FINALLY

I can say I've been to Paris. Only after being in France for a whopping two years!

Friday night Doriane and I hopped off the train to meet with her boyfriend, Thomas. We went straight to the bar for an aperitif. What was supposed to be just a drink turned into a whole night of fun, laughter, and free drinks. Who knew you could find a decent bar that sells 2 euro pints of beer in Paris? (Apparently a ton of young hip 20 somethings knew about this hot spot as the place was crowded like a tin of sardines).

We stayed in Thomas' sister's apartment in Montmartre. This gave me the luxury of seeing the Moulin Rouge on a hoppin' Friday night. I also passed by Amelie's famous cafe every morning as I left to walk around the city. It was all so weird to be in the city that my undergraduate French cinematography class focused on, to see the sights that I had to do reports on in high school, and to just plain take it all in for the first time ever.

Oh la la

Saturday morning (ahem afternoon) we walked all around Montmartre, the 7th, and the 5th arrondissement. Thomas provided me with a lot of fun facts as we walked around the city. For example, in the restaurants and cafes, all of the servers wear the traditional dress (suspenders, dress pants, and sometimes even the full tuxedo gear!). All along the restaurants caricature artists try to seduce tourists to pay the hefty price for a life lasting portrait. The souvenir vendors on the street can get arrested by police (saw it in action twice) but the street performers have all legal rights to do their thang.

Walking around Montmartre

Sacre Coeur

View of Paris

Crazy street artist who made himself famous by YouTube

Takes skill to keep a soccer ball spinning on a pen while climbing up a lamp post....takes some skill.

No I didn't wait in the 5 hour line to climb to the top. i enjoyed the architecture from down below!

Ecole Militaire

I love books, don't you?

Notre-Dame

Chillin' with the Devil

Mass Time

DiVinci Code anyone?

Opera

We walked all around Saturday night (which was a great fix for the hangover). We were trying to find a place to buy wine, cheese, and bread to eat along the Seine. Instead, we found a sick interactive bus stop (which had job announcements, quizzes about Paris, and lists of nearby restaurants). It was fun to just walk around with no sense of direction, taking in the city without the normal touristy hour by hour schedule. We had another late night by Pompidou. Our legs were definitely happy to hit the hay after all that walking.

Pantheon

Had to throw a stereotype in there somewhere.

Jardin de Luxembourg

For all you romantics out there

Sunday we walked even more. Unfortunately the clouds above us couldn't keep the rain from falling down. We walked through all of the major gardens, took a look around the Arc de Triomphe, and had a lovely little ham and baguette sandwich before our last drink together as a group. I wish our train was delayed until next week. I don't really want to do a comparison between Lyon and Paris having only been in Paris for a mere 48 hours. BUT, I must admit that the level of inspiration is higher than heaven. People just dare to try things that are unfathomable. The place is always busy. i don't think you could really tell the difference between the amount of cars out and about at 12 pm and 4 am. You have to keep your eyes peeled open and your ears clean in order to absorb all of the life around you. I hope to come back to explore more! Merci Paris!