At first I didn’t have much of an opinion about Paris except
that it was a city I needed to see in Europe. Now I see the appeal that it has
for most people. It’s beautiful! It really is a beautiful city to walk around
in and just soak up. I took the train
towards Corrine’s apartment and was ready for lunch when we met up. We had lunch in the square where Notre Dame
is, I didn’t get to hear the bells, but all I could think of was the Disney
movie “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” It
was very impressive and beautiful. I
fully indulged myself with the French Cuisine and had an egg and potato crepe
for lunch with a glass of wine while enjoying the view. We walked around by the Seine River and decided
to end the evening with more wine, a French baguette, brie, and watch Les Miserables. We had a busy day the next day so getting to
sleep at a reasonable hour was crucial.
We woke up and started off the day with a boat tour up and down
the Seine. I got to see the Eiffel tower
from a distance, the Louvre, and gorgeous Parisian buildings of Parliament and
such. It was supposed to rain all day,
but we got very lucky and it was actually a little sunny in the morning. After the boat tower, I enjoyed a French Croque with chicken and goat cheese,
along with another glass of wine and ended with a nutella crepe. I had to cover both the savory and sweet
crepe specialties and neither disappointed.
Now being properly
fed, we went to the Musee d'Orsay and
saw classics like Monet, Manet, Mary Cassat, Degas and Van Gogh. Having been to art school and learning about
a lot of these famous painters, it was a great opportunity to see them up close
and marvel at their work. We spent a
good couple of hours in the Museum and got to see everything it had to
offer. I also got to get in for free
because I am under 26 and am living in Europe.
As much as I miss/love home, it was pretty cool to have the ticketeer
ask, “Where are you living?” and get to reply, “Madrid.”
After the museum we went to the Eiffel Tower and got to go
all the way to the top! It took us about
2 hours to get tickets and finally ride an elevator upstairs, it was also rainy
and quite chilly, but we did it! It was
worth the wait. The scene was absolutely
breathtaking and the tower twinkles on the hour! We got to see it light up three times, while
waiting underneath, while at the top, and finally as we left for the
metro. Pretty cool experience and it was
really the one thing on my list that I wanted to do. As tired as we were, Corrine managed to show
me the Arc de Triomphe before we went
back to her apartment. We enjoyed bread,
cheese and she graciously shared her mother’s homemade chicken soup with
me. A wonderful end to a busy and chilly
day.
Before I got to the airport this morning, Corrine had the
great idea of going to a famous café, Angelina’s,
for the best hot chocolate in Paris. She
had never been there and thought breakfast before I left would be a good
idea. It was! It happens to be the most expensive croissant
and hot chocolate I’ve ever had, but it was a lovely experience and ended the
trip wonderfully. So considering what
little amount of time I had in Paris? We
did pretty good. Corrine showed me a
great time and we got to cover a lot of ground (and food) that was necessary
for the Parisian experience. I get to
see her in Barcelona next weekend and after Thanksgiving I get to go to Munich.
More adventures to follow
Hope everyone’s having a great year and enjoying the cool
fall weather!!!
Xoxoxo
