Je Suis Un Ananas

To start out, let's rewind to the summer around early August at The Quad. Mia, Danny, and I made a promise to each other that during the Fall semester we would all reunite in Paris for a weekend. This would inevitably become known as the

"Paris Pact."

Flashing forward to September, we all contacted each other and got two more friends, Kyle and Kaitlin, to plan an incredible adventure together. On this past Friday morning, we would all arrive in Paris together; but of course, the reunion could not occur without some bumps in the road. Mia and I decided to take a bus out of London that morning. Right as we sit on the bus, cue Funky Town. Hokay. After eight hours of driving through England, under the English Channel, and through miles of France (with which we missed our actual bus stop), we officially landed in Paris! Now was time to navigate to our hostel and find baguettes. Literally stuggle-bussing our way through the public transportation (we'll call it PT for this post), Mia and I eventually made it above ground to the beautiful sight of the Eiffle Tower and began to fall in love with this new city.

We arrived to our hostel, called The Aloha (...) and by 12:30am, the five of us were united in Paris. The first night consisted of a late night picnic of sorts with wine and pizza (nom) in front of the Eiffle Tower and led to a short night's sleep. Everyone woke up early to get the day started right away, so we each grabbed a baguette and were off! The day consisted of a lovely free walking tour of the city that highlighted the history, architecture, and tourist spots of this beautiful capital. My favorite part of the tour was when we crossed a bridge that was decorated with locks. At first glance, you may think this was some contemporary art exhibit; however, we were taught the French tradition: bring the one you love to the bridge, have a lock with you, write both your name and his/hers, lock it to the bridge, then throw the key into the river. Someday I'll go back there, and in due time place my lock to join the others :)

Later, we perused the Champs-Elysées and then continued to the Aloha to prepare for our fancy dinner. We arrived at the restaraunt and ordered the most delicious food I have ever consumed. THE MASHED POTATOES WERE OUT OF THIS WORLD. Enough said. After indulging ourselves, we went off to the Eiffle Tower to see the city at a new height. The five of us scaled staircase after staircase and made it to the mid-level of the Eiffle and had one of the most incredible panoramic views of the city. Luckily, we made it down to the quad just in time to watch the Tower glisten! It was the perfect movie moment, especially considering Kaitlin had successfully bartered a bottle of champagne down to 10 Euros (Kaitlin: 1, Thug Trying To Rip Us Off: 0). As our bottle popped and the amazing crowd roared with flashing lights and alcohol, we stood in awe at the incredible metal structure. Very interesting to me how beautiful an incredibly ugly structure can be. Truly an incredible work of art.

Once our bottle was consumed and the crowd began to dim, we decided to stroll throughout the city. I also had a personal mission to complete before leaving Paris. In case you hadn't heard, Adele released her new music video for the hit "Someone Like You" the night before we went to France, and ironically enough, the entire video was shot in Paris! So obviously my mission was to sing Someone Like You on the same bridge as she did (duh). The slight problem was that we weren't sure which bridge it was...and for anyone who hasn't been to Paris before, they have A LOT of bridges. So as we were walking, I would stop at every bridge and start singing (poor friends who had to listen to it). Luckily, I ended up singing on the correct bridge and got documentation of my bonding moment with Adele.

The nightlife in Paris is phenomenal. Everyone of all ages roams the streets and indoor venues consistently throughout the night with bottles of wine. The Parisians are always loving life, an emotion that became very contagious for our group. After enjoying our stroll, we crashed back at the Aloha to prepare for our last day. Our first stop was to make it to Notre Dame and explore both the inside of the church and make our way to the top of it to see the city during the daylight.

The inside of Notre Dame was absolutely breathtaking! A service was occurring while we explored, so we had the opportunity to

attend the mass in all French. Wicked awesome. Heading to the top, we went up a zillion windy stairs and made our way to one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. As if the moment wasn't picturesque enough, a bride and groom were taking wedding pictures below us in front of Notre Dame!

After some nutella crepes and cafe au lait, we ventured off to visit any touristy spots we may have missed and pick up some souvenirs. Of course, we also picked up more wine to enjoy on our walk (thank you lack of open bottle laws).

Funny enough, I found this weekend to be the one where I had used Spanish to communicate with locals more than English! It's wicked impressive to know most Europeans can all speak multiple languages, something I think Americans should pick up. Just an observation. Also, I found that the locals happened to be some of the nicest I have ever met. Originally I had the notion that the people of Paris were wicked snooty and looked down on Americans; however, it was just the opposite! Just another factor that made everything absolutely perfect.

Overall, this was probably the most incredible weekend of my life, so far. Incredible people, incredible food, and one beautiful city: Paris. All of it which I will remember forever. The bar has been set extremely high, but I cannot wait to continue my travels throughout Europe! Next stop: Madrid a visitar mi novia bonita, Ava!