Weekend in Paris anyone?

Our last weekend student teaching abroad has concluded. It was awesome. We were in Paris! It seems like a dream that this time yesterday we shopping in the center of Paris. We got very lucky with the weather. It had rained for nearly 2 weeks straight, but cleared up on us all day Saturday and most of Sunday.

We saw the Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower (twice), Notre Dame, and the Louvre. Everything seemed very spread out in Paris and very crowded. The trip up the Eiffel Tower took 3-4 hours. It was 15 degrees cooler in Paris than what we were used to in La Garriga or Barcelona. Here are just some pictures of the trip.
Our first stop was the Arc de Triomphe. Once you see it, you walk under the street to get to the actual monument. It is positioned in the middle of the city with a a spiderweb of streets coming out from it.

Me at the Arc de Triomphe

After the arc, we headed out to find the Eiffel Tower. It was so huge! This was the first full view of it we had.

Walked around the corner, looked up, and saw this. We thought we missed it!

Once we got closer, it looked even bigger. We walked under it to get in line to go up. There were army guys walking around with very big guns. We wondered if it were a special occasion or if this was normal.

View from the bottom

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower...that is the Arc de Triomphe

Just a cool picture of the tower...the bird wouldn't stay out of my shot.

Up next...the single, most important reason to go to Paris: the crepe! We experienced this 3 times! The first one is pictured below. The second one was chocolate and strawberries and the third was just nutella. I think I need to learn how to make these.

This was enough of a reason to go to Paris...Nutella and banana crepe!

Next, we hopped on a boat tour that took us to Notre Dame Cathedral. It was dark by this point, so it was very cold, but it was gorgeous with the Christmas tree lights on.

Notre Dame cathedral and the Christmas tree out front. I'm not sure which was more exciting for me.

 Then, back on the boat for a quick trip to the Eiffel Tower. It was all lit up and amazing.

Me at the Eiffel Tower at night, freezing

And here is a little clip of what we got to experience.

On Sunday, all we had left to see was the Louvre.

Me at the Louvre

The Mona Lisa

After the Louvre, lunch, and a little shopping, it was time to get back to the hotel. We grabbed our bags and had arranged for a taxi to take us to the airport. We landed back in Barcelona, and jumped in another taxi that took us straight to school. Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend and a great last weekend trip for this journey.

Today is Monday and although I had a full schedule of classes, I did not go to any of them. I am still sick. And while I had fun this weekend, I think the cold air may have been a bad idea, health-wise. I was in the nurse's office getting medicine this morning for congestion. I can't hear out of my left ear. I am not sure if this is a result of the plane ride or the sinus infection. And from all the coughing in the last few weeks, I have pulled a muscle near my ribs...talk about sore! I can barely raise my arms above my head. Let me just say, I will be glad when the plane lands in Nashville in a few days and I can get to a real doctor and few shots!

All of my Paris pictures can be found here:  Paris 2011

I have updated my Barcelona pictures too:  Spain 2011

And if you missed them, here are my Rome pictures: Rome 2011