So last weekend I went to Paris with Arielle and her family. I left for the airport last Thursday right after handing in my economic consulting project. I had to leave a day before everyone else and stay in Bewley's Airport Hotel for the night because there is no bus to Dublin from Cork that would have gotten me to the airport on time for our 12:30 pm flight. The bus ride was the usual from Cork to Dublin nice and long with a quick rest stop about half way, overall it was about 4 and a half hours to the city center of Dublin. Upon arriving in the city center I had to figure out how to get to the airport because it was about 10:30 pm and it looked like the place was getting ready to close up for the night. After asking a Bus Eireann worker what I had to do next he directed me to a Dublin double decker bus that
would take me straight to the airport that was included in my ticket. Once I arrived at the airport I had to find the Bewley's Hotel shuttle bus that would take me from the airport to the hotel. I wandered around the airport parking lots for a while searching for where it might be. I tried all over I even accidently walked up to a private tour guide, to ask him if he was the Bewley's shuttle because I remembered from the website that it was supposed to be a white van. When I realized last minute that it was clearly a private tour guide and everyone was speaking German or something I turned around and left the group awkwardly. Eventually I found a Hilton bus shuttle and asked the driver where I could find the one to Bewley's. The man told me that I was in the right spot and I just had to wait for it to come, as he said that the white Bewley's bus came around the corner. Once I got on the bus it made its way to the hotel and I was able to check in. Bewley's was a very nice hotel. It provided free WiFi which I made use of on my Itouch because I did not brig my laptop. I went to bed early because I was hungry but did not want to spend any money on food because I have to save it for April.
would take me straight to the airport that was included in my ticket. Once I arrived at the airport I had to find the Bewley's Hotel shuttle bus that would take me from the airport to the hotel. I wandered around the airport parking lots for a while searching for where it might be. I tried all over I even accidently walked up to a private tour guide, to ask him if he was the Bewley's shuttle because I remembered from the website that it was supposed to be a white van. When I realized last minute that it was clearly a private tour guide and everyone was speaking German or something I turned around and left the group awkwardly. Eventually I found a Hilton bus shuttle and asked the driver where I could find the one to Bewley's. The man told me that I was in the right spot and I just had to wait for it to come, as he said that the white Bewley's bus came around the corner. Once I got on the bus it made its way to the hotel and I was able to check in. Bewley's was a very nice hotel. It provided free WiFi which I made use of on my Itouch because I did not brig my laptop. I went to bed early because I was hungry but did not want to spend any money on food because I have to save it for April.
The next day I woke up around 9 am for my 12:30pm flight. I took my time getting ready because Arielle told be that she would call me when she made it to Dublin so that I would know where she was. Eventually I realized it was getting close to the time she was supposed to arrive and I had not received a call yet. I called her and she told me that they were almost there and that I should go to the airport. It turned out that she had fallen asleep on the bus and forgot to call me so I had to rush and finish getting ready. I got on the shuttle about 5 minutes after I got off the phone and on the shuttle with me was an entire Irish girls soccer team. Arielle called me because she had arrived at the airport and I told her that I was on the bus and would be there in a few minutes. The bus driver had to drop the girls off at some field that was on the way to the airport and I arrived a few minutes later. Arielle and her family were getting the tickets when I got there so I got to cut the line and just hand in my passport for the ticket, then we headed over to the security area to make our way to the gate. Arielle told her dad about the time that I got stopped on my way back from Maine for accidentally bringing a hunting knife through security in my backpack and I found it humorous that she was the only one who got her bag searched because she was smuggling lotion outside of a plastic bag. After a reprimanding from the security guard for her mistakes we perused the shops, then headed to our gate.
We flew Aer Lingus from Dublin airport to Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. The flight took approximately an hour and a half and Arielle somehow managed to beat me in the game of Pocket Tanks (best out of 5 wish serious help from me in the first few rounds). When we arrived in Paris it was hard to find where to go next because everybody speaks French. We took a cab to our hotel, which took about a half hour to get to. Our hotel, Intercontinental Hotel Le Grande, was a beautiful five star hotel near the Opera. The hotel had a ballroom in it that was created in the 1800s that was quite large and very ornate.
After we checked in and relaxed for a little while we took a cab to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was very cool; we waited on a short line for the elevator then rode up to the 2nd floor. The view from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower is magnificent; you can see all of Paris from the top of it. Unfortunately the top floor was close for some reason so we could no go all the way up. Either way the Eiffel Tower was a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend it.
We were all starving from a long day of traveling so when we were finished with the tower we decided to eat at a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was a nice place that was very close to the tower. I ordered French onion soup for my appetizer and a cheeseburger with fries for dinner and this was easily one of the best meals I have had since coming abroad. The soup was amazing and the burger was incredibly tender and tasty. Arielle also surprisingly mentioned her idea that since we were in France we should all try escargot. I am pretty sure she was not serious when she said it but we did end up ordering it for an appetizer and we each tried it. Surprisingly the escargot was not bad at all and Arielle even went back for seconds. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and hung out for a little while until Arielle, Karina, and I decided to go to Le Refuge De Fondue. Katie, Arielle's friend from Scranton, had recommended that we visit it if we were ever in Paris. The restaurant is known for serving wine in baby bottles, the door handle to the building is even a big baby bottle. There were only two very long tables up against the walls in the place and so to get to the other side of the table you needed to go on top of it. They serve cheese or meat fondue, wine, and fruit bowls. It was fun and we met other people that were seated in the seats next to us who were also studying abroad. We had a very full first day so after this we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.
