6. french people are so NICE… ok, i am here to once and for all settle the stuck-up-Parisian assumption. I've been told by COUNTLESS people, read COUNTLESS blogs, etc. with really bad experiences (socially) in France. i’m not sure if you had bad luck, or ALL the people you ran into were having a really terrible day… but absolutely everyone we met was so kind and helpful. most spoke English probably better than me, or they at least tried their best… went out of their way to be friendly, full of recommendations, and were excited to meet tourists (believe it or not).
5. do what you LOVE… i really love art, and there are approximately 153 museums in Paris (my very own heaven, ya know?) on our first day in Paris we went to the Louvre…oh my goodness… it lives up to all the hype and then some (or at least it did for me)… we took a guided tour, and then explored on our own from there…for the next 9 hours…what i’m getting at is this was a complete DREAM day for me. i LOVE art. i LOVE history. ALL 782,910 sq. feet of the Louvre was a perfect, and then the d’orsay the next day… BUT there are so many other things Paris has to offer or any city really… find things that can excite you for 9+ hours! don’t just do it for that 1 famous painting…(hint: the Mona Lisa)
4. take tons of PICTURES… in addition to the camera on my iPhone, i brought my polaroid, 2 through-away cameras (retro, right?), and a new canon… i am the first to admit that i LOVE pictures! however… sometimes (most of the time) it is ok to put them away and enjoy the moment with your own eyes! seeing things through a screen isn’t nearly as fun…
also, i’m a firm believer after my week in Paris that the selfie/the selfie stick is seriously harming the human race. nobody needs to see your freshly straightened hair in front of a van gogh, seriously. stop it.
3. i RECCOMEND... angelina, you can’t not fall in love with this place. it is the most adorable restaurant and sweet shop… (remember… fairytale-tea-party paris?) and the food is INCREDIBLE… you at least have to try their hot chocolate omg…!!!
les ombres is really cool! a little fancier food… with a SERIOUS view… you can go out on the terrace and snap a pic or 2 and enjoy the the eiffel tower… ugh, SO dreamy.
i really liked the flower shops… you can find them all over Paris (add to your fairytale), the Eiffel tower is seriously a must… obviously. we did it at night…it sparkles every hour on the hour and will light up your world! there’s a million more things i could recommend… overall, Paris is really hard to go wrong in, tbh…
2. some stuff is weirdly EXPENSIVE… for example, i love coca-cola… i know how bad it is for you, but it just doesn’t seem to persuade me to stop drinking it every now and then. with jet lag (i’ll talk about this struggle next)… coke is the fuel that is keeping me alive. hmmm… so the thing is it runs anywhere for 5.50 euro to 8 euro… $6.24-$9.99…ha…ha… Paris is kinda pricey… so plan accordingly!
1. JET LAG is so real… like TOO real… the time change from the central standard time zone to the central European time zone is approximately 7 hours… and i have crashed on top of my hotel room bed FULLY dressed approximately too many times to count… i also wake up (wide awake) at 4am (9pm cst) and text my boyfriend for like 2 hours, before i can fall back asleep (this is still happening, and I've been here for over a week)… for reasons unknown. best advice… don’t try to fight it! get your beauty rest in! your body is prob really confused and (hopefully) will some day adjust… wish me luck
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Spanish major & Legal Studies minor Chloe Riggs is spending the spring 2018 semester in Spain with our U of A Exchange Program at Universidad Nebrija in Madrid.
Read more from Chloe at cocothecreator.wordpress.com
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