Paris: The City of Light

After parting ways with my family in Berlin, I hopped on a 6:45am flight to Paris, France to spend 2 days with my boyfriend Eric, and his wonderful family. I had been to Paris about five years ago with my family, so I remembered a lot about this stunningly beautiful city. Though I was only there for 2 days, it was great to revisit some of my favorite places, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arch of Triumph. I was also able to meet up with a few friends from BC spending their semester abroad in Paris, and I even ran into one of my best friends from high school, Lia, in Tuileries Garden - how crazy is that?!

After I arrived, I ate breakfast with Eric's family, and then Eric and I walked around for a bit in the surrounding neighborhood. Our first stop was Tuileries Garden, located right across from the Marturanos' hotel.
Though it was a dreary day, it was definitely warmer than Berlin, which was nice!

Place de la Concorde - that monument is from ancient Egypt!

First sighting of the Eiffel Tower!

Stunning even in the fog!

We passed by the National Assembly building, and as a Political Science major,
I always feel obligated to appreciate such places.

We also paid a visit to "Lover's Bridge," where we bought a lock and wrote our names on it,
which is actually something I've always wanted to do!

Aw.

You're supposed to throw away the key, and even though I felt like I was littering,
it was a nice symbolic gesture!

After Lover's Bridge, we went back to Tuileries Garden, where I had
my first crepe of the trip: banana and nutella, so delicious! Right
after this, I ran into Lia, but completely failed and forgot to get a picture of the two of us.
I still can't get over the fact that we ran into each other in the middle of Paris!
The world might really be as small as they say!

We then walked over to the Louvre, which I distinctly remember from my
trip with my family, since we spent so much time there!

The pyramid is pretty awesome, I have to admit.

We then rejoined Eric's family and all went to the Eiffel Tower. 
To get there, we rode in a bike taxi, which was slightly terrifying but fun!
I can't believe it fit all 6 of us!

As we made our way to the Arch of Triumph, we stopped
at this spot to snag a great picture!

Arch of Triumph!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

On Easter Sunday, we went to mass at Notre Dame. It was
totally packed, but still enjoyable.

They even have TVs for the people in the back of the church!

Later that day, we went to Easter Brunch, which was delicious. After that,
Eric and I met up with our friends Sarah and Michael, who are studying abroad
for the semester in Paris. It was so great to see them for the first time since December!

As Paris locals now, Sarah and Michael took us to Angelina, one of the most famous cafes
in all of Paris. They have "the best hot chocolate in the world" and gorgeous decorations, like this one! 

I have to admit, the hot chocolate was pretty delicious!

Even though my trip to Paris was short, it was definitely sweet (sorry for being cheesy). I'm so thankful that the Marturano's let me join them for their last few days with Eric! We had two great meals, and some wonderful crepes. It was a very special Easter weekend!

With that, Eric and I were back on our own. Our next stop was over 1,000 miles away: Istanbul!