France pour la première fois

Okay don't let the title fool you, I suck at French, but I'm trying! ;)

So, I’m not one of those basic teenage girls who is obsessed with Paris because of the romantic stereotypes but I do love France and everything it has to offer. The architecture is gorgeous. The people are so fashionable, friendly, French. The language is beautiful – if only I could speak it without utterly ruining the magic of it. (I sound like a strangled cat)

The trip was offered with my school for the French students, shockingly enough, and I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve always loved the idea of France and Paris and to go without my parents and with some blossoming friends just sounded amazing. A few days without my parents, without school, without anything was just what I needed.

So, we started the trip with a long, long bus ride to the train that takes you from England to France. What a great idea especially considering the long violent history England and France have together, but it just makes travelling that much easier and more affordable. The bus ride was a great time, I didn’t know my fellow students too well, but we got on really well and we’re still kinda friends but that’s another story ;) we listened to music, watched movies, chatted a bit and it was overall just a really cool vibe. We were all so excited.

We got to Paris really late that night, but there was still time for a shopping trip at the local mall. The shops were the same, but different at the same time, if you know what I mean? Everything was just so chic and foreign. The food was really nice (cause of course we had to buy some) and being quite girly girls, we just had to go to Sephora because there isn’t one anywhere near where I live.

That night, really really late we all snuck into the boy’s room (we were split boy girl, obviously) and had like a party, joking around, listening to music, jumping out windows, trying to understand French TV (confusing I might say, if you don’t know the language).

You know just the normal teenage sleepover in Paris.

The next day we went to the heart of Paris. The mood was set but of course the weather had to rain on our parade – literally. Besides that, we were determined to enjoy ourselves. We started our day by walking half way around the city to get to the Notre Dame Cathedral – we were ended up listening to the choir and watching the Priestly procession (I don’t really know what else to call it). The cathedral its self was beautiful and so historical, I could’ve spent all day there, but we had to go practise our French in another shopping mall but this time by ourselves. While there, we girls decided to test our skills and be very stereotypically Parisian and get some baguettes. They were delicious, but I think it was the setting, rather than anything else. The next stop on our tour of Paris, was a cruise down the River Seine. So beautiful! We saw all the major sites – Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, the Louvre and also some sites more familiar like a small London Eye? And a mini Statue of Liberty? It was a gorgeous view but by the end of it we were all buzzing to climb the Eiffel tower, obviously a must for any traveller.

The Eiffel Tower lived up to all my expectations. The view was insane! It had finally stopped raining and the sun was setting, the sky was blue, there were tiny houses and buildings as far as the eye could see. It was breath-taking. To add to this, we had some fun. One of the boys, let’s call him “Jellybean” was terrified of heights. So of course, we all had to tease him mercilessly. Jellybean refused to go anywhere near the edge, and in doing so missed out on a hell of good view. He was good about it and we had a great laugh because honestly, if you’re scared of heights, and you come up a tower with your school friends you have to expect some teasing. All in good fun of course. The most disappointing part of the Eiffel Tower is that when we finally decided to leave it then decided to light up and glow in the dark. It was beautiful and magical. An experience I’ll never forget.

One of the highlights of the trip, was when my whole group got lost on the Champs-Elysees. It was pitch black, all the sophisticated shops had long closed. There were crowds of people milling about and we were so far from our bus and had no clue where we were. We started running through the streets us girls quite scared at this point being lost in a foreign country. The boys thought it would be the best idea to stop far behind us and leave us alone. Only to come running behind us and terrifying us by grabbing and yelling at us. Honestly, one of the scariest encounters but at the same time we were all in hysterics the rest of the night.

That night we again snuck into the boy’s room, and once again we laughed the night away. This time we had some solid conversations as well as getting the opportunity to use of the boys – “XM” – as a canvas, for makeup of course. XM hated every minute of it but the rest of us thought it was hilarious. The sight of him with a full face, eyebrows to perfection, highlight for the gods, face flawless was just such a brilliant sight. XM made us delete all the pictures and videos of it but none of us did. Too good a memory to lose.

The next day was going to be just as interesting and exciting as the first. We were going to Disney Land. The place of dreams, the happiest place on earth. I can barely remember this day, it was an absolute whirlwind of fun. All the rides, all the food, all the people, all the photos, all the music, all the talking, all the laughing. A day engraved in my memory not because I can actually remember the events but because of the feeling I get when I look back.

The trip was once in a lifetime, to make new friends, new memories in the sophisticated city of Paris. The names Paris has earned are truly deserved “the city of lights” “the city of love” because it is one of the few times in my life where I felt so much love and my life let up all around me. One day I hope I can go back, but for now I have all the memories and photos.

If you want to check out some of my photos, look at the Photography section. :)

I 10/10 recommend that everyone goes to Paris at least once in their life, to experience the dazzling atmosphere of one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Comment down below, your favourite trip you’ve ever been on!

Au revoir pour maintenant,

Just a teenager xx