My Month in Europe: Strasbourg Days One and Two

Strasbourg Day One

After Paris our next adventure was on to Strasbourg, the capital of France!

We desperately needed a little bit of a break from the adventure filled days of London and Paris, so this couldn't have come at a more perfect time!

Our travel day to Strasbourg was very relaxed, and to be honest, I don't remember a whole lot! 

Before we left Paris we stopped by the Paris Temple site, where we had a presentation from a member of the church involved with purchasing the ground the temple was to be built on. 

I was so miserably tired that I was hardly coherent and barely remember the presentation.

Oops!

Once we got to Strasbourg we went to an "American" diner called Franky's. 

I was surprised to be craving a hamburger and a milkshake, but I suppose nearly two weeks into the trip I just wanted a little taste of home!

I had the best chocolate banana milkshake and I was satisfied for another few weeks until we were home :)

That night we just spent in the hotel playing catch phrase, chatting, and catching up on some major sleep.

Strasbourg Day Two

The next day we woke up bright and early for a business visit with the European Union. 

I was really ridiculously excited for this visit, but unfortunately, I was still so exhausted.

When we were preparing for the trip, our teachers told us that there would be a point that we hit a wall, and this was definitely that point.

Our tour guides for the EU were fantastic and so incredibly knowledgeable.

At one point they took us to a room for a presentation with comfy chairs and dimmed lights, and I can honestly say I don't think I've ever struggled more to keep my eyes open. 

I kept looking around and nearly half of our group had their eyes closed.

I felt so bad, and we probably came across as so unprofessional. 

Overall though, it was a great visit!

We had the rest of the day to ourselves, so first up on our list was a nice long nap.

Katy and I went back to our room and were out nearly as soon as our heads hit our pillows.

That was the most glorious nap of my entire life...

Until...

The loudest, blaring, fire alarm woke us up.

I am an incredibly light sleeper, but it took me a good minute to realize it was a fire alarm disturbing me. 

I thought it was Katy's phone and I was so irrationally angry at her, I was about to yell at her to make it stop.

Then, at the same time, we both realized it was a fire alarm.

I confusedly and sleepily poked my head out the door, half dressed, wondering if we actually needed to go downstairs.

By the time Katy and I were putting on clothes and shoes and grabbing our most important belongings, the fire alarm stopped.

It took us a good while to snap out of our groggy and grumpy state, but once we did we felt refreshed enough to head out for the day!

Katy, Brandon, Ryan, and I all went to Old Town to explore and walk around for a bit. 

It was absolutely perfect and everything I had imagined France to be!

Bakeries, patisseries, Fromageries, Creperies, Chocolatiers, quint mom and pop shops, dogs wandering around off of leashes, cobblestone streets, and more. 

I was in heaven. 

I mean, just look at that! ^

We made our way to the Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg, which had magnificent architecture. 

Story goes that the building owner didn't want the design of the cathedral to ever be replicated, so once they finished building it he took all of the architects and builders up to the top and pushed them off. 

The locals claim this to be true, but who knows!

After the cathedral we were on a hunt for crepes and gelato.

We found a place that served both, and I'm pretty sure were those obnoxious tourists who don't speak french, don't know how to order food, and went back twice for crepes and gelato ;)

But let me tell ya, those crepes and that gelato sure hit the spot.

Who says you can't have dessert for dinner?!

When in France, right? :)

Straciatella, Raspberry, and Mango gelato pictured above :)

What I wouldn't give for some of that right now!

On our walk back to the hotel we sampled nearly everything we could in all of the different shops.

It was a truly fantastic, relaxing, and rejuvenating day.

Exactly what was needed!

My Month in Europe: Paris Day Three

There was so much anticipation for me leading up to this day, mainly because it was the day my mom was the most jealous of!

Right away when I told her we were going to the Palace of Versailles she begged me to take as many pictures as possible :)

We woke up and took a train to Versailles, which is a gorgeous little French town!

The Palace itself is massive and the exterior is absolutely stunning.

This is my, "Look, mom! I'm here!" pose ;)

We did a tour inside with an audio guide and it was stunning, but to be honest, I was a little disappointed.

I suppose it just wasn't quite what I was expecting, as far as only being able to see a portion of the Palace and it being so insanely crowded.

(I don't do well with crowds, as was very clearly manifest at the top of the Eiffel Tower... You'll hear about that soon...)

My favorite rooms were the hall pictured below, which I believe was either a dining hall or used for parties, and the Hall of Mirrors.

 

Had I known that I would be so unenthralled by the inside of the palace I would have skipped it all together and spent the entire morning in the gardens.

I would gladly take a trip back to Versailles to explore the gardens some more!

Seeing the gardens was a non-negotiable, as we had seen Powerscourt in Dublin, ranked #3, and now we had the chance to see Versailles, ranked #1.
I was so antsy with excitement!

They had courtyards where classical music or Opera were playing, and I instantly wished my dad could have been there.

My dad raised me with a love for music and that's often how we bond.

Well, that and going on hikes, so this was kind of the best of both worlds :)

I knew he would love being in the secluded parts of the gardens with that music playing so serenely in the background.

It was so peaceful.

Fall was in full swing in the gardens, so I couldn't resist making everyone take a cheesy leaf-throwing picture. 

