The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Sacré Coeur, Montmartre, Lock Bridge

On Day 27 of my study abroad experience, I slept in and then met up with Michael to visit Sacré Coeur in the Montmartre area. I’d visited Sacré Coeur before (I’d visited Paris two years prior to studying abroad in France), but Michael had never been there. It’s definitely an area you should see once in your lifetime and a must-stop place if you visit Paris. We took the metro there, and walked up to the Basilica at the very top. It is seriously such a beautiful church. We sat inside for a little, just to soak up the experience more and then decided to walk around the shops around the church. There are a ton of tiny boutiques on the streets surrounding the basilica and lots to look at. Since this place is known for the painters in the area (there’s actually a courtyard by the basilica that has TONS of artists painting and selling their art) we picked up two small paintings while we were here. We got a painting of the Notre Dame (one of my FAVORITE places in Paris) and the Eiffel Tower (of course!).

Day 28 was a Sunday and we went to the area around the Notre Dame for breakfast (if you’re looking for places to just wander around and randomly find something to eat, this place is great for that because there are lots of little restaurants and cafes). Since it was one of our final days in Paris, we decided to climb the Eiffel Tower. We took the stairs, which was a work out, but definitely worth it for the views. It’s actually pretty cheap to do as well (I believe it’s about 4-6 euros per person to climb the first half of the Eiffel Tower, then less than 10 euros to go all the way to the top)

the beauty breakdown morgansbbd paris france study abroad travel

About half way up the Eiffel Tower…look at that VIEW!

On Day 29 of my study abroad experience in Paris, Michael and I had a “date night” type of thing to celebrate our whole experience in Paris. We stopped by the lock bridge by the Notre Dame, and put our own lock on it (we couldn’t resist). After putting our lock on the bridge and throwing the key in the Seine (I wonder how many keys are at the bottom of that river! haha), we went to dinner. We found a restaurant by the Notre Dame and got a three course “set” meal. A “set” meal is where they offer an appetizer, main course, and dessert from a menu that offers 3-6 options for each course. You then pay a set price inside of paying each course individually… you just pay per person if that makes sense (just as an FYI, there are a lot of restaurants around the Notre Dame that offer this type of dining experience). I got french onion soup, steak and spaghetti, and a caramel custard. SO GOOD! After dinner, we had a final boat tour along the Seine River with the rest of our program. It was so bitter, sweet but nice to float along the river and admire the city at night. After that, a group of us decided to go to the Pantheon to reenact the scene from Midnight in Paris. (haha)