Paris, la ville de l'amour

Sorry this one took a while, I'll explain why in the next blog just to clarify any FB rumors I may have spread myself. (I hate it when people do that but having moved to NL, that seems to be the best way to notify all parties of the events in my personal melodrama that is my life)

(Now I will spare some of the juicy details in an effort to avoid creating too much envy for my French-speaking mother but I can't hold out too much!!)

To add to the experience, please listen to this while you read...

Koen and I took a last minute trip to Paris last weekend which I like to think was a goodbye trip for the two of us considering our present circumstances. And luckily my parents generously and graciously donated some extra money for the hotel/hostel in the center of Paris by Republique as a late birthday present pour moi. I say generously because this place ended up costing big bucks (at least for a girl of lesser means such as myself). And I quickly realized that wasn't because of the hotel itself but the location. This place was a dump... But I'll get into that later...

The journey..
So Friday afternoon, Koen and I hopped on the Thalys which is an extremely fast train that travels from Amsterdam to Paris Nord in about 3 hours. It was luxurious compared to the Sprinter I usually take to work everyday and the best part: there was a bar! Now the train has about 2 stops between where we boarded (Rotterdam) and Paris so once we passed the first and second stops (Antwerp and Brussels), I had to go check it out. I ended up buying myself a little mini bottle of white wine and a bottle of Leffe, a Belgian beer for Koen. This is where I can say its the small things in life that count.... and after my bottle of wine, I felt ready for Paris!

Our hotel...
After we finally arrived, we bought our tickets for the metro and started walking towards the tunnel. The funny part about this was our metro was there right when we walked up and usually I'm quite hesitant about hopping on immediately due to my fear of the doors closing and the metro driving away with half of me hanging out causing me to lose my legs and spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair...yes I've thought this through! But today my inner city-slicker came out and I just ran in leaving Koen shocked and unknowing of what to do. Luckily he caught on and followed suit and ran in with me just as the doors were closing..and in Paris, these doors aren't quite as forgiving as the doors in Rotterdam. They literally slam shut!

We got to the hotel pretty quickly and when I walked in, I immediately assumed we had accidentally booked at a hostel rather than a hotel. There was one guy working at the desk who barely spoke English (as anticipated). He gave us our keys and told us that whenever we left, we had to return them and if we came back after 1 am, they would be left in a drawer in the middle of the lobby for us to pick up..ummm what??? And then before walking away, he discretely asked if we would be joining for breakfast for an extra charge of 6 euros..So we asked what was included and the times...all he said was, "Yes, there will be egg, bread, juice, coffee. And I have to know now because I have to go buy in the morning" HAHA it was the cutest thing. So we gently declined with the idea that tomorrow we'd find a cute cafe and have croissants and  fresh fruit served by a Parisian with a little chef hat...Ok maybe that wasn't what Koen was thinking but a girl can dream right?

So we said goodbye to the receptionist and walked over to the elevator...and oh my god. This elevator was made for luggage alone, I swear. It said on the door that "3 persons" would fit inside but I refuse to believe it. Determined, we somehow managed to squeeze Koen, our big bag, and myself inside the migdet elevator while probably giving the receptionist a good laugh. Claustrophobia was starting to set in as we finally reached the fourth floor where our room was located. We opened the door to our room cell and despite the cute French "Toile de Jouy" patterns everywhere, I'd say it was only two times bigger than the elevator! There were two windows without screens overlooking the streets which was nice but this room was clearly just made for sleeping only. Oh and I forgot to mention, there was no separate shower/toilet for our room. You had to pay 3 euros for a coin that you inserted into a box to begin your shower. It said on the wall that you had 10 minutes to shower although I think because we were visiting in the off season, we had unlimited showering time. phew...? Needless to say, we wasted no time there and set out to begin our exploration.

