Paris

Eiffel Tower

I had a whirlwind vacation in Paris this weekend! It was a fun-packed five days in the city of lights. My friend Kevin from Tufts met me there to explore this city that I hadn't been to since I was in a stroller. I think my experience was slightly different this time around, although my bad knee made me wish I was in a stroller again.

Musée du Louvre

On Friday, I flew to the budget airline airport outside of Paris and made the trek to our hostel, St. Christopher's Paris. It is a really big and very nice and social hostel. After meeting some Scottish girls in my room and settling in for a minute, I rushed off to meet Kevin at the Louvre. We eventually found each other outside the enormous pyramid and sat on the gorgeous patio to make some plans and catch up. We continued catching up with our stroll through the Louvre. It is so ginormous that I have no idea what parts we actually covered but we saw the tiny Mona Lisa and had a great time traipsing through the museum. Then we went in search of food, and after finding that the falafel place we were seeking was closed, we settled on crepes in a nice cafe. I had a lovely ham, cheese, and egg crepe. This was my introduction to Parisian food and I approved. We headed back to the hostel and made some interesting friends. There was a huge group of students from the American south and I learned that their culture and views are even more different than mine are from many European cultures. I don't think I've had my jaw drop so much during a conversation in a long time. Luckily, the Scottish girl had a lot of interesting questions and such an interesting accent, so it was quite fun despite the shock.

Arc d'Triumph

Luxembourg Gardens

Pierre Hermé

We got up early on Saturday morning to hit the city. Our first stop was the Arc d'Triumph, which we climbed. It was beautiful from the outside but a bit hazy that morning at the top so the view wasn't spectacular. A man outside tried to scam us by pretending that we dropped a ring, but I saw it coming, gave him a firm "No," and we shared a smile because he knew that I knew. We walked down the huge shopping street, the Champs-Élysées, where I pretended that I could afford to shop there. It ends at the Tuileries Gardens where we had a nice baguette picnic and watched the ducks frolic in the fountain. We pressed onwards along the Seine to the Musée d'Orsay, which I found much more approachable than the Louvre. We had a long talk with an information guide because Van Gogh's "Starry Night" was displayed but it was not the painting we expected. Apparently there are two different paintings with the same title...who knew? After the museum, we walked around Saint Michael and collected food for a picnic in the Luxembourg Gardens. All we needed was a baguette, brie, goat cheese, and the gorgeous setting and we were good to go. We devoured way too much cheese and walked it off with a stroll around the gardens. As we were leaving, it started to rain so we headed off to get more food - macaroons at Pierre Hermé. We waiting in the pouring rain for the "best macaroons in all of France." They were also the most expensive cookies I've ever bought at 1.95 euros for a tiny cookie. But they were incredible and had wonderfully interesting flavors. It seems like all we did was eat, which is true, so we continued the trend but this time bought salads at a supermarket to take to the hostel. We made some more friends there by giving away our leftovers. It had been a long day so I was super tired and not looking forward to taking on the dreaded "spring forward" time change that night.

