Un Grand Voyage à Paris

A musician drawing a crowd on the street

Catherine, Rachel and I left Barcelona on Thursday after class. It was rough anxiously waiting through the last hour and a half of Literature, with my packed bag sitting at my feet ready to go. We took the train to the airport, and then, after an easy trip through security and non-E.U. ticket-stamp lines, we were ready to go. We shared a pain au chocolate and a mini bottle of rosé in the airport terminal, just to start off our Parisian adventure right. The trip was really easy! Ryanair (budget airline that flies all though Europe--our roundtrip airfare was 24 euro) is quite the money-grubbing little company though, I suppose to re-claim some of that cash that isn't being spent on our tickets. What I mean is, there are hidden fees everywhere! You don't get your stamp before the gate--fee; your bag is slightly larger than permitted--fee; you have to check a bad but didn't pre-check it online--fee; your name is spelled wrong on your ticket--fee. You get the picture...but it doesn't stop there! As soon as you get on the plane, instead of the standard safety checks and on-board welcome, the flight attendants make their rounds for the entire duration of the flight selling everything from calenders, to pre-paid cell phones, to electronic cigarettes, to lotto tickets! It was certainly an interesting flight, but comfortable and uneventful and got us there on time, which is what matters.

The view down the coast of Barcelona as we head for Paris

Being a budget airline, we got flown into the middle of nowhere--Beauvais to be exact. I don't know if you can call it an airport, one room with 3 doors leading to the tarmac where you climb up the airplane steps to get onboard. 

We got there after dark, and easily found our 15 euro shuttle bus to take us the hour and a half to Paris. Once in the city, we found the closest metro stop, and headed to our hostel, Montclair. The hostel was an extremely pleasant surprise! It was in a really cute neighborhood close to Monmantre,  one block from the metro stop. When you walk in, there were dozens of kids our age playing foosball, making dinner in the kitchen, reading, on the computer, and just hanging out. The front desk gave us our sheets and we went up to our room. We had a private 3-bed, room with our own bathroom--almost unheard of in a hostel, especially for what we paid! 

I called top-bunk!

We settled in, and then decided to explore the neighborhood a bit. We were nowhere near the city center, and where we were was pretty sleepy, but we found a few cute cafes and sat down for a drink before going to bed early for a full next day of exploring. We woke up early and took the metro to the Champs-de-Elysee area. We got off and before finding the main shopping avenue, we found a cute area of Christmas vendors selling lots of trinkets and sweets and a beautiful park filled with towering trees and their colored leaves drifting down in the breeze. 

Loving the fall colors

Getting so excited for Christmas!

We walked the length of the Elysee and checked out the Arc de Triumf. We were so close to the Eiffle Tower, and could see it in the distance, so we headed there next. The fog was gradually lifting all morning, and by the time we got to the base of the tower, it had cleared enough that we could just barely see the tip of the monument. 

Our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tour from a distance

Getting closer...

Token Shot.

We sat down on a bench to admire the view and a group of adorable little kids walked past us, each holding on to the t-shirt or dress of the child infront of them so that they didn't get lost. Then the teachers let them free and they ran in circles for a good thirty minutes playing tag and making farting noises with their mouths, I was thoroughly entertained.

After deciding to make our way over to the Louvre (I had been before and was hesitant to go again, simply because it was kind of expensive, and there is so much in Paris to see--but it was getting dark, freezing cold, and none of us had cell-phones so it would have been too hard to meet up afterwards) we passed by a few bridges before crossing the Seine and I was determined to find the statue that gave the electrical shock which turned my Dad into burnt toast on that really stormy day. Well I found it! 

Walkway littered with fallen leaves

Look familiar?

This one's for you Dad...

I got a lot of stares for this one...

We continued on to the museum, and stopped by the big beautiful garden in the Tuileries

where a giant fountain provides a lovely spot to sit and take a break

 

Happy as a clam

A man sitting next to me was enjoying himself as his winged friends happily picked the birdseed from his fingers. In efforts to be polite, I looked at him and pointed to my camera as to  ask if I might snap a photo. He waved his hand to say yes, and after I took this picture and he looked up, gave me a giant toothless smile, and said "Merci, cinq euro sil vous plait" and then gave a hearty laugh and continued to toss the seeds. 

The Louvre of course is beautiful, but after a long day of exploring, and arriving there at about 4 pm, the last thing I wanted to do was pensively admire and analyze ancient works of art. So, Catherine and I walked around the museum, pointing out which portraits of fat, hairy, ugly royalty we thought were cute---they all lost by the way---and sitting on a bench in a room full of dusty wall tapestries giggling out the window at people walking below us. 9.50 euro well spent! 

Inside the Louvre...some albino chick?

