Study Abroad: Paris, Day 1

I am currently sitting at a desk in front of two doors that lead out to a little sliver of a balcony. I can hear the trains pass by, one of the primary sources of transportation in France. 

Yes, I made it to France. For four wonderful, exhausting, transformative days, I have been roaming the streets of Paris, looking at wonders that I have only read about for my whole life. While I'm not in Paris any more (we left this morning for a city about 3 hours away), I still feel as in-awe as I have been the past couple of days. 

Today we also toured Versailles...which was absolutely incredible, but I'll save that for another post. 

- Day 1 -

After a day full of traveling we finally arrived at the hotel and were able to take it easy for a while, and then when on a promenade in Les Jardins du Luxembourg. It was exactly like you would expect a park to be - people sitting on benches talking, reading, and feeding pigeons. There was even a court for men to play a game called pétanque. Further in the garden, there was the Luxembourg Palace, constructed by Marie de Medici, which was surrounded by elegant  footpaths and statues. 

Palace du Luxembourg

After the Luxembourg gardens, we explored the Latin Quarter of Paris, which includes La Sorbonne, which used to be the Universite de Paris. The dome of the Chapel rose stately over the Latin Quarter. 

La Sorbonne

Paris is just so beautiful. Everywhere you look there is something new, some street corner undiscovered. Everything is ornate and nothing is overlooked. People lounge beside the street and drink espresso or wine and smoke their cigarettes and talk about life, et la vie et belle.