Okay… This has been one of the best so far.. Sarah and I went to France, the first week of November, to experience some of the same things as well as a lot of new things. I studied abroad in France for a few weeks with some then and now pals (shout out to Hoegaarden) and Sarah made a week pit stop to France with a different study abroad program.
The original purpose for going to France when we did was because of a music festival that was happening that weekend and one of my, if not my all time, favorite artists was headlining the night. Bon Iver for those who are wondering! In the end, there were other great reasons why we went on that weekend and I will share later on!
Day one started with anxiety trying to get to the airport early enough. Our flight was around 7:30 in the morning, but the Metro does not open until 6:00. So.. the Cercanias said they have a 4:45 train to the airport. Of course that ended up being wrong but we ended up making it with enough time to spare! The cheapest flight landed in a lovely city called Beauvais, but we had to leave as soon as possible to be on time for our train to Paris. I am starting to truly enjoy long bus and train rides mostly due to the beauty that can be seen just looking outside a window.
We checked into an AirBnB owned by this amazing African lady whose English was a good effort. She had so many helpful things for us like maps of France, our own coffee pot/water boiler, the works. Anyways, we checked with her at the AirBnB and started our first day in France!
We spent the first part of our day at Sacre-Coeur Basilica and the Montmartre area. This was the second time I have been to the basilica and it struck me just the same as the first. The basilica is cleaned by the rain but the rain does not reach all parts of it. This gives Sacre-Coeur a unique look that seems to detailed, like it is in HD almost.
From the front of this place you had gorgeous views of Paris. Just imagine the excitement that came knowing we were about to explore as much of that as we could.
We then decided to just walk wherever we wanted in Montmartre. Sarah shared a whole new world with me when we found this bread she had been talking about. When she studied abroad, her class had this baked good. It is called a praluline. Look it up. The pink deceiving in the case that it tasted delicious rather than weird haha. If you go, definitely snag one of these!
So, because we walked most of the day, we happened to run into a few old churches along the way. Just by chance! 
Here is one of those churches and here is where we stopped to eat the praluline. It seemed like a place people often visited but it had not been on our list. So, it was really nice just bumping into places.
I mentioned before the convenience of being in France on this weekend. This was because soooooo many things were free for us youngins! (Not sure how to spell that…word..) The Louvre was free for people under 26 from 6:00 to 9:45 when it closes. So, we hung outside around that area until we could get in for free.
My back was in a lot of pain from walking most of the day and we tried seeing as much as we could. Because of this, I did not really pull my phone out except for a few times! This was a picture from a mesmerizing room in the Louvre. I also wanted to mention just how empty the place was… It was so amazing.. Last time I went it was packed and this time I was able to walk to the front of the Mona Lisa without even changing my pace. Let that be knowledge for you all. Perhaps go to the Louvre at night time haha.
Ok. Day 2. We woke up a litttttle early but not super early. We grabbed a quick bfast and headed towards Champs Elysees. It was sooooo fun walking up and down the Champs Elysees. Of course, not much money was spent, but it was a great experience I had with Sarah:) We then walked over to the Arc de Triomphe which is at the end of the shopping street. This is definitely one of the sights to see if you visit. There were two specific experiences from Champs Elysees I want to mention. One was going into the Gucci store. You can ask Sarah how uncomfortable and judged we felt in this store. It was like being uncomfortable with our own skin but based on our looks and lack of being rich. It is a very particular feeling…
We were scoping out places to have lunch the next day because we wanted to splurge a meal and be fancayyyy. When we finished looking we saw this somewhat intricate gate that stood out. Ladies and gentlemen, this was the gate to an Abercrombie store. Yes. Abercrombie. Pictured is the gate, the walkway to the entrance door–because who needs just one entrance–and a picture of some of the 4 floors in this place.
Let me tell you how deceptively expensive this place was… I do not know if it was because I do not remember shopping at Abercrombie, or because it was in Champs Elysees, but a pair of pants cost a plane ticket..
