I suck at maintaining my blog... honestly half the hurdle is just that it takes forever for pictures to load to Blogger, and then by the time they're loaded I've lost my motivation. Plus, I want to do everything justice, which results in me taking it all waaaaay more seriously than I should, and I procrastinate because I don't want to put in the effort.
Anyway, November's trip was Paris, to visit the wonderful, fabulous, French-speaking, English-teaching Caitlin Miller!
First impressions about Paris:
1. It is NOT overrated. You know how some cities are so romanticized that when you finally see them it's almost a bit of a let-down because they're not as magical as the image you created in your imagination? Well Paris is quite possibly the most-romanticized city in the world, and it's for good reason. It's beautiful. Also, it might've helped that I've never romanticized Paris in my head. I actually had very little desire to even see the city until Caitlin studied abroad there and I saw her pictures. So the fact that my expectations (positive or negative) were minimal allowed me to view everything lense-free. (I'm learning this is the secret to the best travel experiences, btw. Go somewhere for which you have almost zero expectations, and you're sure to find reasons to love it!)
2. There is an incredible energy to the city. London is all hustle and bustle, Amsterdam has a laid-back vibe that kind of rolls, and Prague feels like you're in some sort of fairy dust tourist cloud. Paris has an overload of sounds coming from every direction, pedestrians flooding tiny one-way streets, a shop with macarons every other block, and a constant flood of conversation from the people sitting/standing outside enjoying an espresso or a beer, even in 10*C rainy weather.
3. Maybe it's because I'm used to Germans, but I don't think Parisians are all that rude. Sure, they're not overly friendly, but my first impression is that they just typically mind their own business and don't see the point in smiling at strangers. There was even a middle-aged French man who asked if we were lost when he saw our map. When he discovered we were American, he proceeded to tell us how much he loved New York and Washington, D.C. I think a lot of Americans expect American manners when they travel. You're in for a rude awakening.
I have several tips for having the best experience possible with locals. I've scattered them throughout so you can't just skip all the writing. (ha! sneaky!)
Night 1: A picnic on the Seine! Really, it's all about the Seine. And those bridges.
Notre Dame waaay late at night. Like, so late that they had turned off the lights that normally illuminate it.
Tipforbeingagoodtourist1: You are a guest in their home. As touristy as a city may be, it is still a living, breathing, metropolis where people go about their daily lives. Respect this. Pay attention for culturalisms, such as whether you're supposed to wait for people to exit the train first before boarding, or whether jaywalking is acceptable.
Tipforbeingagoodtourist1: You are a guest in their home. As touristy as a city may be, it is still a living, breathing, metropolis where people go about their daily lives. Respect this. Pay attention for culturalisms, such as whether you're supposed to wait for people to exit the train first before boarding, or whether jaywalking is acceptable.
The view from Caitlin's apartment. You can see Sacre Couer in the distance, to the right of the big blue square building.
Did I mention her apartment is quintessentially Parisian? 5th floor, teeny tiny elevator that barely fits three people, dormer windows, slanting roof, all of it. And some might call it small; I call it cozy.
See the spire on the far right? That's the back spire of the Notre Dame. Walking distance to the Notre Dame, how cool is that?!?
I insisted on stopping at just about every macaroon shop that I saw. This is from the very first day, at about 10 AM.
Yayy, tasty macarons!
Tipforbeingagoodtourist2: Learn basic phrases in the language of the city/country you're visiting. I will never forget the time when Sarah and I were in Prague on our first morning. We bought some bagels at a place recommended by our hostel, and the lady serving us was really one of the most unpleasant cashiers I've ever had the misfortune to meet. As we were leaving, I went back inside the shop and asked her how you say "Thank you" in Czech, and the change in her persona was instantaneous. She told me how to say it, helped me pronounce it, and even cracked a smile! That experience taught me just how more welcoming people are when you put in a little effort. The French are notorious for having little patience with people trying to learn French (they almost always switched immediately to English), but I can at least say that I always tried to order in French. A cheerful "Bon soir" (good evening) goes a long way.
(FYI, "thank you" in Czech is Děkuji. (Dyekooyih.))
The neighborhood near Caitlin's place is full of wonderful little streets like this.
Day 1 started with a market. I love markets. So much to see and smell and taste, and I had to restrain myself several times from buying my 15th or 16th scarf.
I love markets, but I hate the smell of fish. There was far too much fish around for my liking.
Look at the itty bitty birdies!
The market ended at the Place de la Bastille, site of the former Bastille prison. You may know the name from Bastille Day, July 14, which is the French National Day and commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution with the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789.
I couldn't resist the churros avec chocolat chaud.
Too yummy.
Up until this trip I was doing really well with what I called No-Sugar November. I hadn't had any added or processed sugar for three weeks (I was actually reading all labels and not purchasing anything with added sugar). Needless to say, that went out the window in Paris.
Did I mention how beautiful the Seine is?
I must admit that I'm a little disappointed that fall colors don't turn brilliant red in most of Northern Europe. It's much more all on the gold end of things. But it's still beautiful.
We walked past the Notre Dame several times, but no sign of Quasimoto. Btw, seeing the inside of this fabulous famous gothic church is totally free. Learn something, Westminster Abbey.
