I apologize for the cliché (another French word) title but I thought it was appropriate since I was in Paris this weekend. I know that Paris is one of those places that people either hate or love and I personally was charmed by it. But it was slightly overwhelming. The city of Paris was so much bigger than I expected. I’m used to the more intimate and comfortable city of Madrid, so I wasn’t expecting the wide streets and walk ways and I didn’t realize how spread out everything was. My four roommates and I walked everywhere to save money (Paris is expensive) so it seemed to take forever to get from one destination to the next. The funny this is that while Paris is spread out, the apartment we stayed in was as large as a box. Ok, technically it was meant for two people, not four. Hostel prices are pretty expensive in Paris therefore we went for renting an apartment through airbnb for the same price.

We were given a good first impression the minute we stepped onto the streets of Paris. Within a ten minute (scratch that I say a five minute) span we were helped by two different locals. I guess it was pretty obvious that we were lost. When we finally located our miniature apartment we freshened up in our tre chic outfits and put on various shades of red lipstick. We were trying to look French. Our first destination was Notre Dame. Along the way we were to cross the Love Lock Bridge, which is a bridge where couples write their names on a lock and clasp it on the bridge to make their love last forever. Apparently there are so many locks that they start weighing down the bridge and have to be removed, only to be replaced by even more new ones. I guess there’s lots of loving going on in Paris.

Notre Dame was huge and the inside was gorgeous. It was very touristy of course so I was glad to move on to the next place. The interesting thing was that outside of the Notre Dame a man was selling bread crumbs for tourists to feed the birds. We watched as tourists held out their hands, feeding the little birds that flitted back and forth to their crumb-filled palms. My roommate Elyse and I instantly wanted to join in on the fun and take a photo feeding the birds in front of Notre Dame, but our other roommates told us no. So we reluctantly walked away singing “Feed the birds…” from Mary Poppins.

Our next destination was a suggestion by my roommate’s sister. Sainte-Chapelle, a chapel at the Palace of Justice, was tiny – especially after visiting the Notre Dame – but it was beautiful. The walls were decorated with stained glass windows with so many little pieces, together making up several images from the bible. When sunlight streamed through, the colors would light up and brighten the chapel. What I loved most was how the strings holding the hanging candles were hardly visible, making them look like they were floating, like in Harry Potter.

Our goal was to reach the Arc de Triomphe by nightfall. Along the way we stopped at various locations, one of them being the original Chanel store. I felt completely out of place walking through this bougie place but it was worth seeing how glamorous the store was. We also of course had to stop at a crepe stand, where the cutest crepe man ever was working. I just had to take a picture with my new French crush.

By that point we had left the high buildings and walked towards the bridges over the Seine River. The sun started to go down, and from a distance we could see the Eiffel Tower silhouetted against the colored sky. It was absolutely gorgeous and we grew more impatient to see the Eiffel Tower. But, first, the Arc de Triomphe.

We successfully reached the Arc de Triomphe by night and took the opportunity to climb 284 steps to the top to see the city of Paris lit up. (Insider’s Tip: if you’re a student, bring your student visa with you [or a copy] – everything will be free.) From the top we were able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkling, and from all sides we could see the lights of the city and headlights of cars stream back and forth. It kind of reminded me of the view from the L.A. Observatory back in California.

By this point we were pretty tired from walking all day, so instead of walking to the Eiffel Tower we hopped onto a little bike chariot and had a quick thrilling ride, blanket included. We didn’t go to the top to the Eiffel Tower – that’s something I’ll do in the future – but we did walk under it and were greeted by a fat rat in our path (I named him Ratatouille). Lastly we went to have dinner, where I experimented with both escargot (snails) and frog legs. I have to admit both were quite tasty. French cuisine did not disappoint. We topped our night off with a glass of red wine. And so ended my first day in Paris.