"Paris is always a good idea" - Audrey Hepburn

I've always imagined myself wandering around the little cobbled streets of Paris, peeking in through the windows of Chanel and Dior, snacking on macaroons and croissants, listening as street performers play their beautiful music. 
From a young age, I'd heard amazing things about the city from friends and family members. I knew about all the famous landmarks, beautiful shops and bakeries, dreamt about looking at Paris from the Eiffel Tower and living life as a typical Parisian. 
I'd built up such a perfect image. An image that I'd never even thought Paris itself could surpass. 

On the Thursday the 14th of March 2013, I waved good bye to my parents as I set off with my school to the place of my dreams.

Day1-
Our first stop was the Fragonard Perfumery. We had a tour and I learnt so many things about how perfumes are made. Did you know that there's only 50 Perfumers in the world? Its extremely hard to become one too, you have to smell and name over 2,000 scents. Something I'm definitely incapable of!
We then went straight to a department store called "Le Gallery Lafayette". I don't really know how to describe it. It was beautiful! A one stop shop to designer bags, makeup, clothes, tourist novelties and pretty much everything you'll ever need. It also had a giant stained glass dome roof. It was so extravagant and slightly overwhelming.
We then took a trip to "Le Louvre", the museum that displays some of the worlds most famous painting, statues and tapestry, including the MonnaLisa. I found the Egyptian displays extremely interesting, there was even a real mummy to look at! I'd definitely recommend a trip to the Louvre, its just so interesting and amazing to see all of the different arts and figures around the museum.
We finished off the day with a trip to the Eiffel Tower. I was 100% gobsmaked! The Eiffel Tower was definitely the highlight of the trip. Its such an amazing landmark and was so much better than I expected. The structure is so detailed and it's bizzare to think about the amount of work and effort that went into it, to make it such a well known figure. We could only go up to the first level as it was so windy, all other levels were closed! However, the view from the first level was amazing. I could see the whole of Paris from a whole new perspective, I was speechless.

Day 2-

We went to visit the Château de Versailles. It contained several art pieces and again, was really interesting. Its amazing how big it is! Personally, it's too big for me. As we walked through, we entered the glass room. A room containing uncountable amounts of chandeliers and a wall coated with mirrors, opposite several large windows. As the sun moves throughout the day, it hits the windows at different angles, creating unique streams of light and rainbows, it's truly remarkable. I don't a picture as we weren't allowed to take pictures inside. But here's a picture of my friends and I outside the Golden Gates of Château Versailles. 

We then went on a boat tour around Paris, again passing several landmarks such as the Love Lock bridge, The Eiffel Tower and Notre-dam. 

Funnily enough, Notre-dam was the next stop. We were so lucky to even get into Notre-dam Cathedral as it's always full. We were even luckier to get in as a service was being held in honour of the new Pope. The interior is beautiful and overall, it's a lot bigger than I anticipated. I was in awe as people walked down the isle burning incense and singing hymns, an experience I'll never forget.

Finally, before stopping for dinner, we walked over to love lock bridge. This may be the sweetest thing I've ever seen. Basically, People engrave messages to their lovers or their names onto locks, lock them onto the bridge and then throw away the key. I saw several marriage proposals and even messages to lost love ones. Reading all the messages was heart warming and such a beautiful thing.

Day 3-

On our last day, we visited the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs Elesees. Finally, we walked up to the Sacre Coeur. From the top, you could see the whole of Paris, a beautiful sight. We also walked around the little village and went into some typical Parisian shops. It was an amazing end to the perfect weekend. 

So, there you have it. A little diary of my time in Paris.

I can honestly say, Paris completely surpassed all my expectations. It's the most beautiful place I personally have ever visited. It may not have been the sunniest of holidays but the people and culture most definitely made up for that. 

I cannot wait to go again in the future as Paris has definitely become one of my favourite places, giving me a lifetime of memories.

Dont forget to follow me on

Instagram-http://instagram.com/elerihall

Twitter-https://twitter.com/justmeEleri