We left St. Malo early Wednesday morning. I was so proud of myself because even though I have the most luggage, I was the first to load all of my stuff on the bus! About two hours into the bus ride, we stopped in a town called Bayeux. The town has a beautiful Cathedral and also has a museum of a tapestry that depicts the victory won by William duke of Normandy over the English; it is over 1000 years old. We visited the museum and had each part of the very large tapestry explained to us. It was super interesting to see such an old piece of artwork that has such an amazing history.
We got back on the bus and headed to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. The land the cemetery is located on was actually given to American by the French as a token of their appreciation for our country’s help during World War II. The Cemetery was a very moving place; seeing over 9000 gravestones and knowing that all those men died fighting for the purpose was such an unbelievable experience. We left the Cemetery after a while and headed to the other beaches of Normandy. This too, did not seem real. The ground on which we walked resembled that of a different planet. There were huge crater-like pores in the Earth’s surface; scars from a day that occurred over 60 years ago. The German barracks still remain. Many are torn to pieces, but stepping foot in the ones that still stand sent chills up and down my spine. It was so bizarre to think about all of the things that occurred on a piece of land that today seems oddly serene. We could only stay for a short while because we needed to be in Paris by 7:00 for dinner. I slept the entire bus ride…but that’s no surprise!
We arrived in Paris and quickly unloaded our luggage. After eating dinner our hostel’s “sister-hostel,” we began the daunting task of carrying all of our luggage up stairs. Three flights of stairs. Stairs that are curvy. And made out of slippery wood. Did I mention that these stairs slant in different directions too? It was quite the adventure. Luckily some of the boys manned-up and helped us girls with our giant suitcases. I am living with four other girls at the hostel- Sarah, Serena, Mary Anna, and Kathleen. It has been a ton of with them. The hostel is a bit of a change from the beautiful hotel we stayed at in St. Malo, but still pretty nice. Last night we roamed the city for a while in attempt to find a movie theater. Well, we ended up finding all of the movie theaters in Paris; none of which, for various reasons, fit our needs. We finally settled for some nice ice cream beside a beautiful fountain. Not bad. Getting home was too funny. We walked around in circles for about an hour and a half until we finally realized where the heck we were.
Thursday morning we had class after breakfast. Our whole group then went on a boat tour of Paris. It was such a cool experience; I loved getting to see all of the beautiful architecture and hearing about its history. We finished around 3:00 and spent some time by the Eiffel Tower. As I stood under the Eiffel Tower, I couldn’t believe that I was actually there! It almost seems fake at first. Really though, it is probably one of my new favorite places. It is so beautiful!
We headed back to the hostel for dinner after roaming the city some more. After dinner, we walked down the Seine to see the sunset with some other Villanova students. It was such a neat sight; everyone has picnics around the river, on the bridges, in the parks, etc. during dinner. I loved every second of it. Serena, Kathleen, Sarah and I decided to head to the Eiffel Tower to go up to the top. It took us a while to walk there, but it was SO very worth it. The sight from the top was absolutely amazing. It was definitely one of my favorite nights so far. Besides the amazing view from the top of the Eiffel Tower, we had a blast walking around the city and seeing Paris by foot. Hopefully more to come!
Peace and Love
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