1er Arrt.

The First Arrondissement was actually one of the very first arrondissements I was able to explore when I first arrived to Paris. Taylor and I spent the night in an amazing hotel only a few blocks down from Le Louvre called Hotel Lumen. It was about 300€ a night for a super comfy king sized bed, beautiful deck, nice TV, and classic yet modern bathroom. 

We stayed there the day after our first week in Europe with the business scholars before our continuation of traveling with our own families the following week. Although we spent the greater majority of the day sleeping to catch up on the lost week of sleep, it was still lovely. We took a short fifteen-minute walk to Le Louvre and bought ourselves an assortment of unbelievably delicious macaroons from the very famous Ladurée. 

            The first day we arrived in Paris with the business scholars, we had a boat tour on the Seine scheduled with the whole group. While we were waiting for the rest of the group, Sierra and I made friends with some French boys sitting on the canal as mentioned in the “Premier Semaine” blog. The bank of the Seine quickly became one of my very favorite places to hang out and relax both in the afternoon and in the later night. There are many people enjoying the sun and the nice garden at all times of the day and always a boat or two riding by to wave hello to the worldwide tourists.  I often find myself wandering to the bank on my way home from different attractions such as the Notre Dame or a Cathedral. It’s one of the best places to go for some peace and quiet to help clear your mind from the craziness of Paris.

            For the first day of our study abroad, CEA took us to a delicious dinner at Buvette. It was really fun to get to know everyone for the first time and eat a traditional french meal! We had salmon and delicious potatoes. It was a great way to kick off the trip. The servers were also friendly which was a nice touch (usually servers in restaurants are very blank and work their hardest to avoid unnecessary communication). 
            There is a hidden gem right behind Le Louvre which is the Jardin du Palais Royal. It is located just to the north of the great museum and often gets passed by because of the great museum. As we were leaving Le Louvre, we decided to walk for a while on our way home and happened to stumble upon it. We found amazing black and white striped pillars ranging in size that led to a beautiful garden all surrounded by the gorgeous Palais. It was one of my favorite afternoons, the company of beautiful weather and great friends probably helped as well.

            Supermarchet prices in the 1er Arrt. were fairly inexpensive. Milk was priced at 1.27€, a dozen eggs for 3.98€ and steak for 23.11€/kg.