For as long as I could remember, I wanted to visit Paris, France. I didn't realize this at the time, but Americans greatly romanticize Paris in Hollywood (I'm looking at you Midnight in Paris) and in literature.

I've heard all the stereotypes and complaints about Paris, the culture, and the people that live there. Many times I've heard people saying, "Paris is overrated." even though some of them have never been themselves!

Despite all that's been said, I longed to see what the city of love had to offer. Is it as beautiful as in the movies? What does the Eiffel Tower look like at night? Will the Mona Lisa really follow me with her eyes?

After years of not so subtle hints, my parents shocked me in 2016 by buying tickets. In one week we hit three cities: Barcelona, Lourdes, and Paris. I couldn't contain my excitement. I can finally determine, for myself, if Paris is truly overrated.

The plan was to take a flight from Rome to Barcelona, then as soon as we landed in Barcelona we would rent a car to drive to Lourdes. We stayed in Lourdes for one night then drove back to Barcelona, where we spent two nights. Then we flew from Barcelona to Paris and stayed the remaining three nights in Paris.

By the time we arrived in Paris, I was beyond exhausted. I had been through several types of weather, slept in multiple beds, airports, and cars, and our feet were blistered and aching from walking many kilometers.

Despite my exhaustion, I was eager to see what Paris had to offer and quietly observed what I saw.

Despite it being past nine o'clock at night and a weekday, the neighborhood of Saint Germain was lively. The cobblestone sidewalks and the trees were illuminated by the street lights in which you could see bustling bistros where Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald frequented. Drinks were being poured and cigarettes were being lit, young men dressed smartly are trying to hail the attention of the beautiful girls next to them.

Tourists and Parisians alike are strolling and enjoying the last of the warm weather. Two girls sitting on a bench were speaking rapid French and smoking cigarettes, and they helped guide us in the direction of the Airbnb.

The next day was September 2nd and in Paris, signs of Autumn were peeking through: the leaves were starting to turn and there was a frigid chill in the air, despite rays of sun beaming down. I was standing in a crowded bus straining to keep a view of the window, the Eiffel Tower should be coming up in any second . . . and oh my god! There it was!

The majestic Eiffel tower filled the window. I think I gasped in both surprise and excitement. It's something I've seen in movies, videos, photographs, and paintings, and it's something I read about in textbooks and literature, but nothing compared to seeing it in person.

Silvia Cavalieri

It stands proudly against the blue sky, seeming content with itself. It's so majestic and unique that it is hard to look away and not study its details, like how there are people going up inside one of the legs and how where one pattern begins another one emerges in the ironwork. It almost feels rude to turn my back on the landmark.

Next was the Louvre. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the green space surrounding the Louvre was a flurry of activity, people were exercising, tourists were cheesing, and vendors were selling. I turned the corner and before me was the magnificent Louvre, its iconic pyramids visible from a distance.

I went underneath to enter the art museum and in our excitement to see the Mona Lisa, my brother and I broke away from our parents and ran. We ran past paintings and sculptures and statues that were priceless and ancient and looked around at the architecture of the Louvre. It is so magnificent it's like stepping into the past.

Silvia Cavalieri

My brother and I darted in and out of rooms frantically, the expanse of the white marble floor and the squares on the walls start to blend together until finally, we saw her, the Mona Lisa. I took my time to look at the painting that has captivated people all over the world, for centuries.

People crowded around my brother and me, straining to take photos, waving their selfie sticks around, and there I stood in the midst of chaos, trying to take in that surreal moment.

Giphy

Next on the agenda was to climb the Eiffel Tower, and we made it our goal to ascend it right before sunset, but everyone was too tired and hungry to wait in the line. Instead, we found a bench in the park behind the tower and my father and brother went off to the grocery market on the corner to buy wine and cheese.

We sat and drank and talked and laughed; we took in the moment and all the great things life has to offer. Then, the clock struck 10:00 and the Eiffel Tower sparkled magnificently, the lovers, the children and the street vendors, everybody and everything in Paris, stops for that first second when the Eiffel Tower sparkles and looks up, encaptured by its beauty, then, they erupt in cheers.

Travel is about discomfort and taking yourself out of your comfort zone. Embrace the unexpectedness and adventures that new cities and cultures have to offer. Get dizzy in art museums. Drink cheap wine and eat cheese on a park bench. Walk until your feet fall off. Ask strangers for directions in broken French.

These are all things I did and more in Paris. I took everything the city had to offer, its dark street corners and robbers, its bustling bistros and excited youth, its penchant for scarves and stationery. Paris is not overrated, and it's most definitely always a good idea.