Paris holds the key to your heart...

When we arrived in Paris we took a taxi from the train station to our hotel. We stayed in the Hotel Andre Gill which is near the Moulin Rouge, thankfully just outside of all the crazyness. We went straight to our room to hopefully go to sleep, but when we opened our door we found it to be filled with this awful smoky smell. It literally made us sick, but they did not have any other rooms available and did not speak english well enough to understand the phrase 'reduced rate'. So, we sucked it up, and the next day asked for brand new sheets and everything. We ate breakfast quick, baguettes, croissants, orange juice, and tea, then headed off to take a free tour around Paris. We arrived just on time at St. Michel. Our tour guide, Justin, was an exchange student from Illonios and was brilliant, he knew everything that he was showing us. We made our way down to and around the Notre Dame. Then walked by the Seine River, and were even told stories about the rings and that they are good luck to touch. I climbed on the rings, and stood in between two of them. It was high, and I almost fell trying to reach the second ring, so someone ran over to help boost me up. Slightly awkward, but funny. Then we saw the 'new' bridge, which is actually very old and it is decorated with the drunken faces of the King's friends. We also walked through the Louvre, not in it. And saw the pyramids. Next it was through the gardens of Toulleries and to the Concord monument where we could see both the Eiffel tower and Arc de Triumph in the distant. The walk was exhausting, but when Justin mentioned one that went through Monmart at 6pm, we decided to do that one as well. Before that we went into the Notre Dame for Palm Sunday, and then rushed back to the hotel to change before it became too cold outside. We were starved when we arrived and the lady gave us a baguette to eat. Later for dinner we also ate another baguette and a piece of peanut baklava, disappointing I must say. Then we made our way to the Sacre Ceur and saw Picasso's studio and Van Gogh's apartment from his earliest works. Needless to say that was an exhausting day!