mon amour

ok I promised I would blog about paris, so here it is!
paris in a nutshell.

on monday morning, we woke up bright and early. I was planning to pack that morning, but my alarm didn't go off. I woke up about an hour late, so I just threw some clothes in my north face backpack and headed out the door. I was kind of a frantic mess, but thankfully I made it on time onto the eurostar on time. We started off heading out to Chartres. We also found this fun merry-go-round.




that night I went to the eiffel tower, got a crepe, and ate some french onion soup. The eiffel tower at night was INCREDIBLE. It was probably one of the pretties sights I've seen, hands down. it was too late to go up, so we just took some pictures in front.





The next day started off at versaille and then the musee d'orsay. Versaille was cool--it was kind of similar to the vatican in a lot of ways. I loved the musee d'orsay and all the beautiful art! It is in my top three art gallerys. After that, Karalyn and I got separated from our group at the museum, so we tried to meet up with them at the pantheon. It closed just a few minutes before we got there, so we just walked around a little. I was super tired and not feeling well, so I grabbed a sandwich and pastry and went to sleep by 9:30. I was bummed to have to go to bed early, but my body was about to shut down.








The next morning, I felt much better! I had slept for approximately 11 hours, and I felt almost completely better from being sick. It was also st. patrick's day, and I completely forgot until Macfarlane tried to pinch me. Little did I know that it would turn into the best st. patrick's day ever! it was probably one of my favorite days of my life actually. I saw like 20 sights in paris, walked my feet off, and had an amazingly fun day with the dream team.

first on list, notre dame. Walked to the very top, saw the beautiful view, found my inner gargoyle, and snapped a pic with the bell.









next, saint chapelle and the cluny museum. Saint chapelle had gorgeous stained glass windows, and the cluny museum had the unicorn tapestries. loved the beautiful windows and fell in love with the tapestries. didn't see that one coming!






then we took a nice long walk down to La Rue Mouffetard. It was so fun for me because I started to ask lots of french people (in french) how to get there. I simply got up the guts and just starting talking. I remembered more than I thought, and I was so happy to be able to speak to the people. some of the nicest people ever!
on the way there, we walked through the latin quarter and luxembourg gardens (in the madeline stories). The mouffetard had the best savory crepes I've had in my life, and we also had amazing ice cream.






continuing on, I led the group of ten to the louvre, where we walked little kids play with the boats and then walked up the champs elysees. I had my first macaroons ever at La Duree. Then to the L'arc de triomphe! beautiful view of the city and eiffel tower.




what we did at the top of the arc

next up, louvre.


Rachel and I stayed together and wandered around, mostly looking at the highlights. We have similar taste in art, so it was perfect. We decided to take a break and eat dinner there, so all of us just got sandwiches in the cafe. I spoke french to the people who took my order, and they kept asking me questions so I could practice my french. They even gave me a free sucker!
When I went to throw my trash away, one of the guys started talking to me in french again. I couldn't understand what he said, so he switched to english and asked what I was doing that night. He then proceeded to give me a napkin with his name and number on it. Sadly for Baba, I did not give him a call that night! we all got a good chuckle out of that little incident.
I did something more fun...looked at more art. and then looked at the gorgeous fountains outside the louvre.



the next day was just as great.
It started off at the musee d'orangerie, where I basically cried while in awe of monet's water lillies. (lets get real, I wasn't basically crying, I was just simply crying. I was so happy)



Then I directed the group across the river to the musee de rodin, and we just happened to find an amazing pastry shop on the way. The sculptures at the museum were beautiful, and I found a few appreciation for them. We went to the catacombs afterwards (very stupid). I hurried through and went to a chocolate shop, Jeff de Bruggs, while waiting for the others. I talked to the chocolate lady for like ten minutes in french, and a sweet old french lady came in and spoke with us as well.
side note...I counted the number of times I talked to people there or asked for directions. guess how many there were?! 35.
Then I got some underwear and croque monsieurs with kira and brittney.



We walked back to the mouffetard, where I got one last crepe of nutella and banana, and then walked back in the warm sun to our hotel.
My trip to paris was complete bliss. I feel like I left a part of my heart in that wonderful city. All the french people were so sweet and nice to me as well.
I can't wait until I go back to the land of love!! (hopefully in will be in a few short weeks with my parents! cross your fingers)


Paris, I love you!
I love your amazing food, rich culture, kind people.
I loved the amazing memories I made here with unforgettable people!