Ah, Paris. The city of love and a place in Europe besides England where I can speak the language confidently enough to actually use it. I went for Valentine’s Day (la jour de la Saint-Valentin) and even though it was only for two days, I was able to do SO much! Oh, and did I mention that I flew to Paris and stayed in a hostel for 2 days all for under 200 euro? That doesn’t count how much money I spent on food though oh my gosh don’t get me started.
I went with 5 friends and my roommate knew someone studying abroad in Paris, so he showed us around for the two days that I was there. If you do it right, you can actually see so much of Paris in one day thanks to the metro. I recommend doing some research beforehand on metro lines and stops so you can just zip through as many sites as possible like we did!
We stayed in a hostel near the Gare de l’Est for 20E a night each. The staff was really friendly but the bathroom door didn’t close and the shower was weird and freezing, but a bed is a bed and it sufficed nicely. Hostelworld is a good place to find hostels to stay in all over Europe to make travel cheaper, especially for study abroad students.
Brace yourselves, you are about to be spammed with Paris pictures, friends.
I am the type of traveler that tries to blend in as much as possible and assimilate quickly, but today, I decided to assume the role of super-tourist, as we hit as many Parisian sites as possible. We started our Friday morning off with the Eiffel Tower. It’s been 5 years since I last saw it, but the site never loses its charm. We were excited because it was a little sunny (Sun and Paris usually don’t belong in the same sentence until summer), and just warm enough to take our coats off for pictures.
I’ve always got to have a crepe with sucre (sugar) et citron (lemon juice). You can never go wrong. C’est parfait!
We continued on to St. Michel and the Notre Dame after getting some awesome crepes for a morning snack. The Notre Dame is stunning and has the most amazing and interesting architecture. 
I would love to know what’s going on here.
After stopping in a little park behind the Notre Dame for a some playground time (yes, I’m serious), we took a nice long walk through the streets of Paris and along the Seine towards the Louvre. This was my second time visiting the Louvre, but you can never get tired of this place. It’s the most amazing and captivating museum in the world! We were fortunate enough to see exhibits featuring Napoleon III’s apartments, Italian/French/Spanish paintings, and of course, La Joconde, the Mona Lisa. Some of my friends were very underwhelmed by the real Mona Lisa, as it is extremely tiny and plain compared to the larger and more detailed works of art featured in the same exhibit. I find the Mona Lisa to be intriguing, and I’m fortunate enough to say that I’ve been able to see it twice in my life so far. 
A panorama of one of the art exhibits in the Louvre.
An art appreciation moment?
After the Louvre, we headed to a Carrefour (a grocery store chain in France) for some baguettes and cheese to snack on. We ate in the Tuileries Garden, a grand garden in the middle of the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde.
We visited the Eiffel Tower again at night to actually go up to the third floor. The lines to go up the Tower during the winter are typically much shorter at night, and the view is breathtaking.
We finished day one with a dinner of kebabs, another crepe, and a little taste of the French bar scene. I encountered a Parisian dog while I was out and about.
Day two consisted of a nice walk around Montmartre, the Moulin Rouge, the Sacre Coeur, and some delicious French fare.
Moulin Rouge. 
A wall in Montmartre near the Sacre Coeur with “I love you” written in every language in the world. Even sign language! (top left) 
The Sacre Coeur.
I ate a quiche Lorraine, another lemon sugar crepe, and we had lunch at Chartier, a fancy but affordable restaurant featuring very French cuisine. The Chartier is an old classic French restaurant, founded in 1896 and considered today to be a monument in Paris. Our table was rocking escargot (!!!), beef tartare, french bread, red wine, duck, and various other extremely French dishes.
After all this lovely food, the American in us beckoned for some good ole Chipotle, which we found while walking around and which we don’t have here in Florence. As full as we were, we indulged in burritos and burrito bowls. Yes, we are crazy, but c’est la vie.
After this, we sadly had to leave Paris. With full stomachs and full memory cards on our cameras, we returned to Florence. Thanks to my roommate’s friend Lucas, we got to experience the best of Paris in 48 hours, and I am so, so fortunate for that. Until we meet again, my heart is forever in the city of Paris. What an awesome weekend it was!
Who knows what’s in store for the next few weekends… Interlaken? Rome? Madrid?
Baci e Bisous,
Rachele
La vita è bella 