went to paris this weekend and loved it. not the romantic city i had imagined but it was a great starter trip for the semester. saw all the major tourist attractions (arc, tower, louvre, etc) and even got a free 4 hour tour from our hostel which was wonderful. the hostel was almost that of a holiday inn and they had others scattered across europe so when michelle and i go on spring break i think we'll try to hit them up in the cities we stop in. i would have to say that the louvre was my favorite part of paris. seeing all the art was amazing; also, seeing the story line of the da vinci code was pretty incredible as well. overall, the trip was wonderful--pricey but well worth it! i had a crepe on top of the eiffel in the -12C temp but it was a cultural experience. i would definitely recommend anyone coming to europe to see paris--well worth the time and money!