Paris!!!
Alright so Paris. Paris was amazing. Ridiculously gorgeous city (so pretty it should be illegal), beautiful people, delicious food, great vibe and a language that pretty much made me melt EVERY time I heard it. So yeah, can't say enough about Paris.
With that in mind, let's move forward. Ashley and I arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning. We grabbed breakfast with Pierre (he had met us at the bus station) and then I promptly went to sleep. After waking up, we all hung out at the guys' (Constantin and Pierre's) apartment, just relaxing, drinking and talking. That's what I mean about the vibe being so great. I loved that everyday after work/school, people just sat and talked. Then a bunch of their friends came over and we all went out to a creperie and I had the most delicious dang crepe of my life. There were mushrooms and bacon and cheese... it was sooo good. After dinner the group of us went out to a bar where they were playing the election results on the TV (it was daytime in America). Everyone in the bar found out that we were American and BAM we were celebrities. Good times. Then we went to another bar where Ashley and I were dancing around and basically being us. It was a cool night, a great introduction to Paris.
The next morning I woke up super late (as I am wont to do) and everyone told me who had won the election... Obama! It was good because I would not have wanted to be American in Paris if McCain had won... we would have been assaulted :) We spent the day relaxing (and by day I mean afternoon, when I say I woke up late... I mean it) and Pierre cooked a delicious lunch for everyone, with a perfectly cooked (i.e. rare) steak. God I miss steak. Then the guys took us on a walk around Paris. It was so much fun we saw the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge and Galeries Lafayette and the Opera and other cool stuff. Then we went to Notre Dame and I wandered off by myself because I was the only one of the four of us who hadn't been there. It was soooo great. Then we went out to one of the most amazing dinners of my life. We're talking numerous courses, delicious wine, live pianist, sparkling conversation, Ashley and Constantin acting silly... the whole 9 yards. It was fantastic, couldn't have been better.
The next day, Ashley and I had a little adventure. She had the whole day planned out for us so I was just along for the ride. I love that. She took us to the cemetery where we saw the graves of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde among others. Then we went to a museum/school where we got lost (accidentally went in the school instead of the museum) and then I saw Foucault's pendulum!!!!!! I'm a nerd and I don't care. It was awesome. They had little metal rods set up that would get knocked down in succession due to the pendulum's interaction with the rotation with the earth. I don't want to get too nerdy on you and explain how the pendulum works, suffice it to say: I was enthralled for a while. Then we went shopping for the guys (whiskey and cigarettes, naturally) and went home. That evening we stayed at home and some friends came over and we all just joked around and partied and had a great time.
The next day I went on an adventure. I had broken one of my contact lenses the night before and so I set out to find a new one. I had the pleasure of wandering around Paris, not knowing a word of the language, to try to find and optician who would sell me the contact lenses I needed. After much strife, I managed to locate a very helpful girl who spoke English and we worked everything out. I ended up buying the wrong prescription (because I'm ridiculous), but it was good enough for government numbers. Then I wandered myself over to the Louvre for a little solo excursion. It was raining so I got in tout de suite and I stuck in my ipod and basically walked around the place for 3 and a half hours. I had sooo much fun and I saw the Mona Lisa about 5 times. I kept going back. Then I grabbed lunch at the cafe IN the museum (I just think it's cool that I ate lunch in the Louvre). Afterwards, I met Ashley and Constantin to go on a visit to the catacombs. Ashley was really excited about them. They were cool... not completely my cup of tea but it was still a fun experience. Got kind of boring after a while really. Bones are bones, I always say (well actually I don't always say that, but I should). That evening we went to a bar and met a bunch of the guys' friends. I had a lot of fun that night because I met a bunch of their girlfriends and I was able to talk to them for a while. They were sooo cute and sweet!!! I really loved everyone that I met while I was there, and I miss all of them. All of the girls kept saying that they didn't speak English which was hilarious because they totally did. Meanwhile, I can't even form a single sentence in French. Haha.
The next day Constantin had to leave to go to a wedding. So Pierre, Ashley and I all went to the Eiffel Tower! I was really excited and Pierre and Ashley were just laughing at me because they had already seen it, and probably thought my level of excitement was a little ridiculous anyway. It was so cool though because the tower was lit up in my favorite shade of my favorite color (blue). Then we went out to another wonderful dinner. Steak tartare... yummy!!!! I also had creme brulee... but it wasn't quite as good as my dad's. After dinner we all went home and hung out for the rest of the evening.
The next morning, Ashley and I had to get on the plane to go back to Rome. Our week was fantastically, ridiculously, stupendously amazing and I just loved every minute of it. I need to learn French though. That's next on the list...
Some pics:
Pierre, Ashley and I at our post-Eiffel Tower dinner.
The three of us at the Eiffel Tower (yes, my pictures are out of order)
Yay, I know my mom will like the picture :)
There were some contests to see who could drink the fastest... but I lost because I spilled on myself (could it have gone any other way???)
Pierre and I on our walking adventure!
Constantin and I in the catacombs
Oscar Wilde's grave, what a cool guy.
At a bar, late into the night. Haha.
Why yes, we ARE adorable.
This picture makes me laugh.
Pretending to be scared in the catacombs.
Oooohhh, the Louvre.
Pretty picture that I took of the street from inside the Louvre.
Venus and I go way back.
Ho ho, the Mona Lisa!
FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM!!!! Sweet!
The first nice dinner that I was telling you about, with the pianist. Such a great night.
Notre Dame, loved it!
