Visiting Paris, France

By Viktoria L.

Visiting Paris, France was the most exciting time of my life. I’ve been dreaming and hoping every time my dad would take me and my mom there, and we did! I was delighted and grateful that my dad bought the tickets and had us go there. When I first stepped in the Paris streets, it was beautiful, crowded, busy and smelt like candy. Candy and bread shops and cafes which were also crowded everywhere. During those four days in Paris, we went to some museums and monuments. I wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower right away, but I had to wait for the next day.   

On the first day, we went to a well known and very old catholic church “Sacré-Cœur”, which means “ The Sacred Heart of Jesus”. I'm not sure if I'm exaggerating or not, but we had to walk up a million stairs just to get to the top. Once we get to the top it was mind-boggling. You can almost see the whole city of Paris. We took a couple of pictures and had to wait in a long line just to get inside the church of course. Once we got inside there was a faint sound, like people talking but very quietly. Everything was so detailed and old, like the glass and the pillars. The paintings were also very beautiful and old. I got to also lit up a couple of candles for a couple of euros. It’s pretty surprising how you get to go inside such an old church. I had so many questions on how the architects built the church and how they got up there so high. We took a couple of pictures and left to go get some nice fancy dinner. 

  The following next day we went to a well-known museum called “Louvre”. It was packed with loads and loads of different types of people and of course tourists. There were so many artifacts and old statues that have been built by great artists. I was very shocked and happy because I got to see and take pictures of Venus De Milo, the Victory of Samothrace, and the -best of all- the world’s famous painting, Mona Lisa. When we wanted to take a picture of the Mona Lisa, the group of people was so smushed you can barely take a picture. But when I got to the front, I took a quick snap, stood mesmerized by it for a couple of seconds and I had to go. After going to the Louvre Museum, we finally went to the well-known Cathedral, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. Sadly a couple of months ago it had burnt down but when I saw it in person it was under construction pretty fast. Fun fact: the Cathedral was built in 1163 which was 856 years ago.

  Finally, we went to the Eiffel Tower, the most exciting part of the day. It's almost everyone’s dream just to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower. I got that chance and I appreciate it because my dad used his own money just to buy the tickets. Anyways, I took a couple of pictures and of course posted it on my social media. Another exciting part was where we got to go to the Eiffel Tower. If you didn’t know, Gustave Eiffel built the most complex tower and built an elevator inside the tower. But obviously, when he died, someone had to improve the elevators. But we got inside and went up the tower. It was super tall so I was a little anxious because I'm scared of heights. Surprisingly, there were 3 levels and there was a small bar on the top where they sold champagne and sparkling apple cider. The cider was so delicious that I kept getting one. We took some more photos and went back down to explore Paris more. 

  Fast forward to the last day in Paris sadly, my dad also planned a dinner on a boat. Like, come on! How great is that? We went through a river called the Seine River. Through the river, we saw the Eiffel tower again, Notre Dame, Louvre and of course the Sacre Coeur. It was a great dinner and the food was amazing. Forgot to mention we also visited the castle called the Palace of Versailles, which is also a great place to visit. Another fun fact: Louis XIV started history in 1789.

  Overall, It was an amazing experience. My dreams came true and I still think about Paris to this day. Hopefully, I will come back and maybe I will learn French at that time. I'm glad I took pictures and tried the food I always wanted to try too.