After we checked in and relaxed for a little while we took a cab to the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was very cool; we waited on a short line for the elevator then rode up to the 2nd floor. The view from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower is magnificent; you can see all of Paris from the top of it. Unfortunately the top floor was close for some reason so we could no go all the way up. Either way the Eiffel Tower was a lot of fun and I would definitely recommend it.
Self Photo in front of tower
View from 2nd floor of tower
We were all starving from a long day of traveling so when we were finished with the tower we decided to eat at a nearby restaurant. The restaurant was a nice place that was very close to the tower. I ordered French onion soup for my appetizer and a cheeseburger with fries for dinner and this was easily one of the best meals I have had since coming abroad. The soup was amazing and the burger was incredibly tender and tasty. Arielle also surprisingly mentioned her idea that since we were in France we should all try escargot. I am pretty sure she was not serious when she said it but we did end up ordering it for an appetizer and we each tried it. Surprisingly the escargot was not bad at all and Arielle even went back for seconds. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and hung out for a little while until Arielle, Karina, and I decided to go to Le Refuge De Fondue. Katie, Arielle's friend from Scranton, had recommended that we visit it if we were ever in Paris. The restaurant is known for serving wine in baby bottles, the door handle to the building is even a big baby bottle. There were only two very long tables up against the walls in the place and so to get to the other side of the table you needed to go on top of it. They serve cheese or meat fondue, wine, and fruit bowls. It was fun and we met other people that were seated in the seats next to us who were also studying abroad. We had a very full first day so after this we went back to the hotel and went to sleep.
After a great nights sleep on what was easily the most comfortable cot I had ever slept on we woke up and went down to the hotels restaurant for our breakfast, which was included with the hotel. This breakfast was amazing it had anything you could possibly imagine such as crepes, eggs any style, fresh squeezed juices, sausages, bacon, and a whole lot more. It was one of the greatest spreads I have ever seen at a hotel. After breakfast we got ready for a minivan tour of Paris. The tour took us, to all of the main attractions stopping periodically for photo opportunities. This included the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, and the Sacred Heart Cathedral. The longest stop was probably at the Sacred Heart Cathedral where we spent a lot of time walking around taking in the area. The church is on top of a large hill near in the city and there is a magnificent view from the front of it. The surrounding area also has lots of artists who are willing to draw a portrait of you for a nominal fee. The driver dropped us off near our hotel after the tour and we went searching for the Terry Mugler store, because Karina wanted to meet Lady Gaga’s stylist who she found out was currently in Paris. We searched for a long while but the store was nowhere to be found. Eventually we met back up with the adults at a restaurant called Wepler. I ordered a sirloin steak but they messed up my order so I waited for it to come while everyone else was eating. After dinner we decided to walk around on Boulevard de Cliché, where Moulin Rouge and many other “night time entertainment” is held. Arielle, Karina, and I decided to get dressed up and come back for the 11:30 showing of Moulin Rouge.
We did not purchase tickets in advance for the show so we waited on a separate line while everyone who had tickets entered. When we finally were permitted to enter, they seated us in our own box and offered us two bottles of champagne. The show was really entertaining, even though most of it was in French. In one scene, an entire tank of water with snakes in it came out from the stage and a girl swam in it. The show lasted for about two hours and we all really enjoyed it. After the show we went back to the hotel to sleep. We had no set plans for the next day.
On Sunday morning we woke up and ate breakfast in the hotel again. After breakfast we decided to go to the top of the Notre-Dame cathedral. We saw the bell and all of the gargoyles that are in the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. After this, we went in many touristy shops and walked around. Arielle wanted to get her portrait drawn back by Sacred Heart Cathedral so we also went back to that area. Arielle and Karina haggled two artists down from their initial price of 40 Euros each to get their portrait drawn for 20 Euros each. The pictures came out terrible. Karina looked like a seven-year-old girl and Arielle looked like a French girl trying to seduce the artist, even though she was smiling the whole time he was drawing her the picture made no attempt to capture that. After going back to the restaurant that her dad and the rest of the adults were eating in and telling them about their disappointing experience, Alona, Arielle’s dad’s girlfriend, took the drawings back to the artists and demanded that they give the money back because the pictures looked nothing like the girls. I told her that I saw an artist who was actually doing a great job with a portrait of another girl while I was walking around so she went and got another portrait done by him and it turned out better. After this, we ate French onion soup at the restaurant the adults were eating at.
We went back to the hotel to change and get dressed up nicely again because we had reservations at the Buddha Bar. This is a fancy sushi place. We all ordered chocolate lava cake first because we were not that hungry. Then, we decided we were actually in the mood for sushi. We ate some more and hung out there for a while.
We went back to the hotel relatively early because we had to leave for the airport by 7:30 the next morning.
We went back to the hotel relatively early because we had to leave for the airport by 7:30 the next morning.
Currently, I am on my way to Pettigo in Donegal County to visit family with Arielle. We are sitting on a bus that may be broken down because it keeps turning off and restarting.
I just finished editing this on the bus ride back from Pettigo. Arielle did help with the writing of this I blame any grammar errors or things that sound like a girl wrote it on her. I tried to eliminate most of the girly words but I make no promises.
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