Paris, France

I've learned it's common among girls, this fascination with Paris. Paris is this romanticized idea of a place where dreams come true and romance is still alive. Where the guy gets the girl. Where the girl escapes from the cheating guy and falls in love again.

When I got off the plane there was no one waiting with a Welcome sign.
La vie en Rose was not sound tracking my first moments.
(It was actually sung underground in the metro system by a crippled homeless women.)

But somehow I still had an incredible time! Even though it was like I had read the book, and then saw the movie. I ate some of the best food and saw things I had only read in books.

May 9th, 2013 First thing's first. What to pack for Paris, France? Nothing I own was fashionable enough AND I was nowhere near the size I intended to be. Which meant one thing. Shopping:

Then on to packing. I packed way too much.  I didn't realize I would have to carry my suitcase, a book bag and my over sized Vera Bradley bag up and down flights of stairs once in Paris. I also had no idea how cold it would be. I should have packed warmer clothes...

I've had bad luck traveling before, so you could only imagine how prepared I was. At the airport I was told that I would have trouble traveling because the name on my ticket didn't match the name on my passport. It ended up being an easy fix but it was a stressful couple of minutes. 

Comfy neck pillow

Journal entry: "Success! I am on the plane about to ascent on my way to Paris. PARIS! My Paris. My feet will touch Parisian ground on my 29th birthday. I begin the end of my 20s in a city I've loved from a far. I don't fly very well so I tried to be as prepared as possible. These tears are a combination of normal anxiety, traveling stress and Paris emotions. I just want to be in the air with my beverage, a good movie and the clock running to 7am when we arrive in Paris."

May 10, 2013

Austin surprised me with a very thoughtful and smooshed cupcake from one of my favorite bakeries, Maxie B's. I tried to watch Cloud Atlas but couldn't keep my eyes open so I slept.

Once we landed, Yasin, the very helpful employee of Porte Doree, gave us specific directions that brought us directly to the front of our hotel. We jumped on the subway and traveled for about an hour to get to central Paris.

Paris: jour une (day one)

The employees at Porte Doree could not have been more helpful. We arrived at the hotel a little early but the lady at the front desk did all she could to get us in our rooms quickly. If you're ever in Paris you should consider staying here: http://www.hoteldelaportedoree.com/
To kill time while waiting for the room I ventured the street outside of the hotel. I could feel it, I was immediately in love. Directly across the street of the hotel was a convenient bakery, the Boulangerie, if you will. Fresh pastries and croissants.

The street was full of fresh fruit and vegetable stands. Butchers were on the street selling meat and fish. Every Parisian held a baguette in one hand and a shopping bag in the other.
Look! There's one now!

If I were in an animated film, this is where they would sing "Bonjour." I had croque monsieur as my first French snack. It is parmesan and gruyere cheese on a baguette with ham. The bakery had dozens of sandwiches in a baguette. You just had to have a preference of meat and cheese.

The second I got my room I showered to feel a little refreshed. As much as I wanted to nap I refused. Getting on Paris time was important to get the most out of my few days here.

The first thing on my list:
The Eiffel Tower
I got off of the subway and expected to be awestruck by the sight of the tower, but it wasn't there. I walked down a street for a few seconds and saw the Seine to my left but no Eiffel Tower. I passed a tall building on my right and just like that there it was. If it were a snake it would have bitten me. It was perfect. It looked CGI'd just for me.

Just after spotting it

The walk to the tower was like a walk in Central Park. Gorgeous. I couldn't speak. I had been in Paris for hours, but I didn't actually feel it until I was here in this moment. What is it about the Eiffel Tower?

I have this print of a painting announcing the reveal of The Eiffel Tower for a World Fair. It was built to be entered in the 1889 World's Fair as the tallest structure in the world. Funny story, it was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building was built, so then they added an antenna to the Eiffel Tower and then it was taller than the Chrysler Building by 17 feet. 

The lines were too long to go up so I admired it from a far. It started to rain a little so after I soaked in all that I could, I went back to the hotel to access wifi and dress warmer for dinner. I accidentally fell asleep for a couple of hours and woke up starved! I found a great restaurant in the 12th arrondissment, A la Biche au Bois.

Paris is divided into 20 arrondissments (neighborhood) that spiral out from the center in the shape of escargot. 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187147-s204/Paris:France:Neighborhoods.html

I ordered salmon & duck patee, then I got the special, sirloin in a pepper sauce, I convinced Austin to order Coq au vin, a French braise of chicken cooked in burgundy wine, lardons mushrooms and garlic. It came out in in a small pot. There was so much food! Assortments of cheeses and a bottle of Pinot Noir. Chocolate soufflé and creme brûlée.  So French!

Paris: jour deux

May 11, 2013- Total of 12 hours of sleep later. I casually woke and went to the Boulangerie across the street, requested "un croissant" and began my quest for a Starbucks. I collect coffee tumblers and wanted one from Paris and a souvenir mug for my mom. The Starbucks we found was on the bottom floor of:
The Louvre. 

There were so many people and I tried so hard to soak it in and not experience this through the lens of my camera so I didn't take a lot of pics. 

One of the pieces that took my breath away was the "Winged Victory of Samothrace". Also called the Nike of Samothrace. It is a 2nd century BC (200-190BC) marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory). The sculpture is the product of an unknown sculptor, which breaks my heart because they would be so revered today. It was beautifully placed at the top of a grand flight of stairs.