All the hype for the Mona Lisa...for those of you who haven't seen it in person, it's the little tiny thing behind the glass case on that far wall.

I'm sorry, I just don't get it...

That night we walked around our neighborhood again and found a cute restaurant before heading to a quaint little locals bar on a hill for a glass of chardonnay while watching to friends and acquaintances greet one another.

The next morning we headed to the Moulin Rouge area. Of course we had to take the typical tourist shot of the dance hall, even though it is the most underwhelming sight to behold if you are any fan of the movie. 

But we kept walking through the neighborhood and found the Saturday street market. We slowly traipsed through the rows and rows of potent cheeses and aromatic flower stands, past the booths of crocheted hats and hand-made jewelry until we found ourselves in a  completely new neighborhood several streets down. 

Here, we found even more markets! I bought a knit sweater and hat, and Rachel found a leather jacket for 10 euro, and as we continued down the endless cobblestone streets of clothing vendors and men and women selling warm baked goods from carts, we found ourselves taking a much-needed rest in a small, whole-in-the-wall Thai restaurant for lunch. I would like to tell you in was delicious, but frankly it was horrible...who would of thought France wouldn't be the best spot for authentic Thai food? Well, it wasn't a complete waste, because I got to watch Rachel barrel through an entire plate of frog's legs covered in sweet-and-sour sauce. To quote the girl: "tastes like chicken!"

We wandered through the surrounding area for a while and as we made our way up to the beautiful Sacra Coeur, we passed through some really cute neighborhoods, with apartment buildings that look out over the city...I can only imagine! (....oh wait!)

The cemetery of Monmantre

When we made it to the Sacra Coeur, it was great because I went up the backside, not the stairs to get there, and you get to see such a quaint, beautiful area with old painted buildings, and artists with their painting displays (don't mind the hundreds of tourists jammed into these "quaint" 10-ft across streets elbowing you, stepping on your feet, and accidentally singeing you with their lit cigarettes). Anyways, once we got to the top, the view was breathtaking! It was the clearest day we had since since arriving, and we could see all across Paris.

Cute cafe on our way up the hill

Un crepe au nutella sil vous plait?

There was a man who sung just like Bob Marley singing (guess what?) on the steps, and everyone gathered to hear him with the beautiful backdrop.

That night, Saturday, we wanted to see what the nightlife in Paris was like. So, we looked online at the Hostel, and chose what was listed as the Number 1 dance club in the city. We got ready and took the metro across town to the spot (which was actually a docked boat out on the Seine that was all lit-up!), only to find a live rock band playing all night. It was cool to stand and bob our heads for a few minutes, but we knew there had to be something better, so I asked a group of teenagers sitting on the steps where the best place to go is, and they gave us a metro stop where they said there are lots of fun spots. Well, we get to the next metro stop about 30 minutes later, and find a really huge, fancy club with a huge line out the door because it doesn't even open for another hour. It was obviously really popular, and would have been really fun, but the man at the door said cover charge is 20 euro and then it started to rain: a clear sign from the heavens that Meghan needs to be saving her money. So what do we do? Go to a jazz club down the street, order hot-cocao, and then head home to play foosball and hang out before going to bed early-ish so that we could have one more full day of Paris sights. Good night in my opinion.

The next morning we woke up to a drizzly, chilly day and made our way to the Notre Dame. It was beautiful, and being a Sunday morning, we were lucky enough to watch mass as we walked through the cathedral. We heard the most beautiful two singers who had solos among the choir. It was such an amazing experience to watch service in the Notre Dame!

After, we walked through the little park/courtyard, and then found a sweet little cafe for a break from the cold and ordered some coffee and warm sandwiches. After, we wandered, just like every time I step foot outside, and found the Jewish neighborhood filled with great bookstores, art galleries, and falafel houses that seemed to be the most popular lunch spot in all of Paris!

The smells were incredible as we walked through the streets, and we stopped at a Patisserie for some yummy pastries, and ate them at we stood in a crowded doorway and watched people pass. The afternoon was flawless, and we finished it up by walking down below on the walkway by the Seine, right on the water. We walked all down the river singing the Beatles' "Michelle" and taking a gazillion photos of everything that caught our eye. We came back to our Hostel right as it got dark, and for the third night in a row, we bought a baguette and Boursin for dinner and enjoyed it in our room. 

This morning we woke at 5:30 to get to the bus stop, and had an easy and on-time trip back home. The weather here is much more conducive to outdoor exploration and general wandering, and I look forward to the coming weekend spent here in my city. Thanksgiving in 3 days will be spent with my program in a rented Hotel on La Rambla with enough turkey, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie to feed 50! Then, in 10 days a group of 7 of us are headed to Berlin for 5 more days, and I will once again be home to California in less than a month. I have having so much fun here that time is fleeting, but I am soaking up every second!