To Exploring the City of Love

We spent the longest period of time in Paris, five incredible nights.  We flew from Barcelona to Paris and that was interesting because we had to go through security twice, once in Barcelona and again in London.  What a pain. Although, I cannot say enough good things about British Airways-- mainly because they serve a meal for all of their flights (I had a delicious bacon and turkey wrap), tea, and the flight attendants ask to collect "rubbish" (gets me every single time). I guess I am not that hard to please as long as you give me more than a bag of 10 stale peanuts.

Anyways we got to Paris and it was a little bit overcast and drizzling.  Our rooms were on the top floor of the hotel and had balconies that you could actually step out on, it was really cool! The rooms were tiny, however, and our bathroom was definitely European.  The first night we grabbed a quick dinner, caught a glimpse of the Arc de Triumph, and stopped by Jennifer and Eric's apartment.

The second day we got up bright and early so we could metro to the Chateau de Versailles.  It was really cold that day so on our walk to Versailles we stopped at McCafe, it was surprisingly delicious.

The mocha I got at McCafe.

Even though we bought tickets ahead of time, we had to wait quite a while to get inside. Since it was cold this was not the most fun we had but the views of the outside of the palace were incredible.  Once we got inside we took a tour of many of the rooms and learned the history of the Chateau.  It was actually incredible.  We learned all about Napoleon, the other Kings, and the French Revolution.

Waiting to get inside and loving the gaudy, gold designs.

The gate to get in, very intricate.  I loved the crown on top. 

A view of the Chateau.

After lunch we went outside and saw the Gardens.  They were beautiful.

Dad and me loving the gardens even through the cold.

After the seeing Versailles we walked around the area a little bit and headed back to the hotel.  Then we walked Champs Elysees, a very famous street with high end shops.  It was really cool.  

Me in front of Louis Vuitton, how could I not go? 

We also walked to LaDuree.  We inadvertently got directions for the store that was further from our location and had to sprint/ask a lot of people for directions on our way to get there before it closed.  The store was super cute and the pastries were to die for.  I liked to think of the walk as burning off our pastries before we ate them, however I think the pastries we got might have been a million calories each they were so good.  Better than nothing, right?

The outside of the store. The window display was super cute.

I got a fruit tart and Dad had a lemon one.  Scrumptious. 

The next day Ethan arrived really early in the morning and we visited Musee d'Orsay and Musee de L'Orangerie.  Musee d'Orsay was really neat. The museum was put into an old train station and housed a ton of impressionist work.  We started on the top floor where we saw a bunch of Monet and Manet works that were incredible.  There were also stunning views of Paris from the windows.  The other floors had some awesome sculptures and some other displays.  My favorite piece of the entire museum was Van Gogh's Starry Night because I had no idea it was going to be there and it was actually breathtaking.

Mom, Dad, and me in Musee d'Orsay

My favorite Manet.

The clock from the train station days.

Starry Night, Van Gogh (duh). 

Next we walked to a bridge that took us to the other side of the Seine and it was covered in locks.  It was really cool.  Apparently couples "lock their love" and throw the key away in the Seine.

Full of locks!

Ethan and me! 

Next we went to Musee de L'Orangerie.  Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures here but it housed the Monet Water Lillies rooms.  There is no way that pictures would have done them justice anyways because they were absolutely incredible.  I think I could have spent days just staring at them.

The next day was free day at the Louvre! After a lot of debating about whether we should try to take on the crowds, we decided to brave it.  We had to wait in line for quite a bit of time but the line moved fast and the building was so beautiful and intricate that we just admired it to pass the time.  We saw so much art that it was overwhelming and we only went through a small area of the Louvre.  Next time I go to Paris I plan on getting lost in the Louvre for a few days! Here were some of my Louvre highlights:

Ethan waiting to get inside. 

Mona Lisa.  There were tons of people trying to see her so we only caught a glimpse but it was worth it.

Napoleon's Apartment that was occupied after he was kicked out of the Chateau de Versailles.  This was my favorite room in it, it was a bedroom of some princess.  The living quarters were incredible.

Venus de Milo. Stunning.

Nike

After we left the Louvre we ran into a street art guy and bought our souvenirs, three beautiful watercolor pictures.  I cannot wait to hang them up! Next, we took the metro to the Eiffel tower!

We took a boat cruise over the Seine.  It was narrated and full of really beautiful sights! My favorite parts were seeing Notre Dame and learning about all of the bridges that we passed under.

A view of the Louvre from the boat.

Next we went and saw the Arc De Triumph and the Grave of the Unknown Soldier.  My favorite part of the Arc was the traffic circle that went around it that had no lanes so cars were in one big cluster.  Also, the cars in the circle had to merge to the cars that were entering the circle instead of the other way around like it is here, very entertaining.

On the way back we stopped for dinner and had onion soup.  It was as good as it looks! 

The next day we got up early and headed to Montmartre.  Our first stop was Sacre Coeur, this beautiful church.  

We walked around Montmartre for a while, saw a really cool artist's square, had a cup of coffee, and then took the metro to Notre Dame.  I really wanted to get there in time for a free tour that afternoon.  On the way there we stopped into Shakespeare and Company, a really famous bookstore.  It was really small, but really cozy, and probably the coolest bookstore I have ever been to.  It had a really interesting collection and a room where the books were not for sale, but were there for people to sit there and read! As for Notre Dame, I cannot say enough good things about it! It was breathtaking and my favorite Cathedral that we visited the whole trip.  The tour guide was a little bit wordy but she told a cool story about Joan of Arc and talked to Ethan and I about New Orleans which was cool.  We also got to go behind a special access gate to see the choir area which was reallllly cool!

In front of Notre Dame.

The inside... it was stunning.

A stained glass window inside.

Flying Buttresses.  No words can describe how cool this was!

On our way back we stopped at Angelina and had quite possibly the best hot chocolate and macaroons in the world!

I cannot say enough about how wonderful Paris was! The sights were incredible, breathtaking, and surreal.  Although Paris is definitely a tourist destination and there were a lot of people there, we had an incredible time.  The baguettes were so good, and really cheap-- probably the cheapest thing to eat there because Paris was very expensive, and the wine was wonderful!  Funny story, it was cheaper to order wine at a restaurant than water, soda, or coffee, something that would never happen here.  It was also really great to see Jennifer and her family and have them show us around. I cannot wait to go back!

For now,

Lindsay