PARIS 21

After a pretty horrific 8 hour coach journey filled with snoring middle-aged men, I finally made it to the city of dreams. My 21st Birthday looked a little like this...

The generic ahhh 'ing' at all things Parisian. Hence the Metro photo.
The obligatory visit to Notre Dame, a little busier than last year, but still the prettiest cathedral in the world.
This cool hipster bookshop is a must-go for all book lovers. Don't buy anything new because their prices are extortionate, but I managed to find a cheeky second hand book of out-of-print french plays for five euro. Not bad, not bad. Kinda annoying that all the staff were American and only one of them spoke French, but the upstairs reading room is super cool and if you fancy meeting the future Hemmingway or Fitzgerald (who were American afterall) and playing a spot of chess than get yourself there and soak up the atmosphere.
The boys waited for Jessie in style. 
So did I...
Once meeting up with Jessie we hopped on the metro to my favourite spot in Paris. Montmartre. 
The light, the buildings, the music, the trees, everything was magic.
I definitely went on this.
Around the corner from the Sacre Coure is a tiny little art-gallery that serves delicious coffee and cakes. It's very un-touristy and we managed to catch a cheeky little local gig. We were so in with the locals.
MMMMAAACCARROOOOOOONNNSSSS.
We stocked up on steak and chips in a restaurant off the beaten track and headed to the hippest hang out in town (according to St. Christopher's Inn hostel) the International but it was too crowded so we went across the road to this awesome FUNK hang out (we were the only white people there, the dancing was awesome!) we then grabbed Mcdonalds pudding and headed to the Eiffel Tower for midnight in Paris. Woody Allen eat your heart out.
The next morning found us in St. Germain for a spot of breakfast.
It was the perfect Sunday morning kinda sunshine.
Another reasonably priced, beautifully decorated cafe with blankets on the tables outside and the perfect street view. 
Early afternoon saw us hit the Jewish quarter where Louis got scouted for a Japanese fashion magazine's 'Street Style' article, I bought postcards, Johnny made a friend and Jessie took photos.
Who needs a fancy bistro lunch when you can go to the supermarket buy rice-cakes, baguettes and cheese, then sit and eat them in the local park. Followed by one Mars bar shared by four. Classy.
Jess and I bought matching berets. I don't think we realised how twee it looked, because I could only ever see one person wearing a Raspberry beret. I still don't regret it: when in Paris, one must buy matching berets.
We hit the Louvre because it was free for European students. 
Poor Mona. She must get tired of all those annoying tourists. She's still pretty awesome though.
On our way to find some bikes to ride to the Eiffel tower. Another perfect evening in Paris.
 After much ado about nothing, we found ourselves on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower asking a man to take our picture. This was not the end, after this photo was taken we ran to the Mcdonalds on the Champs D'Elysee for a final calorie stock-up before the long coach ride home. 


I had the best time. If you're thinking about a quick trip to Pareeee I would definitely recommend the Megabus for cheap bus prices (Johnny, Jessie and Louis payed between £5-15 one way) and the fantastic St. Christopher's Inn hostel (the best hostel I have EVER visited). Try to keep off the beaten track to avoid touristy prices, I never paid more than €2 for a coffee, so make sure you don't get conned. 


AAHAHHHHHHHHHH I'm 21. I can no longer pretend to be a teenager. 



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