We were in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, how could you not?!

P.S. Brandon's face (far left) made and ruined this picture all at the same time :)

You guys, I can't even begin to describe how massive the gardens are.

I'm positive we only saw 1/5 of the entire thing, if that!

We spent a couple of hours walking around, eating lunch (and gelato of course), and buying some gifts for family back home.

There were so many perfect kitchen and garden things I would have loved to get my mom, but there was just no way to keep them safe throughout the rest of the trip and transport them back home.

I settled with Wild Elderberry Jam and we've been enjoying it on occasional Sunday dinners since I've been back home!

We had to get back to Paris because we had group tickets to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

This was the first time I'd seen it up close and it is so much bigger than you think!

It was a long wait and a long ride to get to the top, but the view was gorgeous!

I never had brothers growing up, but I imagine they'd treat me like these four did all throughout the trip.

From endless teasing to heart-to-hearts, these guys made Europe a blast!

You can see almost every big Paris landmark from the top of the Eiffel Tower, including the Arc de Triomphe in the photo above!

Being 100% honest, I will never ever pay or take the time to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower again.
It was so crowded just waiting in line to take one of the elevators down and I had strangers pressed up against me on all sides.
I started feeling incredibly claustrophobic, and having asthma that's never a good thing.
I took my inhaler a couple of times, but the wait was just so long and I wanted to be out of there so bad.
It sounds silly even to me now, but I ended up having a full on panic attack.
I've never had one before and I honestly don't even know why it happened, but it was pretty scary and I'm pretty sure a part of me will always hate the Eiffel Tower because of that :)

Thankfully after about an hour of waiting and taking cramped elevators we were back on the ground.

From there we decided to grab some quick dinner and take a night tour by boat.

Quick tip - if you ever go to France, never buy crepes from the street vendors on the river, unless they're banana nutella crepes.
You have been warned.

By the time we got on the boat it was dark and we were last on so we ended up standing out on the deck.
We left on the hour right near the Eiffel Tower, so it was twinkling.
It is so true that Paris is most beautiful at night.
Not only at night, but in the rain.
It started raining and luckily I was prepared with my raincoat, so I stayed out on the deck and took in the lit-up city.
I could honestly not have been happier being able to experience Paris at night, from the river, in the rain.
It was a dream practically straight from a movie.
(Midnight in Paris, anyone?!)

 The boat tour was the perfect farewell to Paris, getting to see the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Lock Bridge, people dining right on the river, and a twinkling Eiffel Tower greeting us at the end.

Although Paris wasn't my favorite city from the trip, I'd say it definitely treated me well.

My Month in Europe: Paris Day One

Ohhh you guys...

What to say about Paris...

I was so incredibly excited for Paris having studied French (and France) for two years in high school. 

My best friend Bonney and I would dream about going there, speaking perfectly fluent french, and eating every last bite of food we could handle.

So when we woke up at a grueling 4AM to take the Chunnel to Paris, I was beyond excited!

(But also incredibly distressed about my fried hair, which I discovered the night before. I'm sure there will be a blog post about this sometime in the near future. It was traumatic to the point that I ran around the train station like a maniac trying to get good enough WiFi to facetime my mom.)

That train ride was silent, let me tell you.

I'm pretty sure almost all of us were dead to the world the entire time.

Once we got to Paris, there was some immediate culture shock within seconds of stepping off of the train. Ireland and England weren't bad at all because nearly everyone knew English, but here, it was incredibly hit and miss.

I was surprised at the amount of French I remembered though, particularly when it came to food!

I had always heard that Paris was dirty and smelt bad, and let me tell you, that is definitely the truth.

The difference between the undergrounds in London and Paris is night and day, and just the city in general is, well, gross.

Not wanting to let those first impressions get in the way, a group of us girls headed straight for the world-famous Lafayette Department Store after dropping our things off at the hotel.

I was in designer shoe and handbag heaven, let me tell you.

I think I almost passed out at the sight of "PRADA" on the wall!

From there we headed off to find some lunch and the Notre Dame.

On our little walk we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!

We ended up finding this little outdoor cafe called L'Annexe, which I still dream of going back to!

Our server was so nice and helpful. He gave us some tips on eating out in France, such as that you don't have to tip and the server should swipe your card in front of you.

I ordered a Tartine Provencal which is a baguette, prosciutto ham, cheese, tomatoes, olive oil and herbs.

I realize this sounds easy and boring, but oh no no no...

It was to die for!

This was everything I expected and more after two years of my french teacher telling me how amazing the bread and cheese is in France!

Also, the vinaigrette on that salad was delightful! 

After lunch we went to the Notre Dame.

It was breathtakingly beautiful inside!

The stained glass architecture was incredibly intricate.

There was one mural made out of carved wood, I believe, that told the story of Christ from birth to crucifixion.

Each pane was a different snapshot of Christ's life.

It was beautiful!

From the Notre Dame we went to do some souvenir shopping.

I bought two beautiful paintings/drawings and a couple of kitchen-type things for my mom :)

That night we had a YSA Fireside with the Paris YSA ward.

They rolled out the red carpet when it came to feeding us!

There was a whole spread of pastries and desserts, along with a really delicious soup in bread bowls. 

So far the food in France was exceeding all expectations, and I was definitely not complaining!