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Travel Photography. Paris, France!

Part 3

By Ashleigh Cropper

December 24^th, 2016

Paris, je t'aime

Paris, how do I describe all the ways I love you?! Although Amsterdam is still my #1, Paris was magical, stunning, grand, and busy. When we trained from Amsterdam to Paris and stepped out onto the street, I totally gasped. It looked so "french!" I know, duh! You are in France, Ashleigh! But the buildings, the people, the cafes across the street...it is everything I've seen in movies, at Disneyland, in New Orleans and there it was! And better than I could of imagined.

We Airbnb-ed our entire trip. Our location for this stay was in La Marais District. It was the district to be in and we totally lucked out with an apartment that overlooked a neighborhood full of cafes, a market, and the road that goes right over to Notre Dame.

8 years ago to the day, I happened to be in France again...the last time was when I was visiting Germany and my friend took me over the boarder for lunch in Strasbourg. Strasbourg didn't really count in my mind as France since it flip flops boarders every few years with being German. But it was a fun coincidence!

As soon as we arrived and walked up our 4 flights of teeny tiny stairs to our studio, we immediately took off for some food! The Parisian lifestyle is one I would happily take on. Our 6 days in Paris were full of site seeing, strolling, walks along the Seine, macarons, trying our hand at speaking French, more crepes than I can count, and enjoying that gorgeous Parisian sunlight.

Highlights of Paris

1) Eating lunch along the Seine, overlooking the Notre Dame, and shoving my face with French Onion Soup and baguette!

2) Mass and hearing the organ playing in the Notre Dame.

3) Biking at night along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower.

4) Having big fears that the Eiffel Tower was too hyped, but then watching it twinkle as I sat on a park bench below it. The hype is real and worth it!

5) The Louvre. Walking up the stairs and seeing the Wings of Victory! If you have been, you know what I'm saying!

6) Walking around the Jewish Quarter and La Marais. The falafel at L'As du Fallafel. One of the best things I have ever eaten, hands down.

7) Stopping at our neighborhood creperie every chance we could.

8) Our last day when we wandered along the bridge to the island where Notre Dame is, listened to the accordion players, stopping for french vanilla gelato, just enjoying the views.

9) Arc de Triomphe and how massive it is! And all that traffic circling around!

10) Zara! Duh! I miss the European Zara's soooo much! So shopping at Zara in Paris made me feel all the nostalgic feels for when I lived in Spain.

11) And how could I forget one of my favorite parts about Paris, all the blue tones and that gorgeous Parisian light. I adore all the blue tones on the different doors, walkways, and shops. They are gorgeous! Then can we talk about that incredible light in Paris?! Talk about a photographers dream! It is a bit diffused, soft, and pulls out colors in buildings and parks that are just stunning.

12) Putting a check mark next to my #2 bucket list item from my 5th grade list I made. Go to Paris, France...CHECK!

13) Last but not least, was visiting with our high school friend, Anneke. It was so fun to see her in her element in Paris and to meet her boyfriend. It had been 9 years since I had seen her and it felt like a day hadn't gone by. We spent many high school nights with sleep overs, going to dances with crazy boys, and doing who knows what! I sure miss her and it was a treat to spend some time with her.