Paris is said to be one of the most glamorous cities in the world. I've visited once before with my Dad and was travelling around France for 10 days in a soft top car and pitching our tent whenever we felt ready to lay our heads for the night. This time, Kieron and I arrived at Paris Du Nord train station, backpacks on, ready to start our adventure.
The first thing I noticed was the smell; a bit of a mix of stale wee and sweat, but the second thing was the beautiful buildings and how different they were to the terraced houses I was so used to in Peterborough.
We walked for about 45 minutes to our first hostel, feeling the weight of our packs on our shoulders as the sun was beating down on our faces. I started to understand why the smell of sweat was lingering!
We arrived at our hostel, The Louvre Hostel, and let out a sigh of relief as we took off our packs, shoulders already tired. First things first, something I always do when I check in somewhere I am staying, check out the view from the window. It certainly wasn't bad and the sun set just behind the buildings in view creating lovely soft shade of orange in the sky.
On our first night we wandered round the magical city getting our bearings (or at least Kieron was!) and had a look at the Eiffel Tower. The sun was starting to say its goodbyes as we got there and on the hour, every hour the tower sparkles for a few minutes and it was as beautiful as you can imagine. It's a lovely place to just relax and soak up the atmosphere, but be prepared to be offered wine, plastic Eiffel towers and lasers every 30 seconds by a street vendor! We didn't go up this time as I've already been, Kieron wasn't too fussed and we're on a tight budget but if it's on your bucket list you most certainly won't be disappointed with the views at the top.
On our full day in Paris we decided to explore the Louvre. It's free for under 26s (if you're a European citizen) which was a bonus for us as we come under that category. Now, neither of us are THAT into art or history so I have to admit 99% of the time I wasn't really sure what I was looking at (please don't judge me!) but it is safe to say that the art work and architecture in there is stunning. From statues to paintings, goblets to mosaics. My favourite part of the museum was the most beautiful tapestries I have ever seen and the ancient stone carvings. It's a large museum and you can spend a lot of time there but I would definitely recommend a visit.
After wandering the streets of wonderful Paris we sat with an espresso outside a coffee shop just as the rain was starting to come down. A perfect way to end the beginning of our trip.
Here's a few shots from our time in the city of love.
