On Day 30 of my study abroad adventure, I finally convinced Michael to take me to Disneyland, Paris! I'm a huge Disney fan, and I wanted to go at least one time in my life! The park is much smaller than the one in Anaheim (you could spend half the day there with enough time to walk around the entire park). The lines were much shorter, but the rides were totally different from the Disneyland park in Anaheim! There were a lot more roller coasters, and the rides were a little bit more intense (maybe French people like more thrill rides? haha). For example, Space Mountain had a LOOP in it and Indian Jones was a roller coaster too!! It was a nice day to go since it was overcast and the weather wasn't too hot. I, of course, had to stop by the souvenir shop and pick up a couple things to take home :) I wouldn't say this is a must-visit if you're ever in Paris, but if you're a Disney fan... how could you resist? I'm not going to lie, I do prefer the Anaheim park much more, but it's something I definitely don't regret because now I can say I've been there!

The front entrance to the park

Can you tell I'm super happy to be at Disneyland, Paris?

Almost in the Park!! 

The castle in the center of the park (which btw, is actually smaller than the one in Anaheim)

Yes, I took a picture of the screen. 

Day 31 of my study abroad experience in Paris was the last day of class. We took our finals and went to Le Marais to get falafel for the last time. We went to a final dinner with some of our friends at a restaurant in the St. Michel area. It was really bitter, sweet but it was nice to enjoy the company of our friends in Paris for the last time. We went back to the Cité Universitaire and packed our luggage. Most of our flights were early in the morning, so we said our goodbyes and went to bed early. BUT... if you liked this series be sure to check back... Michael and I actually traveled to LONDON and BARCELONA as well so be sure to subscribe to this blog if you'd like to hear more about our trip there :)

Be sure to come back very soon! Michael and I spent 10 days after our trip visiting London and Barcelona, so I'll blog about that as well if you'd like. Also, be sure to visit my YOUTUBE channel, where I can also put vlogs up from Paris (yes, I DID TAKE FOOTAGE) but only if you'd like :) So be sure to let me know! Thanks guys :)

Edit: It's finally here! Here's the next post continuing my journey studying abroad in London, England!

xoxo, Morgan

P.S. Again, don't forget to visit my Youtube Channel, The Beauty Breakdown by clicking HERE

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)

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)

Our lock is the one with the huge red heart on it... I can't wait to go back in a couple years and see if it's still on there!

I forced Michael to pose with me so I could capture the moment...I'm such a girl. haha

Look how beautiful the Eiffel Tower is at night.. totally surreal to ride by it on the boat and see it sparkle!

I'll be adding pictures of Sacré Coeur soon, so be sure to check back! :) 

Also read on to my next post on DISNEYLAND PARIS!!!   

  xoxo, Morgan 

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Académie De La Bière, Mummified Animals, Yummy Mussels

With only a week left, I really felt like a true Parisian. On day 24, my friends and I got breakfast and attended class and then walked around the area of Bastille (the metro stop!). I love this area because they have tons of tiny boutiques that offer unique items and they have a couple open air markets here. Of course, I can't go to the open air market without picking up cherries and peaches... for some reason, they're so much better than the ones from home! For dinner that night, a group of us went to
Académie De La Bière (In English, this means the Beer Academy) and got the moules et frites (mussels and french fries!). Evidently, this place is known for this dish and I can see why! It was excellent and they gave super large servings! They're also known for their beers, but I'm not a big beer drinker so I obviously didn't get any. A great place to eat and they're open late ;) If you take the RER B, get off on Port-Royal.. it's very close to the RER exit.

On day 25 of my study abroad experience in Paris, Michael and I visited the Louvre Museum after class. With our program, we got in for free to all the museums in Paris, and since this museum is HUGE, we decided it was a good idea to go back and explore the museum one more time before we left. We spent more time in the Egyptian wing of the museum, and looked at all the mummified cats, dogs, fish, and crocodiles! So crazy! This is one museum I could spend days in and still not lose interest...and that's saying a lot ;) After, we got coffee and dinner at a cafe near the Cité Universitaire and met up with some friends to enjoy their company along the Seine River.  

Some of the displatys in the Louvre

On Day 26 of studying abroad in Paris, it was a typical day except we got a bunch of friends, crepes (yum!), apple cider (an alcoholic version of sparkling apple juice that's super popular in France), and a blanket and hung out in front of the Eiffel Tower for the night. We stayed there all night watching the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower and the people, who were all enjoying the beautiful warm, evening weather. It was amazing being there with good company, and just relaxing, which is sometimes hard to do in such a busy city :) We caught the last metro back (the metro closes at 2 am I believe) and went to bed!

Even though it was the middle of the night, you can see how busy and lively this area is all the time! :)

 Almost done with my Paris trip! So sad :( Let me know what you guys think or if you've ever visited any of the places I've mentioned!

Read my next post on Sacre Coeur and Montmartre! Seriously so beautiful!

xoxo, Morgan 

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Pétanque, Galeries Lafayette, Saint-Chapelle

By day 22 of my study abroad experience in Paris, we were back from Normandy and Brittany. The weather was much warmer (around 85 degrees!) in the city than near the coast. We continued to resume our normal routine and got pastries and coffee at Aux Castelblangeois and went to class. After class, our whole study abroad group participated in a game of Pétanque. Evidently, this game is a popular French game. It's similar to bocce ball. It was pretty hot and we were all still tired from a weekend away, so we weren't really into the game. After playing for a while, we stopped by the Carrefour to pick up things to eat for dinner, and then went back to the Cité Universitaire and ate dinner. This day was pretty uneventful just because we were still recovering from the exciting weekend.

