Macarons, Mistakes, and the Eiffel Tower
Booking a train to Paris is not something that should be handled lightly. We tried to book a trip to Paris two weeks ago and we made some crucial mistakes. We booked the hostel and paid a 30 Euro deposit. When we checked the next day, every single train into Paris was fully booked and we were unable to get a seat. I looked at every possible entry into the city and unless we wanted to buy plane tickets which were super expensive there was no way we were making it to Paris that weekend. I canceled the Hostel as soon as I realized and we did lose the deposit but it was the price to pay for our mistake. We then looked two weeks later and learned from our blunder to book the train tickets before the hostel. Luckily we did this because even two weeks in advance there was only one train into Paris that wasn’t fully booked on the day we wanted to go. There was also only one train that wasn’t fully booked on Sunday that we needed to be back before school. Luckily we were able to get seats on both trains. This was the first time we had booked seat reservations on a train that needed seat reservations. With our Eurail pass we can pretty much just get on any train we want. However, in Paris, they check your seat reservation before they let you on the train. I had to wait in a long line before they scanned my ticket. It felt almost like boarding a plane. The train was actually very nice which it should be because we had to pay extra to be on it. It was only about a 3 hour train ride into Paris.
Once we got into the city we dropped our stuff at a Hostel and got some dinner at a restaurant next door. I had a French style pizza and it was super good. We then got on a Bus to go towards the Eiffel Tower.
Unbeknownst to us at the time, the transport card we had bought only applied to the Metro and not the buses. When we tried to scan our cards to enter the bus the Bus driver yelled at us in French and we think he told us to just get on. He didn’t want us to delay the Bus. The public transportation in Paris is very confusing. We took about six bus rides in Paris and paid for none of them. It wasn’t ideal but each time the bus driver yelled at us to get on quickly. We made it to the Eiffel Tower that first night and got to watch the sun set and then the tower sparkle in the night. It truly was beautiful and a must see. We watched a street performer sing songs in front of the Eiffel Tower for about 3 hours. The next morning we woke up and grabbed a chocolate croissant, a baguette and some soft french cheese. We then caught a “free” bus towards the Eiffel Tower. Once we got there we had a little picnic in the fields in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was some of the best bread and cheese I had ever had with one of the most amazing views in the world. Once I had finished the savory food I then went to get some French macarons to also eat in front of the Eiffel Tower. I got seven macarons and while yes it was a bit expensive I love macarons so it was well worth it. I’ve made them a couple times in the past but the macarons in Paris were way better than any I’ve ever made.
After we finished our picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower we walked to the Arc de Triomphe. We did not know that there were tunnels underneath the road to get to the center. We walked around the circle looking for a crosswalk and we couldn’t find one. I had played enough frogger and crossy road in my lifetime that I was ready for this. We basically ran across 4 lanes of constantly flowing traffic. It was incredibly dangerous but also incredibly fun and it was the only way we knew existed to get to the center. We definitely made some drivers angry because we got honked at quite a bit. Once we survived the Arc
de Triomphe we then walked to the Notre Dame and the Louvre. Even though we booked the train tickets early we didn’t book anything else. This means we were unable to get tickets to go into the Louvre but we were still able to see the pyramid on the outside. After all these sights we finally walked back to the hostel. We totaled about 30,000 steps that day.
For dinner my friends convinced me to get Chipotle for dinner. Yes, the closest Chipotle to Bonn is in Paris. No, I do not think using one of our few meals in Paris on Chipotle was a good idea. To make it even worse, Chipotle in the US is genuinely better than the Chipotle in Paris. This was my only regret of Paris and I can’t believe my friends convinced me to let this happen. The next morning we got on the train we booked back to Bonn. It was a great trip but next time I would book stuff even earlier. Not just the trains but also activities like the Louvre and going up the Eiffel Tower.
Jonah R
The official Eiffel Tower website: Tickets, news, info… The Eiffel tower. (n.d.). https://www.toureiffel.paris/en
Paris Public Transport • Paris je t’aime – tourist office. Public transport in Paris. (n.d.). https://parisjetaime.com/eng/article/public-transport-a555
