Study Abroad Day 7: Adios Barcelona, Bonjour Paris

It's time to say goodbye to Barcelona ):  I have thoroughly enjoyed this city and all the culture that it has to offer! La Sagrada Familia is an experience that ill never forget, and eating tapas every night was pretty amazing. Im going to make a food post at the end of the trip so you will get another glimpse of Barcelona. I also enjoyed the carefree relaxed feeling of the city and its citizens. On another note Barcelona is probably one of the cleanest large cities I've ever experienced. If you have never been I encourage you to try it out!

We woke up early today and and headed out on a train to Paris. The train ride was long, six and a half hours, but it was stunningly beautiful. Ill post some pictures we got from the train. Keep in mind we were traveling 200 kilometers per hour. I have to say I think my preferred method of transportation is now trains. My knees weren't hitting the seat in front of me and I could keep an eye on our luggage at all times. No luggage missing in Miami for two days! Anyways heres our experience on the train:

Time for a new stamp:

Cant do a six hour train ride without snacks

Beautiful vineyards in the countryside:

Sunflower patches everywhere:

We arrived in Paris around 5PM, on the way out of the station we saw these statues on the side of a building. Definitely not something we would see at home:

While riding the bus we also got an first glimpse of Notre Dame:

The first stop in Paris was the Eiffel Tower, I was impressed with how much larger it is than what I pictured. The weather was rainy outside so it added to the romantic Parisian feel of the tower!

Cal, Sam and me:

Our first picture in front of the real Eiffel Tower for Pamm's 'Paris Bathroom':

As we drove away Cal noticed you could see the tower through the roof of the bus; I thought it was a cool perspective on an infamous Paris attraction.

We got situated at the hotel around 7PM and decided to head out towards the Arc de Triumphe area for dinner and sightseeing! The arc was so much larger and more magnificent than I had pictured. It wasn't among my top things to see in Paris but its definitely worth seeing. The shops near by were also top notch (although we didn't have time to stop into any of them, that will wait for another day). Heres the pictures from our evening adventures:

As some of you may know I have an obsession with lens flairs! The fact I got this one to work out so well on a point and shoot camera is mind boggling:

Got to love the golden hour:

The obligatory tourist photo:

Ran into a Ducati store and made me think of Keaton. There's a whole section of shops dedicated to motorcycles (although they are street bikes).

Cal and Sam walking to the restaurant, couldn't help but take a photo because the sky was so beautiful! I love cotton candy clouds:

We got back to the hotel after dinner around 11:30 and I'm completely exhausted! I didn't sleep on the train ride because I was trying not to mess with my internal body clock... may have been a bad plan because tomorrow we have a full day from 7AM to midnight!!! Just forewarning tomorrows blog post may be up later than normal!

hope you enjoyed our first day in Paris!

<3 Morg