After class on day 23, a group of us went to the Galeries Lafayette shopping mall. This is a huge, 10 story mall that features all kinds of designer brands. I've visited this mall in the past (before I studied abroad in Paris, I had visited Paris during the summer of 2011 for a couple of days) so I just walked around and looked. This mall is pretty impressive if you've never visited before, so if you're big on shopping, definitely stop by!

We walked around the mall for a couple hours and went back to the Cité Universitaire to get ready for the opera. We got all dressed up and headed over to the famous La Sainte Chapelle to watch a performance around 6:30 pm. The performance was a Renaissance-style concert, and featured songs the royalty of France would have listened to centuries ago. I loved this performance because it made me feel like I was French royalty! Definitely something you should look into if you ever visit Paris :)

After watching the performance, we wandering around Paris at night! So beautiful!

After we finished watching the performance, we wandered the city and got late-night crepes. We walked around the Notre Dame, which is my favorite place to visit at night. I love how they illuminate the beautiful church. It literally looks like it came straight from a fairytale :) By the way, if you ever visit the Notre Dame, you MUST stop by an ice cream parlor called Berthillon. It's on the Île Saint-Louis (if you need to, Google it!) and try the salted caramel ice cream! That's the best one in my opinion :)

What do you think of this series so far?

Read my next post about The Academy of Beers and great eats in Paris!

xoxo, Morgan

The Travel Breakdown: Study Abroad in Paris; Normandy, Brittany, St. Malo, Omaha Beach

For days 19-21, my study abroad group and I went on an excursion to Normandy and Brittany. This was an optional excursion, and was an additional $300 to go on. This weekend was DEFINITELY worth the money though! This was easily my absolute favorite part of the whole experience.

On day 19, we all loaded up on nice charter busses and headed to Brittany. On the way, we stopped at Mont St. Michel. This place is magical. It's kind of hard to explain but it's close to the coast. When the tides come in at certain times during the year, the whole city and monastery (which sits on a mountain) is surrounded by water. This makes is kind of an island...kind of not. Look up information on this area if you're interested because it's a little difficult for me to explain. Anyways, we walked around the quant little city, which has only one main path up the mountain to the monastery on top. Once we got to the monastery at the top of Mont St. Michel, we got a tour. The inside was obviously magnificent, and the views were to die for!

The view walking up to Mont St. Michel

The monastery at the top of Mont St. Michel

You can see how the ocean in the background! During certain times of the year, Mont St. Michel is surrounded by water!

The garden in the center of the monastery

Michael and I by the courtyard of the monastery

After our tour and lunch, we hopped back into the tour bus and arrive at our destination in St. Malo. St Malo is a really neat area because the whole city is surrounded in castle walls. It's literally an area frozen in history and has a ton of character. If you can make the trip out here, definitely try! It's such a fun little beach city and it was really refreshing to get outside of the busy city.

The sunset at St. Malo

The view while walking around the walls of St. Malo. The ocean here was is so beautiful! You can see they built a pool into the ocean in the background, complete with a diving board! 

Walking along the walls surrounding the city on our first day in St. Malo.

You can see how St. Malo is truly a "beach city". 

On day 20 of my study abroad experience, we got an official tour of St. Malo in the morning. We then got into our charter busses and visited the city of Dinan. This place literally looks like the city from The Beauty and the Beast. We walked around this city for a bit, got lunch, and headed back to St. Malo. This day was also Michael's 21st birthday, so I ran out to a local bakery and bought him a cake. We then got a HUGE group of us together and went out to dinner. We at a place called Cafe Simon, and got a preset meal. Preset meals are really popular in France, and they'll give you an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert for a set price.. you just have to pick from options they provide. There's usually 3-4 options for each course. I tried duck for the first time, which was really good! I liked this place because it was a fair price and good food. They also brought us complimentary macaroons :) To end the night, we all walked along the beach and watched as the tide came in.

Some of my fav girls on the trip! :) Had a blast with these ladies. The picture is really grainy because it was actually pitch dark when we took this picture....we just held really still and had a long shutter speed :) haha

Michael and Eric decided to jump in! haha

Our group at Cafe Simon for Michael's 21st birthday in St. Malo

He couldn't resist. Haha. You can kind of see my dinner, which was duck!

Day 21 of my study abroad in Paris was the last day of the excursion. We got on our charter bus and visited Omaha Beach on the way back. This was really fun for me because I'm a huge history buff. We got to see where the landing of D-Day was and saw all the war memorials. I took some sand back to the United States with me from Omaha Beach! They also a store where they sold vintage war memorabilia. I found a gun clip holder with a soldier's name on it so I bought it for about 30 euros and brought that back as well for my dad. He loved it :)

Michael and I walking along Omaha Beach... We were looking for neat looking rocks and shells to take home with us as souvenirs!

Literally, this excursion was the highlight of my trip. Everything we did was incredible, and I would really like to visit again one day. So much history and it's really nice to see another side of France.

Would you ever visit these places?

Read my next post on Petanque (a French game), La Galeries Lafayette (HUGE department store), and Saint-Chappelle.

xoxo, Morgan