Sarah and I were so thrown off that we turned it into a game. We were not even caring about the clothes. It was just a guessing game, honestly. A four story guessing game that was way more fun than you think.
I believe this happened on Saturday as well. Sarah and I checked out a local brewery in France!! Had to snag a picture of this one drinking deliciousness. We tried all the drafts from the brewery, which was only 5 if I remember correctly… It was such an interesting collection of brews. There was a spicy hibiscus beer and another beer that used purple corn… Definitely the most interesting tastes in a flight I have had. All in all it was a success and we had another round of each other’s favorite.
Mind you, it is roughly 6:00 pm… I mentioned before our reasoning for going to France when we did. It was for the Pitchfork Paris Music Festival. The festival was three days but Sarah and I bought tickets for one night. And not just any night. The best night. Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Bon Iver were playing. And both were not just playing. They were playing back to pack. A little dream come true, if you will.
The first picture contains a babe in the corner and then the festival venue. It was rather large and seemed to literally be a location to rent out for events. This festival happened to be one of the most interesting. When you walk past the entrance, there is a whole corner of food trucks and Heineken booths everywhere. There was a giant wooden shed where they had a barbershop. So, you could cut your hair if you wanted haha. Then, when you walk inside, you can see the venue is a giant rectangle. At each end was a stage where the bands took turns performing from. As one band started to perform, the other stage would start setting up for the next band and so on and so forth. I liked this because you could watch entire sets of the bands rather than missing the beginning or end of some performances like at some other festivals. In the middle of the the venue, though, was a a little pit where everybody was selling their merch. Of course, ya boi got a Bon Iver tour poster. STOKED. I also got a pitchfork shirt and Sarah got a Bon Iver shirt! There were some elevated corridors on each side of the stage floor. On these new floors were little booths of people selling everything. There were clothing booths, there were lapel pin booths, more food booths, jewelry, and even a soap booth. And then the most interesting of all… There were three tattoo artist booths with 90 euro “flash tattoos”… Ask Sarah if I went home with 90 less euros in my bank account… dahhhh jokes jokes.
Some of the booths!
Sarah and I watched one of my favorite bands Unknown Mortal Orchestra! I had seen them a little around two weeks earlier in Madrid, actually, just to show you my devotion. That was my 3rd time seeing them which means I have seen UMO perform in 3 different countries… that was just wild for me to think about. It was also my 3rd time seeing Bon Iver!
I have this first picture because it was during one of my favorite songs Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has ever written, 715 – CR∑∑KS
Check it out
This experience was extra special, because I saw Bon Iver at the Ryman in Nashville, TN, (go to the Ryman if you visit Nasvhille) and Sarah ended up going before really listening to them. This time, Sarah was just as big a fan! She even knew words to some songs I did not know/remember haha. Justin Vernon is such an amazing artist and always seems to expand on what he has already done. Very few times do you hear him play a song the same way live. Since Sarah and I were in such a good place, for dinner we ate sweet potato fries and a chocolate crepe from the food trucks hahahaha. Moving on, moving on!
Yesterday, Sarah and I bought a few groceries just to have a better budget. So, we ate sandwiches and drank orange Fanta on Sunday morning. Next, we went and walked around a lot more! We went to Saint-Chapelle for free–almost everything was free this first Sunday of the month for a reason I cannot remember–and pictures will never be able to do it justice. 
I tried taking one picture of this wall, but just imagine how the 14 other walls of stained glass were. I am sure I am taking my Hoegaarden people back in time as we went here together. I was just as in love as I was last time. There are places that will never get old in our lives and perhaps this is one for me. It is a rather small place but full of so much.
Had to see this bad boy again. Last time I had the privilege of being up at the bell tower when her bells started to sing their tune. This time, we happened to be in the church during a service. This meant listening to the organ and the singers. Even though they have a vast amount of choir stalls there were only three singers. Wasted potential if you ask me haha. This trip was just getting better and better because even though I had been to some of the same places, the experience was different or even better:)
Today was the day of the fancy meallllll:D We ate at Le Deauville on Champs Elysees and man it was deeeeelicious. Something funny had happened where Sarah and I read the menu the waiter had pointed at and then we started to move towards the entrance. The waiter told us to enjoy our day like we were walking away and we said “Thanks…..” and then started to walk in. I am chuckling a little right now thinking about the experience. The waiter ended up noticing and sat us and we had a little laugh about it with the waiter. Sarah and I shared much of the meal which entailed: Escargot (the best I have ever had), French Onion Soup, and I had some fancy Mushroom pasta I cannot remember the bougie name of.
ALSO, I had a very tasty red wine and Sarah had, I believe, a Rosé. We went all out because so many things were free! That same day we were able to go all the way up the Arc de Triomphe for zero euros.
This day ended with going up the Eiffel Tower. This experience was particularly unique for me even though I have been up the tower before. This was also not the first time I have been with Sarah. The first time we were friends and many other friends were with us. This time her hand was in mine and it made the experience quite different. No other friends. One that has become greater than. That and one of the spunkiest old men I have ever met haha. Extremely social man with unchecked boundaries! We talked with him for probably 15 minutes about anything from a fancy French restaurant to social anxieties that have developed over the generations. It was a good experience.
‘Tis the top:) Something else that was different was the wind. The extreme cold did not help either! However, there was one side of the tower with no wind, a.k.a., our favorite side. I have just a few photos that I want to share because I feel like I am getting better with a camera! It should be a small slideshow you can click through…
I also want to mention this picture because it is a fountain of Michael and is the story for the inspiration as to why Mont St. Michel is placed where it is. Mont St. Michel is one of my favorite places I have ever been, but was not able to make it this trip! I highly recommend it, though.
Our last day was spent checking out of our AirBnB and squeezing what we could in Paris. The idea was to do a champagne tasting at this champagne shop. Apparently, they do not do tastings….which was not said on their website but whatever. All was well because we stumbled upon a cute little wine shop. We asked if she had a tasting and she assumed we were these two people who scheduled one online but we were not! She offered us a cheaper deal to join the other two and, sure enough, we took it. We tried 4 delicious winessss and met these two girls from the States. One was a few years into nursing and the other was a dolphin trainer. They were just enjoying a small European vacation together and good for them!
After being tipsy by noon, we made our way to Beauvais, which is where our flight was. Once again, it was a beautiful train ride from Paris. Honestly, if you can spread out a trip where you take train commutes, I bet you could see so much more of the world. Truly magnificent.
We were able to spend a few hours in Beauvais so we visited a few churches and things in this humble city.
One was the smallest I think I have ever seen as far as old churches go:)
It was a very hidden church that seemed to still be in use…
The other church, or cathedral rather, we saw was one of the biggest I have seen. Rather than a spread out estate it seemed like one giant mass of a building that made you feel so smalllllllll.
Quite prominent flying buttresses on this one! Extremely tall inside as well! It was such a hidden gem inside this city.
This last one is part of a landmark dating back to the 4th century. Yes, as in the 300’s. Apparently, it was part of the Gallo-Roman walls surrounding the city. It gives you goosebumps being able to see, let alone touch, something from so long ago. Fantastic moments.
This trip was interesting because of how laid back Sarah and I were. We sort of had an itinerary, but man did our plans change several times… And that was okay! There were no regrets:) Just great opportunities:) This idea of spontaneity and the willingness to change plans, rather than act as if they are set in stone, is somewhat part of the Spanish and I feel myself adapting to it. I also feel it is something we could all be a bit more content with… it can be unnerving, but..I mean.. it is life. Life is not exactly a straight path either. I sometimes think of it as a path actually. If I have never crossed a path before, who am I to say which is the right way until I reach that moment? Because I said I would the day before? I do not know… Just saying what I am thinking.
I just think life can be a little looser or at ease:)
Anyways, this journey has been one for the booksss and I cannot wait to share more! As soon as I catch up with these posts I want to try and talk more than just about travels because there are many more things I want to share! Keep enjoying for now! All the love.
Colby's Journeys 