Sorry, I really don't have any information to give you. I didn't have Rick Steves along for this trip.
I really wanted to see the Love Lock Bridge, even though I know the weight of all of the locks is actually breaking the bridge itself. I was disappointed to see it all covered over with plywood.
Not exactly the most scenic view.
For those of you who don't know, it's a tradition (and maybe more of a "trend" in recent years) to engrave yours and your lover's name on a lock, lock it to a bridge, and toss the key in the river below. I must say, I can see why this is the bridge where the tradition is so popular. It's a beautiful spot where the Seine comes back together after having split around two islands, and it could symbolize the joining of two lives into one. That's my theory, anyway.
It got really cold, wet, and windy on Sunday, so we found a cafe with outdoor heaters and drank espresso out of teeny tiny cups while eating the most delicious fatty French Onion soup.
"You know I'm all about that Seine, bout that Seine, no Nile. I'm all about that Seine, bout that Seine, no Nile."
We had an awesome impromptu photo shoot at this spot. I suggest you go check out Facebook for the full spread.
This original arabesque was a bit of an accident, and then it just sort of became a theme.
When I flew into Paris, I could see the Eiffel Tower, clear as day, from my airplane window. My exact thought was, "That's the freakin Eiffel Tower!!!"
The Ferris Wheel in the background was at one end of the Christmas Market on the Champs-Élysées. I found it interesting that there was a Ferris Wheel in view of the Eiffel Tower, considering it was the construction of the Eiffel Tower at one World's Fair that inspired the construction of the Ferris Wheel at the next.
Monday started with a walk to the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise, basically an awesome old cemetery where lots of famous people are buried. Most of the famous people were French, but I did recognize Chopin and Gay-Lussac. Caitlin and I took a while to remember why Gay-Lussac was famous: he was the one who said that, at constant volume, the pressure of a gas is proportional to its temperature. Miss Chemistry Degree probably should've known that immediately. ;)
On the way to the cemetery we passed this giant egg that Caitlin finds particularly funny.
It was apparently a gift of friendship from Hungary. Because what says friendship better than a giant painted Easter Egg?
Here is aforementioned awesome cemetery.
I think fall is probably the best time of year to see it: gloomy but not too cold, and just the right amount of color from the trees.
A LOT of the tombstones were completely worn away, more so than other cemeteries in, for example, Ireland. The oldest date we could read was the early 19th Century, but I've been able to read dates from the 17th Century before. It dawned on me later that this is probably because the cemetery is in the middle of a city that went through the Industrial Revolution in a big way: acid rain probably accelerated the weathering of the stone.
The only tomb I knew well enough to take a picture: Chopin
Lots of walking warranted a stop at one of the best-known fallafel places in Paris, L'As du Fallafel (Ace of Fallafels). We were too ravenous to stop and take a pictures.
I ventured out later in the day to check out Sacre Couer. Got up right at the beginning of twilight, when they turned on the lights.
Fun fact: I figured out while walking up Montmartre that Moulin means "windmill" (yeah a lot of you probably already knew that already). But the cool part? That's a cognate to German AND English! The plural of mill in German is Mühlen.
More deeeelicious macarons! These flavors were vanilla and salted caramel. I ordered in French and the woman actually responded in French, not English! (She quickly switched to English when she saw my totally blank stare, however)
Caitlin had to work on Tuesday, but luckily Anya, her roommate and fellow English teacher, did not! So we did some exploring.
Paris tip: if you're under 25, you get a discount on the entrance fee to climb the Arc de Triomphe! I believe it was only 6 euros, for a gorgeous view.
The underside is just as beautiful as the view from the top.
Looking down the Champs de Elysees. You can see the Ferris Wheel in the distance if you squint realllyyyy hard.
Dizzying spiral stairs to get to the top. 284 stairs.
And now for some strange panoramas from the top, where my panorama app made it look like the bicycle spoke streets were parallel...
I've never been obsessed with the Eiffel Tower, but I just about freaked out when I got this close in person. I mean, it's the freakin Eiffel Tower!
Interesting mix of very graceful and hyper industrial.
You can find a million pictures of famous monuments online. Always make sure to get people in the shot too!!
And, if you're brave enough, a cheesy dance picture.
Parisian streets reminded me a lot of streets in Milan, except without the wires criss-crossing everywhere. But they're all about 5/6 stories tall, close together, and of similar architecture (Paris to Paris and Milan to Milan, not Paris toMilan). Parisian streets are MUCH prettier.
Guide books can be super helpful. For example, Anya's Lonely Planet led us to a delicious lunch, where we ate tartines, soup/salad, wine, and coffee for a total of 15 euros each. Not bad for Paris.
Wine from delicious lunch.
More delicious macarons! Here we have coffee and pistachio.
And the last stop, the Jardin du Luxembourg. Unfortunately, it was in full winter mode when we arrived and all of the plants were looking pretty sparse.
As Anya said, the candid shots are sometimes the best. I'm strangely fond of my one-legged jumping picture.
And with that picture, I take my leave. It pretty much encapsulates my excitement the whole time, from exploring a new city, eating delicious food, and spending time with one of my favorite college friends. It was a great weekend trip, and I was honestly a little bummed to come back to real life.
Au revoir!
