La Ville Avec Mon Coeur

"The City With My Heart"

I. Am. In. Love.
I was honestly not expecting to feel this strongly about Paris. I knew it would be a great experience and that finally seeing the Eiffel Tower would be amazing but to actually LOVE the city, no. Maybe that's because I took french for 12 years and I was kind of sick of it by the end. I never mastered it and so I guess Paris had that feeling of failure associated with it. But lucky for me that did not stay true. The minute we arrived I felt something change inside me. I became overwhelmed with feelings that are almost indescribable. It was almost as though I had returned 'home.' I had always thought I'd feel that when I got to Italy, and that's not to say I don't feel a wonderful connection with Italy, but Paris was just... different. And it seemed the minute I got there all my years of french came rushing back to me. I couldn't stop translating every little thing in my head. I have to admit that was pretty exciting because I never really thought I retained too much of the language.

The first full day we were there we joined a "free" tour (you tip at the end). Our tour guide had a very french name, Arnaud. No he was not from Paris, yes he was from California haha. Arnaud was probably one of the best tour guides I have ever had. This was the job he lived for and absolutely loved doing which came across through every piece of information he gave us. We literally went alllll around the city from Notre Dame, to the Louvre, to the Champs-Élysées. When we came across the Pont Neuf we learned some fun history. Apparently King Henry III was the one building it and he came up with an interesting way to decorate it. One night he threw a big party and throughout the night he had artists going around making portraits of all his guests that he would send to them the next day. However, the next morning when he saw all the portraits he decided they were too funny so he saved them and eventually had all the faces carved into the side of the bridge and the surrounding walls. You can clearly tell there was a lot of wine going around that night.

Apparently this guy was about to throw up lol

After our tour we had a nice meal then went back to our hostel briefly to get ready for mass at NOTRE DAME! I have to admit I was pretty pumped about being able to go to mass there. While I couldn't understand most of what was said at mass it was still so awesome to be there. Here's a photo of the Cathedral after mass (last picture I took before my camera started malfunctioning on me :-\ )

Then of courseeee we had to wander over to this little structure of steal, La Tour Eiffel, perhaps you've heard of it? It was pretty darn cold that night but the minute we got in sight of that glowing tower I completely forgot. Breathe.Taking. That glistening yellow against the deep black night sky. Oh how I miss it. Once we actually reached it Hazel and I kind of stopped in pure amazement. While standing underneath it something brought me back to reality. A young boy and his father were circling around us as he learned to ride a bike... underneath the Eiffel Tower.... really? I want his life haha. Even with the temperature slowly dropping I could have sat there all night just staring up at it. It is really the perfect example of how something so mundane, like a bunch of steal molded together, can be something so beautiful and bring such joy to others.

Day 2 we made our way to the Louvre. We didn't spend too much time there but we did see Napoline's Apartment, a couple other random sections, and of courseee the Mona Lisa. If I ever make it back to Paris I will definitely go again and try to spend more time looking at all the paintings and sculptures. Afterwards we went for lunch and since our motto this trip was to be adventurous I ended up getting a duck and gizzard salad & no I had no idea what gizzard was when I ordered it haha. It wasn't half bad though and I'm glad I didn't stick with the usual chicken and veggies. Oh and I got an authentic french crème brûlée for dessert, soooo delicious! Here are a couple pictures.

My gizzard & duck salad

After lunch we made our way down the Champs-Élysées to find a highly raved about sweets shop, Laduree. Once inside we were surrounded by little cakes, pastries, chocolates, and lots and lots of macaroons! This was basically my heaven. Hazel and I both got an assortment of macaroons (after I waited an absurd amount of time for someone to serve me since they kept skipping over me! so worth it though). We even came back another day, Hazel got more macaroons & I got a fig and cranberry cupcake. My mouth is watering just thinking about it :) And that night we took a tour of Montmartre (the Parisian red light district). We got to see awesome views of the city and even where Van Gogh used to live & the restaurant Picasso used to work at as a teenager.

Rose Petal, Chocolate, Raspberry, Black Forrest, & Caramel

We started day 3 off with a casual climb up Le Tour Eiffel, nbd. I have to admit I was bumming a little since my camera was no longer working but I couldn't really complain since I was at the top of one of the most famous, most romantic buildings ever. Now most people would think the worst part of climbing the tower would be the wait to go up, well you would be sadly mistaken. Actually trying to leave was utter torture. I think we waited over an hour. I was not pleased especially since we wanted to jump on a train to Versailles as soon as possible so we wouldn't lose too much time. Once we finally made it to Versailles we got to enjoy the palace & the gardens. I wasn't too impressed with the palace only because it was more of a museum rather than a representation of how it used to be. The gardens, however, were gorgeousss! Hedges rising high over your head while you walk down the many different paths, beautiful sculptures and fountains in every section, and it didn't hurt that the leaves were changing into lovely shades of yellow either. I didn't even mind when it started to rain a little and the ground became mud haha. When we returned that afternoon we decided to do a little shopping along the Champs-Élysées. I ended up getting a very European looking skirt & a new dress :) Life was good. It got even better when we found the legit cutest Parisian restaurant to have dinner in.  Hazel & I were in a true fantasy land as we ate our amazinggg meals in what seemed like one of those Parisian restaurants from a movie with atmosphere and all. Louise was it's name and it was owned by the sweetest, little old lady that there ever was (Louise perhaps lol). She would check up on us every once in a while throughout the night and I even got to practice my french a little with her. I had ratatouille and let me tell you, one of the best meals I have ever had. We couldn't decide on which dessert to get so we asked for her advice and she told us to try her daughter's homemade chocolate cake. Oh. My. Gosh. Pure deliciousness. The whole time we were there we couldn't stop smiling and saying over and over how much we loved our lives right then. Haha it was a fantastic night for sure. I only have one picture of the gardens that I took with my iPod and none of Louise's unfortunately but here it is:

Day 4 we didn't have too much time before our flight but we did have enough to go walk around, grab a crepe and sit by the Louvre people watching. Definitely a perfect way to end our time in Paris. I can't wait to go back again some day, hopefully it doesn't take me 30 years. Je t'adore, Paris<3


vie, l'amour, le bonheur