Greetings from the Layover in Paris

On my journey through France, there's no way to avoid Paris. Paris is a major hub in France, and almost all train routes pass through this city. 

With my Eurostar, I arrived in Paris right on time. So, I had a good 3 hours in Paris starting from Saturday afternoon. I mainly used that time to walk from one train station to the next. Along the way, I tried to see and experience as much as I could. 

So, I explored the city by simply walking down every street I found beautiful. And after a year and a half of Duolingo, it seems it did help— I was able to order a croissant in French. :P

And then I passed by the 'Palais Garnier' opera house. A huge, beautiful building. Somewhere music was playing, and it took a little while to walk around it. 

By chance, I discovered the Lafayette department store. The department store, at its headquarters, is now a massive chain with several branches in France and some globally.

What caught my attention were the people standing on the roof taking photos. I thought to myself, I want to go there too. At first, I hesitated before entering the department store because it was filled with luxury brand after luxury brand. But then, I joined another tourist group and it was sooo worth it!

In beautiful weather, I was able to enjoy an almost 360-degree view and recognize some of the city's landmarks, like Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre, the opera, or the Eiffel Tower.

Another highlight of the department store is a 40m high dome built over the 33m high main hall in Art Nouveau style. 

It's so breathtakingly beautiful that when one is in Paris, they absolutely must go there. 

Three days later, spring arrived. Again traveling by train, my journey took me through Paris once more. This time, I spent mainly 2 hours traveling from station to station, eating, and looking for a postcard. Along the way, I stumbled upon street art in the metro tunnels.

In all sorts of corridors, I could find the little black figures. From musicians to dancers, but also people from other professions.

So even while passing through and in just a few hours, you can discover quite a lot.