Paris

Living in tiny, out-of-the-way Pamplona, I sometimes think of myself as pretty hipster. All the UNC kids who do the Seville program are so mainstream, you know? Well I decided I wasn't too hipster to visit the most visited city in the world. I had to miss a group presentation in order to go, but if I fail a class in exchange for visiting Paris I think that's a pretty fair trade.

The Eiffel Tower with the original Lady Libety

I stayed three nights at the apartment of a friend named Nicolas whom I met while traveling in Argentina. He lives just outside of Paris but right on a main train line, and he was an incredible host throughout my entire time there. I felt so lucky to be shown around Paris by someone who has lived there all his life!

Unfortunately French words simply don't stick in my brain, so I've forgotten the names of a lot of the things we saw and places we visited. The names of the places I do remember you'll recognize anyway.

Classic Paris bucket list:
1. Climb the Eiffel Tower

romantique, right?

my camera was on the wrong settings so this turned out super gray

2. See the Mona Lisa

the permanent crowd surrounding the painting

My favorite art in the Louvre was the ancient Greek and Roman statutes. 

I enjoyed the ceilings better than most of the art on display.

3. Ride bikes along the Seine

This little path is actually in the middle of it.

Nico with one of Paris's many beautiful bridges

3. Visit Notre Dame

so Parisian

I also: (4) ate a croissant, (5) ate a baguette, (6) ate some crepes and (7) drank some Champagne.
Other beautiful sights from the weekend:

Paris is all about that gold gilding

beautiful arc outside the Louvre

I took a half-hour nap in a chair in this gorgeous park. 

It's the City of Love, right? 

the massive Arc de Triomphe

another beautiful bridge

a lovely cemetery

Sacré-Cœur Basilica 

the view

the people enjoying the view 

a street performer

couples padlock their names to this bridge

On Sunday morning I visited this market next to the Bastille obelisk, which names the 500 revolutionaries who died in the storming of the Bastille in 1789.