(c) arbindo chattopadhyay

Then of course The Venus de Milo, an ancient Greek statue created sometime between (130-100BC). She's believed to be Aphrodite, the Greek godess of love and beauty. 

Mona Lisa c.1503-1506, Leonardo da Vinci. She really is the most popular painting in the entire Louvre, there was an impossible crowd in front of her and a glass window protecting her. And she is so tiny! I've heard that, but never really believed it. 

With Mona

It was just too cold, this was the perfect time to buy a new coat at C&A for the trip.

I went out of my way to visit Ladurée, a famous French pastry and sweets shop. I ordered 6 mini macaroons for me and 2 big ones for my mom (that didn't survive their trip to the US) :(
The macaroons were delicious and delicate. Just before my trip I attempted to make macaroons myself. I made them too big that they collapsed. But they tasted amazing!!

I tried to fit so much into my only full day in Paris that everything was closed by the time I got there. i missed the catacombs so I had a late lunch: Starting with Foie Gras and escargot, delicious! I ordered a filet with a side of scalloped potatoes and Austin ordered Seafood pasta. 

Foie Gras

I serendipitously found myself at a famous bridge! "Love locks" it's called. The idea is that 2 people write their names on a padlock and lock it to the bridge. They then throw the key into the Seine as a symbol of their undying love. I know it sounds cheesy, but I totally teared up at the sight of how many people participated. 

Just passed the bridge was 

Notre Dame de Paris ("Our Lady of Paris"). 

I was a little confused and thought that a very popular football team was from here. Honest mistake!! Notre Dame is actually a historic Roman Rite Catholic Marian cathedral, a great example of French Gothic architecture. 

The Luxemboug Gardens were also closed, so of course, I stopped for beer and some cheese:

Marie Antoinette Macaroon

Paris: jour trois

May 12th, 2013- I was really pressed for time this morning since I wanted to make the most of my last day in Paris. I really wanted to see the Luxembourg Gardens and Austin really wanted to see the Catacombs so we compromised. Catch is, we needed to board the train 12:49p.

Wake up call: 7:00 am, coffee from McDs (no judgement) and standing at the gates the second they open. 

The Luxembourg Gardens were breathtaking. Especially first thing in the morning. The sun was bright and gorgeous. The tall iron fence around the whole park has kept the park in wonderful condition. 

French braid. fitting. 

Luxembourg Palace

The day of my World Cinema final I crammed in the BB&T lobby. My professor, Renata Jackson, happened to walk by and we started talking about Paris. 45 minutes and 900 photos later, I was on my way to take the test. One of her pictures stuck with me because of the wonderful story behind it. In one of her trips to Paris, Renata came by a Chopin obelisk with a sculpture that looked just like her. She showed us pictures of her posing with it. It was such a fortunate coincidence that on our way out we bumped into that same obelisk over ten years later!

We arrived at the Catacombs just in time to jump in line at 10:00 am. They give tours in groups of 50 or so and we would be in the first group which meant we would just make it in in time to make the train.

The Catacombs of Paris is an underground ossuary that holds the remains of about 6 million people. 6 million exposed sets of bones! It was unreal. At any moment I could reach out and touch a skull. There was this random moment that I felt like crying, I had attached an entire life to a set of bones I saw. 

Pleased with myself I grabbed my suitcases and checked out of the hotel. Traveling to the train station was pretty stressful just because of the weight of my bags. Navigating the train station itself wasn't so bad. Running to my cabin was agony! It was the last cabin on this VERY long train. 

Paris Gare Lyon

My time in Cannes was really eventful and pretty much the purpose of this trip! The link below is my blog post for Cannes. 

http://christenes-dailies.blogspot.com/2013/07/cannes-france.html

Paris: jour quatre

Monday the 27th I took a train back to Paris from Cannes. I had made so many friends that I bumped into a ton of interns at the train station. My girls Radina and Sophia had a ticket for my exact train, even my cabin! 

Before I left for France I went out of my way to get tickets for the Moulin Rouge. Cliche, touristy and cheesy, I know. 

 

The dinner before the show was really great! My very last French meal in a while I wanted to make it count so I started with escargot and [real] french onion soup at Cafe de Luna.

The show was like an amateur review from a Regional Theatre in the sticks. It was terrible. I would never recommend it anyone. I am usually not such a harsh critic, but it was NOT worth the money. And I wish I could say that everyone should experience the show at least once, but unless you're on death row, NEVER see it. 

Ever. 

So that wrapped up Paris! I went back to my hotel and organized my suitcase and souvenirs and made sure my tickets and passport was ready. I charged all of my electronics and soaked in my last moments in Paris. 

Tuesday the 27th- It was time to say goodbye. It rained a little, which was fitting. I wasn't too upset to leave because I knew that I would be back. So I carried my bags, ready this time, clear across Paris and onto the plane. 

On September 6, 2013 I wrote an essay for my academic class on essays about Paris. The topic of the essay was "Identity."

http://christenes-dailies.blogspot.com/2012/09/wri-2730-essay-2-america-is-my-country.html

Last summer on July 1st, 2012 I wrote an entry about Paris just for the hell of it and how much I couldn't wait to go.  

http://christenes-dailies.blogspot.com/2012/09/wri-2730-essay-2-america-is-my-country.html