Palais of Versailles

Rowing on the Canal

Marie Antoinette's Hamlet

Sacre Coeur

Sunday was a day of royalty at the Palais of Versailles. The normal route to get there was closed, but we ended up meeting an awesome couple from England (Nick and Ria) while waiting for a different train so it was worth the slight delay. We ended up spending the train ride and the whole time there with them. Versailles was massive and very pretty, but the statues in the gardens were all covered and the fountains were off so we didn't get to see it in its true glory. We wandered through Louis' casa for a while and I pretended that all of his things were my own. Then we went out to the gardens and rented a row boat on the canal. We miraculously didn't capsize and I didn't crash us into anyone. We walked down a long road to Marie Antoinette's house, which wasn't too special, but her hamlet was incredible. It was a cute little village that reminded me of Hogsmeade. That was by far my favorite part of Versailles, even though it was just a tiny part off the beaten path. Eventually, we took the train back to Paris and made plans with our English friends to meet up for dinner at a French restaurant. Kevin and I went off to Sacre Coeur, an impressive white church on top of a hill. It had an amazing view of Paris, cool street performers, and adorable shops around the neighborhood. It was the most bustling part of Paris that I saw, although it was mainly filled with tourists. We met up with Nick and Ria at Chartier, a decently priced place with real French cuisine. I had amazing escargot right in their shell...yum yum. I also ordered a steak which was verrrrry fatty and tough and cooked rare even though I ordered medium well. Our waiter was also quite rude and rushed, but apparently that's the character of the place. He wrote our order on the paper tablecloth and tallied up our bill there. We were all afraid of him by the time we left but we had a good time during the meal. Kevin had a dessert that was a cake doused in rum. He enjoyed it but we all took bites and made ugly faces. Ria and I opted for a banana, Nutella, and whipped cream crepe off the street. Mine was massive and difficult to eat but all I had dreamed it would be! We went with our friends to the Eiffel Tower and sprinted out of the metro when we saw that it was sparkling. It was truly incredible. I wasn't sure what to expect because I had only seen it from far away but it was all it's cracked up to be. We said goodbye to Nick and Ria, and Kevin and I sprinted to catch a bus that went on a scenic route through the city. Then it was bed time once again.

Crepe!

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower

Monday was another busy day that began at the Notre Dame. The outside was really impressive and I sat outside for a while, people watching and looking at the building. The inside was good too, but a lot of cathedrals are starting to look similar inside. Kevin and I strolled around the area for a while and got crepes that we ate by the river. What more could we ask for? Well, a walking tour. We met a free walking tour that was full of people staying in all the hostels in Paris. It was led by a very dramatic and friendly Australian girl who was full of entertaining pop culture references and side comments. It was a great tour of 3.5 hours where I found out exactly what I had been seeing for the past few days and met a bunch of nice people. Paris is known as the "city of lights" but she called it the "city of stairs." This is a truth. After the tour, Kevin and I went to have dinner on the left bank. I had a delicious quiche and salad with creme brulée for dessert. I love to cook creme brulée and I think this one faired well to my creations. So good, so French. Then we headed off to our reservations to go up the Eiffel Tower. I was very excited! As we got off the metro, Kevin said, "This is us." A very interesting man sitting across from me who had been speaking in French the whole time looked me in the eye, and, in perfect English, quietly said, "This is us...this is us, indeed." It was hilarious and very unexpected. We took the requisite 500 pictures walking down to the Tower and got in line to take the elevator up. We ended up amongst two groups of American high school students on school trips, and we had fun chatting with them. It was certainly not a very romantic excursion, though, as I had imagined it would be. It was more like waiting in line for a Disney World attraction and being stuck on a crowded elevator. The views from the 2nd floor and top were truly amazing at night, and everything seemed so tiny. It was nice to go at the end of the trip so we could point out all the sites we had been to over the days. I went proposal hunting at the top but only saw the post-celebration of one proposal - they were crying, of course. I even used the bathroom at the top, a little bit because I had to go, but mostly to be able to say I used the bathroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Jealous? I know you are. After we were too cold at the top, it was time to go home and pack up for our last night in the hostel.

Gardens in Le Marais

On Tuesday morning, Kevin and I had our last breakfast and finished off the delicious macaroons. I'm sure I ate enough carbs on this trip to sustain someone on the Atkins' diet for a year. I wish I was kidding. Kevin's flight was earlier than mine so we took the metro together until we had to part ways. It was great having him on the trip and sad to say goodbye. Then I went to meet up with my dad's friend who lives for 3 months every year in the neighborhood of Le Marais. She made me lunch and took me on a very detailed tour of the neighborhood. It is a beautiful part of the city with amazing little shops. After the tour, I walked around by myself for a bit, avoiding the rain, and mostly popping in and out of the pastry shops. I indulged in a pistachio crumble that I had spotted our first night there. Heavenly. Inevitably, it was eventually time to say "au revoir" to Paris and take my flight back to Sevilla. I chatted with a Spanish couple for a bit on the plane, easing my transition from the land of incomprehensible yet sexy French back to good old Español. I arrived home after midnight and got a solid 5 hours of sleep before work the next morning. Paris was worth it!