Paris started off a little hectic. The second I set foot in the Ciampino airport in Rome I knew I had left my passport hidden in my closet in Rome. I bolted out the door and to a line of taxis, holding out my Blackberry to show the first driver the address and frantically saying "rapido, rapido. no documento". He eventually caught my drift and though he didn´t know exactly where to go he took off. When we got to my apartment (rather a block away where we have taxi's drop us off and pick us up since you can't actually drive down Via Livio Tempesta) I told him to wait two minutes and I ran as fast as I could, luggage in tow, to get my passport. I made it back with a half hour to spare before the gate opened but it was a little too close for comfort, and a lot more money than I wanted to spend before even getting to Paris.
The flight wasn´t that bad. I bought a scratch ticket for two euros on board hoping my luck would turn around. I didn't win anything. From the airport in Paris (Beauvais...avoid it if you can) you have to take and hour and a half bus into Paris where you can catch the metro or grab a taxi. Teryn and Courtney took a taxi to their hostel and I headed toward the metro because I was staying with my roommate from Maryland, Katie. Little did I know I´d be needed that two euro I spent on a scratch ticket because the metro ticket machine only took coins or European credit cards. Just my luck that I had neither. I got to practice my Italian, begging a middle aged Italian woman who was on my flight for 50 cents to complete the two euro and ten cents I needed. An hour and fifteen minutes later I was off the metro and at Katie´s building. But she told me the wrong code to the door and eventually I snuck in behind some residents. For whatever reason I couldn´t call her from my phone but she could call me. I wandered the building waiting for her to call so I could find her room...she was napping. Eventually I made it and that was enough excitement for the night. We shared her twin bed and decided to get a good night sleep before all of our site-seeing in the morning.
Our first stop was som breakfast which for me included a ham and cheese omelet and some orange juice, and for the first time since leaving the US, bread and butter. We next made our way to the Louvre where I couldn´t help but being the worst tourist, commenting how things are so much different than how The Da Vinci Code portrayed them. But Robert Langdon would appreciate my attention to detail. The Louvre was a great attraction but I would equate it to Da Vinci´s Mona Lisa: something you have to see when you come to Paris but far less exciting that the hype surrounding it.
After the Louvre we rode the metro to the Champs Elysee where we meandered in a few shops, but neither of us really in the mood to buy. We walked all the way to the top and posed for some photos in front of the Arc de Triumph. On our way back down the road, we stopped in Laduree, a very famous bakery/restaurant that was mentioned on Gossip Girl. We waited in line for close to hald hour to purchase eight macaroons, but nothign else has been more worth the wait. If you ever go, I highly suggest the vanilla, raspberry, orange-passion fruit and chocolate macaroons (if you are a chocolate person...they are very rich). I´d also suggest avoiding the coffee macaroons. We tried to savor each one as much as we could but all eight were gone in hree minutes or less.
Our next stop was the Eiffel Tower. Again, pop culture failed me and it wasn't how I pictured it due to the MaryKate and Ashley Olsen movie, Passport to Paris. Nonetheless, it was pretty impressive. I probably took 20 picturs of the Eiffel Tower alone, some with us in it but mostly just the tower. We didn´t climb up to the top. The lines were outrageous and we were there at peak time.
Our second to last stop of the day was Muse D'Orsay which I enjoyed much more than the Louvre. It´s a much smaller museum but it houses hundreds of famous impressionism pieces. My favorite impressionist is Edgar Degas. I did an art project on him in middle school and really loved all his depictions of ballerinas. Of course, Monet´s paintings were beautiful and very cool to see up close. I also saw a number of pointalism pieces that I really liked.
We went back to Katie´s dorm to get ready for the night. We went to a little brasserie with one of her friends from Paris and her guest from home. I ordered steak frites. It wasn't the best steak frites I've ever had but when in Paris...
Katie and her friends in her program (mostly girls as it is an art program) have several male French friends that they go out with. After dinner we went to a restaurant that one of them works at for a drink. It was called Leonard Cafe, I've been told after Leonardo Da Vinci. I ordered a drink called "The Leonard" that was delicious. I don't recall all the ingredients but tequila was involved and it was an orangey-pink color. Katie and I's sorority sister, Jen, met us there after needing a break from her travelling companions. We proceeded to a bar with her local friends where we had what Jen and I consider a truly French night out.
The next day we woke up and planned to meet Jen to go see Versailles, a good distance outside of the city. I remember seeing the movie Marie Antoinette and it surprisingly depicted Versailles quite accurately. The rooms were really lavish and I found myself taking tons of pictures, even if I didn´t know what I was capturing. My favorite room was Marie Antoinette's bedroom. After walking around for a couple of hours, and talking up Laduree to Jen, we stopped at the small shop inside Versailles and bought a box of 15 macaroons to share. We ate them on the metro ride back to Paris and they were still just as delicious.
Once in Paris we made our way to a little organic restaurant that Jen´s guidebook swore by but of course with our luck it had shut down. We detoured across the street and it was a good decision. I had french onion soup for the first time and it was amazing, and surprisingly very filling. After our pick-me-up lunch we took the metro to Marmote to see Sacra Couer. We climbed to the top of the hill (do you see a trend in my travels across Europe?) and got to see some beautiful panoramic views of Paris, despite the ensuing rain.
We got back on the metro and headed for a large department store where I purchased a large travel Longchamp for a fraction of its cost in the US. It´s too bad it was so late in the day because the area was ladden with shops where I surely would have found things to buy. Oh well, guess it saved me money.
Alas the day ended and we headed back to Katie's dorm after we, guiltily, ate KFC for dinner. I set my alarm for 5am so I could make my flight on time. I had such little time in Paris but I saw so much. A couple more days would have been nice but I guess I'll just have to go back.
