J'Adore Paris

I just got back from the whirlwind of a trip from Paris. A few people had told me they didn't like it because the people were pretentious so I was a little apprehensive. We arrived Saturday night around 10 and I fell in love. Instead of staying at a hostel we opted to rent a Parisian apartment. It was really small probably about 50 square meters which is normal for a studio in Paris. It was really cute and located in a part of town close to the metro but far away from big groups of tourists. We walked around the Bastille and there were a ton of people in the area eating at the cafes and just walking around. We were exhausted so after we ate we went home.

The next morning we woke up and headed to the Palace of Versaille. We got in for free (thank you student visa!) and walked around the wings. It was so lavish and spectacular. I have never seen anything just like it and it fascinated me to think people lived there. I took lots of pictures, everything in there was so detailed and luxe. Afterward we went into the gardens in the back. Those were less impressive because they were brown and not very pretty this time of year. The gardens were still manicured impeccably though. I heard that people spend a ton of time there but we were only at the palace for 2 hours.

After Versaille we crossed Pont Alexandre III and saw all of the beautiful statues that overlooked the Seine. It was incredible. We also got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower! We strolled along the Champ Elysee, went into a few shops and then saw the Arc de Triomphe. Next was the gold topped Oblisk. I've seen a few in NY and Italy but none were as wonderful as this. One gripe I had about Paris was that almost no fountains were on because it was March. I was sad I didn't get to see them in their full glory. We walked through the Tuilleries Gardens and then stumbled upon the Louvre. We had a blast taking pictures and capturing all the fun things we got to see.

Lucia recommended we walked to the Hotel deVille and the Centre Pompidou so we walked by and were blown away by the severe differences in architecture. The hotel was a really old almost gothic style building whereas the Pompidou which opened in 1977, is an inside out building. Renzo Piano designed it and it is unlike anything I've seen. We had to head over to the Eiffel Tower and take some shots of it at night and then we saw it all lit up. We had a nice dinner of Salad Niciose and I tried escargo for the first time! It was surprisingly good and I'm really glad I tried it.

9:30 the next morning we headed to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We took the lift because we didn't want to tire ourselves too early in the day. The views were spectacular and there wasn't a cloud in the sky! I was so happy in Paris because it all seemed like a dream come true. After we saw a million asian tourists and took equally as many pictures, we went to see the Sainte Chapelle. Sainte Chapelle is a teeny chapel the size of a jewel box with floor to ceiling stained glass. It was incredibly, but sadly it was under renovation so not as cool as it should have been.
Next was Notre Dame which was so much bigger than it looks from the outside. The weather was so great I couldn't have asked for anything more of a site seeing day.

Lucia recommended a falfell place in St. Paul and it took us forever to find it but when we did it was glorious. Mine disappeared so fast. Then we went window shopping on Rue St. Honore and saw John Galliano, Mui Mui, and lots of other shops that are fun to stare at. Afterward we headed to a famous cemeteryI to see Jim Morrison's grave. It was great spending time outside. We got lost again trying to find where the apartment was at but we got to see different parts of the city so it was worth it. Someone even stopped to help without being asked.

We walked along Bastille again to get some postcards and then settled down at a cafe near our place for salads, cheeses, wine and desserts. I enjoyed Paris so much.I wish I had more time there to really discover every nook of the city. I can't wait to go back. I want to ride a boat on the Seine and see the sites from there too. Tomorrow I leave for Athens and Mykonos, which should be an adventure considering I know no Greek. More to come next week!