apparently, you can go to the top but it was closed for some reason today.
Arc de Triumphe
The next stop on our adventure was the Louvre. We didn’t have time (or money probably) to go inside. But the Mona Lisa is a bit overrated in my opinion, anyway. We took a few pictures and then left.
The Louvre
After the Louvre, we walked over to the Love Locks Bridge. We decided that it would be cute to write all of our names on a lock and connect it to the bridge. We also put the hashtag, #NIP because we decided our theme song should be “Ni**as in Paris” by Kanye West and Jay-Z.
Locks of Love
Hannah attaches the lock
Anastasia and Hannah throw away the key
One of our last stops for the day was Montmarte for dinner. We saw the Moulin Rouge all lit up at night. We grabbed a meal and had some crêpes for dessert.
Moulin Rouge
Our final stop for the night was the Eiffel Tower again. We watched it sparkle at the hour and then we headed back to our hostel. We stayed at the Three Ducks Hostel. It was very nice. It looked newer and was a lot cleaner than our hostel in Dublin. The rooms were smaller, which was also nice. The only issue was this Asian guy who snored super loud. Special thanks to Allison for sharing a pair of ear plugs with me.
All lit up
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