First night...
We met up with my old highschool friend, Justine, who's parents happen to live very close to our hotel. We  checked out a few bars together while Justine effortlessly ordered in French for us and I must say French is a little easier on the ears than Dutch despite my lack of understanding of it. We went to the gay district in Le Marais and went to one of the coziest bars where we caught up on what we'd done over the past 3 years. Then we walked over the Seine river to the Notre Dame to see how it was lit up at night. One of the most beautiful things about Paris (and Justine said it too) is that everything is lit up at night and looks absolutely gorgeous. You can see the Eiffel tower from almost everywhere and its stunning. While we were standing in front of the Notre Dame, this man proposed to his girlfriend (inconveniently by a trashcan I might add) which was so cliche but I loved it. They weren't kidding when they said it's the city of love or the city of lights, whichever you prefer.

Saturday...
Saturday we started off at a French cafe near Pompidou, the largest museum for modern art in Europe. This place actually looks more like a construction site than anything but eye-opening nonetheless. We ordered our French breakfasts and enjoyed watching the Parisians walk by with their baguettes in one hand and cigarettes in other... I'm not even kidding either. Everyone was carrying a baguette which is why I believe I could easily live here and fuel my newfound passion of French bread by visiting the local markets on a daily basis. Nomnomnom..
After eating, we basically just walked aimlessly around for a while and ended up back by the Seine passing by the Palace of Justice and the Notre Dame. It was very crowded in these areas and Koen was busy spotting groups of American students which sadly ending up being chunky kids in football sweatshirts talking really loudly to their chaperones who were carrying fanny packs. What is it with us and sticking out like sore thumbs in Europe? Nevertheless, it was nice to hear a familiar accent!
We made our way through some cute little streets and pretty, yet unrecognizable buildings until we reached Jardin du Luxembourg. I was instructed that this was a nice place to relax and people-watch but unfortunately, the temperatures were a little too low to enjoy these things for a long period of time. We did, however, see a bride and groom taking pictures in the park which was the first of many we saw in Paris.
So we took our pictures and kept going, walking toward the main event, le tour eiffel!
In an effort to meet all expectations of a trip to Paris, Koen and I stopped off at a grocery store to pick up some wine, cups, plastic knives, brie, and a couple baguettes. Clearly, this was the exact same intention of the American girls in front of us in line and when we were up next, the girl insisted on just giving us a plastic knife rather than buying a whole pack..they must be used to it :)
With our French goodies, we walked to the park by the eiffel tour and set up our little picnic. It was picturesque really. We were in the park right beside the water fountain and the Eiffel tower was literally right in front of us! We snacked on our bread/brie and drank our wine in a speedy manner in an effort to keep warm. This was probably one of my most favorite parts about the trip. Just sitting, relaxing, and taking in the view!

Our picnic....

We decided that it wasn't the best day to go up in the tower, so we walked over to the Arc du Triomphe next. The confusing part about this landmark is how to actually get to it. Surrounding the building is a huge, roundabout with cars going at all speeds and there are no lanes. It reminds me of the toll roads in northern Virginia but worse! A great deal of the tourists were just making a run for it and running through the traffic when there was any sort of gap. Having said that, we thought this was our only way so we did the same and ran into some trouble in the street with a few cars making our run a little awkward as we had to stop and go a few times...we quickly  realized that there was a tunnel on the other side where you could safely go back and forth. Durrrrr....So we took the safe route back and walked down Champs-Elysees which is a major shopping street that never ever ends....can you say Heaven?

Saturday night...
All the walking wore us out the first day so we stopped in at the first cute and people-watcher friendly restaurant nearby. We ordered some beer and burgers and played it safe. The only part was buying a beer in that area was far from safe! Koen ended up paying more for his beer than his burger which for me was hilarious because he ordered a liter of beer and it took him a while to drink it! You live and you learn I guess.

Later, we walked back over to the Seine and looked at all the buildings while they were lit up. This was the first time we noticed that the Eiffel Tower sparkled at night when it was lit up. We were very far away but it was just something you don't miss. It sparkles for about 5 minutes every hour when it gets dark...Soo pretty!

