Versailles, Paris, and beauty all go hand and hand together. Upon arrival, I thought Paris was going to be a dirty city that hated Americans. Nothing could've been farther off. The streets were cleaned several times a day, the people were nice and friendly, and the scenery was amazing. Paris has all of the charm of most modern European cities, with just the right flavor of history, and art to make it the perfect destination for student travel.

In Paris you'll find the overwhelmingly georgous Louvre mueseum, multiple fashion stores, the beautiful Kleber street, and the world famous Arch d'triumph. These sights are perfect places to spend a few hours at. I reccomend the Arch d'triumph be done at night time. But, the one sight that outdoes all of these is, by far, the Eifel Tower. This sight is amazing whether you go in the morning or at night. You can take the several thousand stairs to the top or you can ride the elevator. Before you sit there and say that you'll run to the top, get there and stand underneath, looking up. After that you can go buy an elevator ticket, and join the rest of your group on their way to the top.

Other places to visit include the Rodin meuseum , Napolean's tomb, the grave of rocker Jim Morrison, and the Museo d'Orsay. I found that I enjoyed Rodin, and d'Orsay more than the Louvre. For those of you not familiar with Rodin, just sit down, put your elbow on you leg, make a fist, rest you chin on it, and think. Another place to visit while in Paris is the cathedral of Notre Dame. You can't help but notice the menacing gargoyles, and amazing architecture, both inside and out.

Versailles was once the home of King Louie, and Marie Antionette. This is a beautiful way to leave behind the city of Paris. It's not very far away from the heart of the city, but it is nestled in some of the most georgous countryside you'll ever see. Definately go to Versailles when there is no fog. There are reports that in the fog, at night, you can see the ghost of Marie Antionette running for her life through the woods.

From these two cities in France, I'd have to say I will definately be going back.

This page was written by Big Mike Ciavarella 1996.