Je Suis allé à Paris!
The weekend started with a very early Friday morning (4 am to be exact) in order to catch our 7 am flight out of Florence. Luckily we were able to find good flights out of Florence rather than traveling to Rome, Milan, or Pisa to hope on a plane. Not only were we flying out of Florence, but we also got to travel through AirFrance giving us a great break from RyanAir and Vueling.
Our short flight to Charles De Gaulle airport was filled with beautiful sunrises and views over the Swiss Alps. When we landed in Paris we grabbed large and extra-strong coffees and attempted to work the metro. While I knew Paris was a big city, I did not expect it to be as immense as it was. Our ride on the metro to our apartment included 4 line transfers and total of 45 minutes. For the weekend, we decided to rent housing through AirBnB rather than a hostel. This website lets you rent out people's apartments for a couple of days at a time and are sometimes even cheaper than hostels. Getting our housing through this website was probably one of the best decisions we made all weekend.
After the metro ride we went to find our apartment. Even though it was a short 2 minute walk from the metro stop, we somehow managed to get a little lost. After finding the apartment, we dropped our stuff off and took off for the day.
First stop: Chipotle. For those of you who may not be educated on this subject, Chipotle is a very, very delicious chain restaurant in the United States that we have all been deprived of in Europe. However, there happen to be three of them between London and Paris. We planned our route out, took the metro to the Chipotle (continently by the Eiffel Tower) and basked in our happiness while we ate.
After lunch, we began to make our way to the famous Eiffel Tower. Weeks prior we had made reservations to go to the top of the tower. As we waited for our reservation, we walked around the park, took classic touristy pictures, and just stared at the tower because we couldn't believe what we were witnessing. As 3:30 pm rolled around, we lined up to go to the top. Never in my life have I been afraid or nervous of heights, but this fast paced elevator shooting to the top when it looks like nothing is supporting you, can be a bit nerve-racking.
When we stepped out on top of the Eiffel Tower I truly got to see how big Paris was. From the top you could see anything you wanted to see. We were blessed with amazing weather and blue skies, letting us really take in the views. After purchasing the typical Eiffel Tower keychain on our way down, we were onto our next attraction.
Once we safely returned to the ground, we went on the hunt for the Arc de Triumphe. Luckily, the large building is kind of hard to miss and after wandering around the city for a little bit and using the French I still remembered to ask for general directions, we ran into it. The amazing arc sat in the middle of a large round about and we watched the sunset behind it for a perfect picture. Obviously after a day of attractions, macaroons are needed. The original Laduree was conveniently located right by the Arc and we made our way there to get our box of perfection.
After getting home relatively late, we walked to the corner of our street and found a cute French restaurant to eat at. I was given the best mashed potatoes I have ever eaten and went home to eat some of my macaroons...overall, Friday was a pretty successful day of attractions, public transportation, food and somehow remembering some French.
Saturday was another early morning. We woke up at 7:30 to get our day going (another perk of renting the apartment for the weekend is that we could buy cheap breakfast food and cook there in the morning without wasting time to go somewhere). We hopped on the metro and headed towards the Louvre. Much to our surprise, we get out of the station and BOOM there was a Starbucks. While I am not a huge Starbucks fan at home, I don't normally get the option to order a very large to-go coffee in Europe. Once again, my French came in handy as I approached a non-English speaking worker at the Louvre. After asking how to get tickets and where to wait in line (in French), I learned we could get in for free if we were students.
We entered the Louvre and headed straight towards the Mona Lisa. I can officially say I saw the Mona Lisa...along with the other 40 people surrounding the picture with selfie sticks. We wandered through other beautiful exhibits before hunger took over. We went outside and got our other typical tourist pictures in front of the Louvre and searched for lunch.
Following my amazing omelet, our touristy attraction day continued as we headed towards the Lovelock Bridge. While I didn't exactly have a significant other to attach, I figured that Emma and my family would do. After searching the lock filled bridge for a good 15 minutes to find a place that we could try and hang our locks, we finally found a perfect spot. I locked my family and Emma on the bridge and they are now stuck with me forever, sorry guys.
Our last attraction of the day was the Notre Dame. Being the tired tourists we were, we walked there, took a picture, and went home. By the time we got home we had about an hour before we met friends for dinner by the Eiffel Tower. We went to a quaint French restaurant with live music and amazing food. After dinner we rushed over the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkle on the hour. We were a tad rushed and ended up running to get there in time but it was most definitely worth it.
Sunday was our last early morning of the trip. We woke up to make our way towards the Musee d'Orsay featuring all the impressionists. As I walked through exhibits and rooms filled with Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanne and more, I was truly in awe. A painting that had been hanging in my bedroom since I was born was also in the museum and I cannot describe my emotions when I saw it.
After the museum, we headed towards Marais, an artsier part of Paris by our apartment. We went to a brunch place called Twinkie. Along with gluten free bread, this place was one of the best meals I have had since I have been abroad. They make homemade gluten free bread there with AMERICAN coffee...two things that are hard to come by in Europe.
The owner also asked where we were from and when I said Wisconsin she said that apparently the French love Wisconsin because it is a fun word to say...
However, the amazing meal continued as we walked down the street to a crepe place, a French staple. As everyone ordered their crepes the workers were confused as to why I was not ordering one. When I, in french, explained that I was allergic to gluten, they responded that they make gluten free ones. After I frightened them with my screaming reaction, I watched them make the crepe right in front of me and layer it with nutella and strawberries. I think I could eat that crepe 100 times over again...
Overall, I learned that I can still kind of speak french, Chipotle and Starbucks are still good here and you can get free water at dinner, unlike Italy.
Au Revoir!
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