Last weekend I fulfilled a life-long dream of mine: traveling to Paris!
This city was so special to me for a number of reasons. First, when I was younger, I had an obsession with the children’s book called Madeline, which tells the story of a little girl living in Paris. Because it was so rare to find characters with the same name as me, I immediately felt a connection with her, which included envying her life in France. It turns out that the name we share is very common in Paris; I saw streets with my name, and almost every grocery store sold the delicious, caky cookies known as “Madeleines”.
While I didn’t walk on any tight ropes or fly an airplane, I still felt as spirited as the Madeline character. Being able to send a selfie with the Eiffel Tower in the near background in my family’s group chat made me feel like a true adventurer, considering no one in my family had ever traveled to Paris. Seeing the 300 meter towel twinkle at night was a whole other sensation, and I probably would’ve been content leaving after only having seen that.
Fortunately, though, our travels didn’t stop there, and we went to various museums, including one of the world’s most famous- the Louvre. Da Vinci’s most well-known painting, the Mona Lisa, did not disappoint either, despite most tourists noting that its size is underwhelming.
Two of my friends had been to Paris before, which is why they made sure to put museums on our schedule. I, on the other hand, don’t know much about art, and the only place I was adamant about us stopping at was a bakery. With our jam-packed schedule and differing priorities, I unfortunately was not able to enjoy an éclair or chocolate tart like I had hoped, but I did get to order an authentic crêpe at a restaurant.
Since I only have a few more trips left before I return to the US, I was starting to get worried that Paris wouldn’t make the final cut for our future plans. Fortunately, we made the decision to go at the last-minute, and after being enamored of the city, I can finally understand why it’s often referred to as the City of Love 🙂
