My first trip to Paris lasted 48 hours.
When I studied abroad in the south of France, I was determined to pass as many of the French government's DELF/DALF exams as I could. Instead of spending my weekends traveling with friends on a EuroRail pass, I studied. When the group planned a trip to Paris, I had to put the books away and joined them. On the TGV ride up, I made a list of all the things I wanted to see and as soon as we had checked into our modest hotel, I was off. The 48 hours were a whirl wind and included what could only be described as a two-hour sprint through the Louvre (I "splurged" and gave myself five whole minutes with each of my favorite paintings by David and Delacroix).
It's crazy to only spend 48 hours in Paris. Similarly, it's crazy to only spend 36 hours in Charlottesville, but a travel reporter from the New York Times did it. The subsequent article and photo montage will be published in Sunday's paper, but is available online today.