From left: Pierre, Constantin, Ashley, Enguerrand, and Paul. Lotsa fun!!!
With that in mind, let's move forward. Ashley and I arrived in Paris on Tuesday morning. We grabbed breakfast with Pierre (he had met us at the bus station) and then I promptly went to sleep. After waking up, we all hung out at the guys' (Constantin and Pierre's) apartment, just relaxing, drinking and talking. That's what I mean about the vibe being so great. I loved that everyday after work/school, people just sat and talked. Then a bunch of their friends came over and we all went out to a creperie and I had the most delicious dang crepe of my life. There were mushrooms and bacon and cheese... it was sooo good. After dinner the group of us went out to a bar where they were playing the election results on the TV (it was daytime in America). Everyone in the bar found out that we were American and BAM we were celebrities. Good times. Then we went to another bar where Ashley and I were dancing around and basically being us. It was a cool night, a great introduction to Paris.
The next morning I woke up super late (as I am wont to do) and everyone told me who had won the election... Obama! It was good because I would not have wanted to be American in Paris if McCain had won... we would have been assaulted :) We spent the day relaxing (and by day I mean afternoon, when I say I woke up late... I mean it) and Pierre cooked a delicious lunch for everyone, with a perfectly cooked (i.e. rare) steak. God I miss steak. Then the guys took us on a walk around Paris. It was so much fun we saw the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge and Galeries Lafayette and the Opera and other cool stuff. Then we went to Notre Dame and I wandered off by myself because I was the only one of the four of us who hadn't been there. It was soooo great. Then we went out to one of the most amazing dinners of my life. We're talking numerous courses, delicious wine, live pianist, sparkling conversation, Ashley and Constantin acting silly... the whole 9 yards. It was fantastic, couldn't have been better.
The next day, Ashley and I had a little adventure. She had the whole day planned out for us so I was just along for the ride. I love that. She took us to the cemetery where we saw the graves of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde among others. Then we went to a museum/school where we got lost (accidentally went in the school instead of the museum) and then I saw Foucault's pendulum!!!!!! I'm a nerd and I don't care. It was awesome. They had little metal rods set up that would get knocked down in succession due to the pendulum's interaction with the rotation with the earth. I don't want to get too nerdy on you and explain how the pendulum works, suffice it to say: I was enthralled for a while. Then we went shopping for the guys (whiskey and cigarettes, naturally) and went home. That evening we stayed at home and some friends came over and we all just joked around and partied and had a great time.
The next day I went on an adventure. I had broken one of my contact lenses the night before and so I set out to find a new one. I had the pleasure of wandering around Paris, not knowing a word of the language, to try to find and optician who would sell me the contact lenses I needed. After much strife, I managed to locate a very helpful girl who spoke English and we worked everything out. I ended up buying the wrong prescription (because I'm ridiculous), but it was good enough for government numbers. Then I wandered myself over to the Louvre for a little solo excursion. It was raining so I got in tout de suite and I stuck in my ipod and basically walked around the place for 3 and a half hours. I had sooo much fun and I saw the Mona Lisa about 5 times. I kept going back. Then I grabbed lunch at the cafe IN the museum (I just think it's cool that I ate lunch in the Louvre). Afterwards, I met Ashley and Constantin to go on a visit to the catacombs. Ashley was really excited about them. They were cool... not completely my cup of tea but it was still a fun experience. Got kind of boring after a while really. Bones are bones, I always say (well actually I don't always say that, but I should). That evening we went to a bar and met a bunch of the guys' friends. I had a lot of fun that night because I met a bunch of their girlfriends and I was able to talk to them for a while. They were sooo cute and sweet!!! I really loved everyone that I met while I was there, and I miss all of them. All of the girls kept saying that they didn't speak English which was hilarious because they totally did. Meanwhile, I can't even form a single sentence in French. Haha.
The next day Constantin had to leave to go to a wedding. So Pierre, Ashley and I all went to the Eiffel Tower! I was really excited and Pierre and Ashley were just laughing at me because they had already seen it, and probably thought my level of excitement was a little ridiculous anyway. It was so cool though because the tower was lit up in my favorite shade of my favorite color (blue). Then we went out to another wonderful dinner. Steak tartare... yummy!!!! I also had creme brulee... but it wasn't quite as good as my dad's. After dinner we all went home and hung out for the rest of the evening.
The next morning, Ashley and I had to get on the plane to go back to Rome. Our week was fantastically, ridiculously, stupendously amazing and I just loved every minute of it. I need to learn French though. That's next on the list...
Some pics:
Pierre, Ashley and I at our post-Eiffel Tower dinner.
The three of us at the Eiffel Tower (yes, my pictures are out of order)
Yay, I know my mom will like the picture :)
There were some contests to see who could drink the fastest... but I lost because I spilled on myself (could it have gone any other way???)
Pierre and I on our walking adventure!
Constantin and I in the catacombs
Oscar Wilde's grave, what a cool guy.
At a bar, late into the night. Haha.
Why yes, we ARE adorable.
This picture makes me laugh.
Pretending to be scared in the catacombs.
Oooohhh, the Louvre.
Pretty picture that I took of the street from inside the Louvre.
Venus and I go way back.
Ho ho, the Mona Lisa!
FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM!!!! Sweet!
The first nice dinner that I was telling you about, with the pianist. Such a great night.
Notre Dame, loved it!
From left: Pierre, Constantin, Ashley, Enguerrand, and Paul. Lotsa fun!!!
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