(L-R) Communications juniors Brianna Steidle, Uma Raja and Samantha Marshall stand in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Paris can only be described in snippets of sensation. The scent of freshly baking bread. The sound of heels clicking on pavement. The taste of a Nutella crepe.

From June 22 to June 24, I attended an Education First Tour with some Dreyfoos students. We already visited London, and it was time to head to Paris.

We woke up at the crack of dawn and arrived at the train station to take the Eurostar, a high speed train that goes underwater from London to Paris. Riding the Eurostar was something I was really looking forward to. I was too exhausted to function properly in the station, but I managed to make my way to the train after waiting in the longest security lines imaginable.

I don’t know what I expected, but the Eurostar looked like no more than a mud-caked can from the outside. However, the inside was quite nice. Fatigue overtook me and I fell asleep, only to be awoken when a voice on the loudspeaker told the train that we were stuck. The surroundings were nothing more than shrubbery. We were idle for around thirty minutes, but the train managed to move again. I later found out that the day after we rode the Eurostar, the vehicle  was down for a full 24 hours.

It was disappointing that you can’t actually see the train head underwater, you just enter a dark tunnel. However when I woke up from my nap I found myself transported to a strange land. I was bombarded by signs that lacked English and surrounded by historical buildings. Of course, the first thing I did was buy a crepe.

The EF group headed towards the famous modern art museum, the Pompidou. We had to partake in an activity where we learned about air, and the role air plays in artwork. My friends and I even built our own ugly statue that was based on the concept of air.

The next day we walked to a gorgeous park full of flowers. We met with some French college students and were given a list of conversation starters. We swapped embarrassing stories and talked about our favorite things to do in our countries. After exchanging social media, the EF tour group darted through graffitied underpasses. Through the cracks in a rustling tree branch, I spotted a large building. I parted the branches and found myself face to face with the cathedral Notre Dame. The building’s intricate beauty was both breath-taking and intimidating. The tour group passed  a small bridge covered with hundreds of locks, each with the names of lovers written on them.

Outside of Notre Dame, around fifty pigeons flocked together in a cesspool of disease, yet people would hold their arms out and allow the filthy birds to land on them. One woman even let them crawl all over her white wedding dress. Aside from the gross birds, Notre Dame was astounding. We took a tour and admired the huge panes of stained glass and heard the melody of the famous bells.

After, we took a tour of the Latin Quarter and admired the architecture. It was entertaining to look around and walk into shops, but then things went awry. The tour guide let us wander and had instructed us to meet back in front of Notre Dame at a set time, but my friends and I were utterly lost. We weaved through the streets of Paris and tried to navigate our way through the crowds. Eventually, we meandered into a jewelry shop to ask for directions.

“Excuse me,” I asked. “Where is Notre Dame?”

The woman at the counter gave me a blank stare and responded, “What is Notre Dame?”

This answer was shocking, to say the least. A French native who doesn’t know what Notre Dame is? Is she going to ask what the Eiffel Tower is next? Luckily, the jewelry woman’s associate came over and gave us directions. So it appears that some of the French have heard of Notre Dame.

We walked down the Champs-Elysees and viewed the Arc de Triomphe. The day ended with a peaceful river cruise down the Seine at sunset. I’ll never forget the way the clouds swirled around tendrils of fading orange rays, or the way the Eiffel Tower’s soft glow reflected onto the river. I remember breathing in the sharp, cold air and looking up at the tower, which lit up with tiny sparkles. Nobody ever warned me that the tower sparkles.

On our final day in Paris, we went to an authentic Parisian cafe. This particular cafe had delicious food and blasted Iggy Azalea’s music. On that day we were going to climb the Eiffel Tower. However, there was some kind of maintenance related delay, so despite being in the front of the line we had to wait for two hours. However, once the tower reopened, we were the only ones on the tower for quite a while. After dragging myself up 700 steps, we arrived at the top. The views were breath-taking, and it honestly felt so surreal to be atop one of the most famous monuments in the world.

After, we took a train to the palace of Versailles. There seems to be an unwritten rule that everything in France must be beautiful. Versailles looked the way people describe heaven. Inside the golden gates was the largest mansion I’ve ever seen. The level of opulence was astonishing. There were huge rooms, most of which were filled with chandeliers or gorgeous murals that stretched along the ceiling. I struggled to believe that I not dreaming. The best part, though, was the gardens. We had to rush so we didn’t get to see much, but there was gorgeous fountains, assorted wildflowers and a huge hedge maze. My friends had to drag me away as I begged to stay and explore further.

After, we headed to my favorite part of the trip, the Louvre. Arguably the world’s best art museum, the Louvre hosted famous pieces such as Venus de Milo, a real Sphinx and the painting Liberty Leading the People. The Winged Victory of Samothrace, which travels between museums, was also on display. Of course, the most amazing part was the Mona Lisa, which was so exciting to see that I literally gasped. Three hours in the Louvre wasn’t enough, each corner contained history and splendor. Even the architecture of the gigantic museum was artistic. The Louvre itself is a masterpiece.

As I said goodbye to Paris, my heart ached along with my feet. (That city requires a lot of walking.) Paris is my new favorite place, and I dream of returning one day. As I left Paris and headed off to Switzerland, the EF tour’s next location, I glanced at the Eiffel Tower, which now looked small in the distance, one last time.

Then I said goodbye to the city of love.