Home Sweet Flat

We are officially moved out of the hostel and into our very own London flat! We moved into our flat a few days ago and are finally unpacked. It's located in Forest Hill which is right outside of central London. It only takes 10-15 min. to get into the city by rail. We are living there with a girl from New Zealand named Mel, who we met in our hostel. Our monthly rent is £250 which is less than what it was costing us to stay at St. Christopher's in a room with 8 people.

Palace of Versailles

On our last day in Paris we went to the Palace of Versailles, which is southwest of the city. Jeff Koons, a contemporary artist, had an exhibition in Versailles which we found to be a little strange.

Eiffel Tower

Next we walked to The Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night. We decided to pay 12 euro to take the lift to the top of the tower, so we grabbed some crepes and waited in line. The Eiffel Tower has three levels; the first is a restaurant, and the other two are observation decks. We went to the tippy top, which is 986 feet high. The lifts have glass windows so it's a little scary just getting to the top. There is a light show every hour on the hour, which is really beautiful because the tower lights up and sparkles.

Arc de Triomphe

We decided to head down the Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe later in the day. We climbed to the top of the monument during sunset to take in the views of Paris. Here are some views from the top.

Edible Paris

The food in Paris was fantastic. We had espresso, croissants, and crepes almost every day. Crepes were the most common (and addicting) because they are inexpensive and found on almost every street corner. We even went into a McCafe, which is the French version of McDonald's that serves traditional European coffee and a wide selection of gourmet cakes and muffins, but you can still order a Big Mac and fries if you wish.

The Louvre

One the second day we spent part of the day in The Louvre, which is located on the Right Bank of the Seine. It's a huge museum and it would be easy to live in the Louvre and never get bored. We spent about 2 hours there looking at the most well known pieces such as the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Cupid and Psyche, and the Venus de Milo.

Climbing Notre Dame

After going inside Notre Dame we decided to climb to the top! It was a long hike up the narrow stone spiral staircases but the views from the top were well worth it.

Inside Notre Dame

We bought a two day Paris Museum pass so we could get get into all the major landmarks and museums in Paris during our trip. This is inside of Notre Dame, which is a huge Gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the city.