Ramblings of a French Student: Le Marais and Les Champs-Élysées

Today was a lot of fun. API organized a tour of Le Marais, which is one of the oldest districts of Paris and where the French aristocracy used to live. Today though it is a center fashion and art -- it also has a large LGBT scene and the largest Jewish community in Paris.

Hearing the history behind a lot of the buildings and monuments was very interesting and it definitely made me appreciate seeing them much more than if I had just walked by and took pictures myself. I took a bunch of pictures (which I'll post below) so check them out!

After our tour was over, we ate lunch at a local crêperie. I ordered un crêpe citron (a lemon crepe) and a glass of rosé.

Since the tour was the only thing API had planned for us Diderot students, we got the rest of the day to ourselves. 7 of us went on the tour of Le Marais, but we split off into groups after that. Danielle, Marissa, Nicole and I wanted to do some more sight-seeing so we decided to go see Les Champs-Élysées. I have to say, it is probably the most beautiful place I've seen so far. It definitely lived up to its name. We got to see the Arc de Triomphe! We couldn't get as close as we liked because it appears that you can't access it without a car, so we'll have to figure out how to get to it and come back another day. I also saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time! We didn't get close to it so we only saw it from a distance, but I was pretty excited. API is going to take us to see it sometime in February and I'm definitely going to go to the top. I can't wait!

My back is killing me from all the walking and standing on the metro but it was definitely worth it.

Just some pretty buildings: