Day 1:

Renee & I landed in Paris!! We took the train to our hostel and there were a lot of stairs in the train stations. As I carried up my luggage on three different staircases, three different people helped me; that was nice. As you can imagine, this is our 5th week in Europe, so each week, my luggage was adding up from the souvenir shopping.

We checked into Young&Happy hostel and the name definitely represents the hostel. It had such a warm welcome and vibe.

We stayed in a 6 female bedroom. The other two beds were on the other side of the wall.

Then we walked around our hostel to get to know the area.

It was also Bastille Day in France! How cool is that?! We didn’t even plan to be in Paris on Bastille Day, it just happened, and it was great. It was SUPER crowded. The wait for the fireworks was long. I think next time and for a tip for you all, if you do go to Paris on Bastille Day, I would bring some blankets, snacks, wine, etc and have a picnic outside.

They had an orchestra in the beginning. When the firework show started, they played the French National Anthem, “Fun” by Pitbull ft. Chris Brown, some French songs, and my favorite “Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay. AMAZING.

After the show, we walked and trained back to our hostel and I knocked out!!

The next morning I woke up to many missed calls and texts from my parents, cousin, and friends and it was: “Are you okay?! Are you alive?!” Then I read my dad’s text and it said, “Wake up, then call us. Mom and dad are waiting. I text your friend’s mom and you guys are okay.” Obviously my jaw dropped and my mind wasn’t fully functioning and I quickly searched up on Google what happened and thought the truck attack was in Naples but it was in Nice, France. I got the “N”s mixed up as I was waking up.

It was an honor to celebrate Bastille Day underneath the Eiffel Tower, but then this selfish act happened right after on France’s holiday. I don’t know why there are such evil people in the world. The danger has to stop. This is also a reminder to stay safe at all locations. Whether it’s a big celebration with big crowds or even at a small location with a small crowd…just be aware and careful. Rest in peace to the victims ♡

Day 2:

Time to explore Paris! First, we went to the Eiffel Tower and wow, we thought there would be more security because of what happened in Nice. The weather is beautiful and it looked like a painting. It was a sign that things will get better, hopefully.

This is one of our hostel friends, Emma! A lady from New Zealand took our photo – great shot, eh? 😉

Look at the clouds!! Isn’t it insanely pretty?! Seriously, it looks like a painting!

So this part was blocked off by the gate and I tried to recreate the photo of my dad when he went to Paris 🙂 It works right?

Then we went to the Arc. I wish that we went up on the top.

Then we walked down Champs Elysees and went window shopping

Such a pretty display for perfumes!

This was in Sephora, I believe. Only used the charging station for a minute before we left haha.

On our way to the Louvre.

It was a pretty park!

We met up with one of our friends/colleagues, Liz.

Then we stopped by a macroon shop, but we were confused because there was no one at the counter and we weren’t sure if the display was real or fake macroons LOL. Then we walked around and saw the real shop. The one that we saw at first was a display. The macroons were expensiveee, so most of us got gelato instead.

The prettiest gelato design and my favorite gelato in Europe.

Then we stopped by the Notre-Dame de Paris. We didn’t go in, until the next day.

Day 3:

Inside the Notre-Dame.

Then we walked passed the Pantheon.

and headed over to Jardin de Luxembourg. This place is so pretty! If I go back, I definitely will do a picnic here.

Shout out to the Paris hostel mates from Argentina who gave me this dress to make her suitcase lighter haha.

After that, we went back to our hostel and rested. We then rushed over to Sacre Coeur to watched the sunset! It was a fun memory rushing up the staircase to get up to the top. I would go back up here whenever I go back to Paris.

Then we ended our night at a nearby bar.

Day 4:

The next morning, Renee & I got some famous crepes at Au P’tit Grec that was near our hostel. This place at night is packed with super long lines, but we’re smart and went right when it opened so we didn’t need to wait!

Time to explore more!

This was the only station that I’ve seen in Europe that had gates and doors to enter into the trains. Super safe!

This place was free to visit! They just checked your bags in the beginning

The detail of the door was insanely pretty.

Then we walked across the Ponte Alexander III Bridge. This bridge was my favorite bridge because of the details, how wide it is, and just beautiful! Imagine it at night too! 

Not at your typical love lock bridge 😉

You could even see the Eiffel Tower from there too!!

Then we went inside a free museum.

Then we went back to the Eiffel Tower for a quick picnic 🙂

Then we rushed over to Pompidou Center to catch another sunset.

Thank goodness there were escalators this time.

Then we stopped by the Louvre again to see it at night

Day 5:

It was our last day in Paris so we had a pretty chill day. We did laundry and pack in the morning, then we did a boat ride around the city.

We were heading up to the Eiffel Tower and I got scammed. I am sharing this story because I don’t want anyone falling into this trick.

We saw a man doing a trick: hiding a ball under three cups, flipping, mixing and matching – if you point to the right cup that has the ball, you will win money. I saw a bunch of people watching and surrounding, which got me into it. Then they asked me to play put my money in. I was going to put in a lower amount but they asked for 50 euros, I only had 40 euros cash (which is a lot to put into the game), then everyone around me started to “force” / encouraged me to put the money in. If I won, I would win my money and their money too, so a total of 100 euros. Renee & I were hesitant but I ended up going in because that crowd peer pressured me. The guy mixed up the cup, then I pointed to the right cup and he said, “are you sure?” which made me questioned myself, so I pointed to another cup and he lifted it up and there was no ball underneath there. I was right the first time and they took my money 😦 I felt humiliated. I was upset that I lost money. I was upset that I didn’t listen to my instinct. I was upset because I was more than halfway of my trip and I should have known, but then I got scammed. Then when we stepped back and noticed that the crowd around was playing along with the man who was doing the trick. They were all in it. Those weren’t “real” crowds. I was hurt. There were police around and every time the police would come near that crowd, they would run. I wanted to report it to the police, but I was scared. I was tearing up in line going up to the Eiffel Tower but thought of the positive: I am in Paris. I am traveling. I am about to go up the Eiffel Tower and see a gorgeous view. I thought about how those guys needed money, but the way they played to get money was not right.

Now that you know, not all of traveling is glamorous. Looking back now, the situation could have gone a lot worst. I am glad I wasn’t physically hurt or rob. It’s still not a good feeling. There are some sketchy people out there and we have to be careful. I DEFINITELY learned from that experience and won’t fall for anymore street tricks.

Then we ended our last night in Paris with some gelato.

Thank you Paris. You were fun! Very nice buildings, site seeings, etc. The highlight for me was the fireworks on the first night at Bastille Day. I still get goosebumps watching the videos that I’ve recorded. Obviously, the bummer was when I got scammed. Other than that, Paris, you were awesome. Next time, when I go back, I do want to dine a bit fancier with some wine ;).

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures. Have you been to Paris? If so, tell me in the comments/reply section of your experience. What should I do there if I go back? If you haven’t been, tell me what you are planning to do there. Any questions or comments, let me know.