Sunday...
We got a headstart on the day Sunday and got some breakfast at another cafe. Our goal was to go up in the Eiffel tower but stop by Bastille and check it out first. In Bastille, we walked through the market for a while until I set eye on a kiosk (which gave me flashbacks of the North Carolina State Fair) selling Beignets!! Koen ordered a chocolate beignet and I got a sugar coated one..These were sooo good and so worth the calories...because I totally count those anyways!  (See facebook pictures if you don't believe me)
We finished these up and soaked up the sun a little bit on a bench. Sun was something that was lacking a bit on our trip and in Holland of course, so setting apart time for some vitamin D was much needed.

Although this didn't last long because we were too anxious to go to the Eiffel Tower and see the view. We got to the base of the tower and although the line was long, it only took about 45 minutes to get to the front. You have to go through a metal detector and everything even for going up the stairs. Then there, at the bottom of the stairs, without any liquid courage in my system and a fear of heights, my knees began to buckle. Now the stairs are completely safe and enclosed with guard wire so even if you wanted to, you cannot fall from the tower. Unfortunately this did not put my fears to rest. I had to look at Koen or something at eye level the whole time I was going up while tighly clutching the railing. I mean there were even little kids of four years old running past me on the stairs...and thats when I began to realize how truly pathetic me and my fear were. :) I did this for about 20 minutes until we reached the first level and the shakiness went away slightly. The view was beautiful and there were even restaurants and gift shops up there. We walked around the whole first floor and you could just see everything! All the places we'd walked to were in clear site and appeared to be closer than I thought.

Then round two was upon us me. I had to look at Koen again until we reached level two which had a view that made even more things visible and smaller. It's funny because at the bottom, the first and second levels don't really look that high up. Unfortunately, the top was closed so we couldn't go all the way up. Part of me wanted to but I think my legs would have said no...so it worked out nicely. The descent was a bit of a drama as well considering when you have to go down stairs, you HAVE to look down which is the hardest part about being afraid of heights. So my advise is if you have this problem, just look at stationary, eye-level objects and you too, can survive! Ok just kidding, but it was a lot of fun!

After the Eiffel tower, we went to the Opera to skype my family at the Starbucks. On the way we made a pit stop in the Mickey D's and got some Happy Meals. The highlight of this shameful trip was that on the menu in France you have "Le Sandwich" which consists of I think was fried chicken, lettuce, and brie. It was soo cute!! I regret not ordering it but then again cheeseburgers are guaranteed to be good!

Sunday night...
We went back towards the Pompidou area and found a restaurant called, Le Petit Marcel where we ordered Happy Hour drinks. I tried the Kir that my mom recommended which wasn't bad, I must say. Kir (cocktail) is made of white wine and creme de cassis. We stayed there a while and ended up getting little appetizers of cheese, bread, and fries. Camembert and Chevre I think were two of them..The place was so friendly and this where I realized that Frenchman really are charmers. The old man, who I believe was the owner, was so nice to us and seemed genuinely happy that we had chosen his restaurant while the other waiter was winking at the women as they walked into the restaurant..HA! When we filled our stomachs with as much cheese and bread as they could bare, we headed back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes before going back to the Eiffel tower with our champagne.

We decided to take the metro considering it would probably take us an hour or two to walk there. Once we'd arrived, within a few minutes, the tower began to sparkle...perfect timing!!! There were lots of couples and families together with their cameras waiting to catch the spectacle. We walked around a bit before finding a bench by the fountain again and popped open our champagne---how classy are we??? Without a doubt, this was the best night yet! We just sat and talked and an hour later, the tower lit up again!!

Monday...
The next day, we got up early again and did our souvenir shopping and got breakfast at the same place we ate the first morning because it was so good! Then it came time to get our bags and leave :(
It was not so quick going back because we had to change trains in Brussels, Antwerp, and again in Roosendaal (which is in Holland)...I always hate going back but it was nice being back in Holland again. Holland is really starting to feel more like home to me...

Overall, it was everything I'd hoped it would be and I'm very happy I got to see Paris with Koenita. When I come back to Holland, there will be many more trips like this to come!