Paris - à nouveau!

The weekend of August 5-7, I went to Paris. Again! As soon as Jacqueline started reminding me about how good the pain chocolat and nutella crepes would be, I knew that I would be on that bus heading to Paris.

Friday afternoon, Jacqueline and I left for London. We did a bit of shopping and looking around. Then we went to Wagamama. We weren't sure what we were getting into, but man, am I glad we went. Wagamama is a Japanese restaurant--with delicious food and huge portion sizes. Jacqueline and I both got different dishes and split half and half. Rob joined us half way through. While he ate, we finished off our meal with one of the most delicious cups of hot chocolate I have ever had.

my food. jacqueline's food.
deliciousness.

We finished eating, and then headed off for the Victoria station to take the overnight bus to Paris. Jacqueline and I had a great sleeping arrangement going on...and then we were rudely awoken by the presence of light. Everybody had to get off the bus while we were on the ferry. We got on the ferry, found some couches, and tried to sleep some more. We couldn't. It was desperately uncomfortable, and furthermore, it was freezing.

horribly uncomfortable on the ferry.

We got to Paris, bought our metro passes, and then went to our hotel to dump our luggage somewhere. We freshened up in the lobby bathroom. Needless to say, the pictures taken this day were not our most flattering.
But it was okay, because we were heading out to conquer Paris.

It was a lovely morning. Cool and just a little brisk. Paris was as wonderful as I remembered. Ahhh. We went to a bakery to get breakfast. Pain chocolat....mhmm. French pastries=unbelievable. Lauren said, "I think I just cheated on my boyfriend...with a pastry." I'm telling you, it's possible.

After we'd eaten, we walked to the Louvre, taking the scenic route--past Notre Dame, next to the Seine, through the city streets. Once we got to the Louvre, we split up because we all had different things we wanted to see. Because I'd already seen most of the highlights of the Louvre last time, I just visited a couple of my favorite pieces...and then just wandered down the galleries, taking my sweet time and having a lovely time. Just like last time, I could have spent all day in that museum.

lots of art.
special mention: Dum dum want some gum gum.

We did a lot of walking around, just experiencing the atmosphere. As far as new things go, I caught a glimpse of the Parthenon and walked through the Luxumbourg gardens...good stuff. But mostly...we didn't do lots of tourist-y things.

We did some shopping, lots of browsing, some eating, lots of close-your-eyes-and-smile-ing. It was great. It felt good. Even being on the metro was good. Felt like real Paris, ya know?

That night we went on a bike tour of Paris. Definitely an adventure and definitely worth every euro. It wasn't so much a tour as it was an experience. The tour guide didn't talk that much, just showed us around. And that was fine--I liked it better that way. We did make a stop for some ice cream. I'm not kidding when I say the ice cream was delicious. It was so delicious that Brendan and I went to get some again the next day. Then it started to rain. And Parisian raindrops...like I've said before, they don't kid around. We got soaked.

At first I was like "Bummer. Oh dang it. Ah, why?"
And then I decided I was going to love it. So I gave up with trying to keep my poncho hood up and just got wet and liked it. And you know, it made the experience 100x better.
Not to sound like a total Les Mis nerd...but you know how Eponine sings,

In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight...

Well, it really was like that. We were biking along the Seine River, and the sidewalks were glistening with rain, mist was rising off the river--and everything about it was just beautiful. Plus, I could pretend to be Eponine.

pit stop by the Louvre as the sun was setting.

Our bike tour also included an hour long boat tour. That was fantastic as well. We got a free drink, so I sat on a chair on a boat, surrounded by amazing people (Brendan, Jacqueline, Rob, and Allison), drank my Orangina, and watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle. Not to sound completely cheesy and sentimental...but...that was a good moment, and I wouldn't have had it in any other city but Paris.

on the boat tour.

Once we got to our hostel, we were completely and totally exhausted. Overnight busses sure are convenient, but they're not the best for a full night's rest. I could have been sleeping in a five-star hotel that night, for all I knew once my head hit that pillow.

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The next day was Sunday and we all met in the hotel to head for church. 

Before church though, we wanted to see the Pompidou Museum. Not only did the museum open later than we thought it did, there was also a line. We had less than a half hour in that place, and it was SUCH a COOL museum. If I ever go back to Paris, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be there again. At least it was free though, right? (Most museums in Paris are free the first Sunday of the month).

Church in Paris, France, was pretty legit as well. It was a neat ward--lots of cultural diversity, and it seemed to be very unified. Not going to lie though, I was still pretty tired though. Like...struggling not to fall asleep during church tired. I didn't fall asleep. Victoire. 

After church, we sat in a park next to a fountain and ate bread and cheese. Let me clarify, hot French baguettes and boursin. In other words, lunch was so so so good that each of us ate an entire baguette by ourselves in one sitting. 

Brendan wanted to spend a bit of time in the gay quarter. Almost everybody else wanted to see the D'Orsay, but since I'd already seen it, I hung out with Brendan. We went into a few stores and then dipped into a gay restaurant (gay bars aren't until nighttime) for an appetizer. Our waiter was perhaps the most flamboyantly gay man I have ever seen. He was wearing a bright purple tank under a zebra-striped onesie type deal. He was also super dramatic and very funny. Even though I was stuffed already from lunch, I thought the food was still good, and it was just kind of a fun experience. As we left, the waiter grabbed us both and said "Kisses, boys and girls, kisses!" He kissed both of us on the cheek. Super funny. 

inside the restaurant.

After that, Brendan and I took the metro back to the Latin quarter. We wanted to catch the organ concert at Notre Dame, but we were a little early. So we went back to the ice cream place we had discovered on the bike tour, and had an ice cream. It was perfect timing to head back to Notre Dame after that. We got inside just after the music had started. It was amazing. Something about an organ just belongs in a cathedral. It was so powerful that I could almost feel it resonating within me.

picture of Notre Dame--just because it's so beautiful.

We listened to the organ for a little over a half hour before slipping out again. We headed for Montmartre. We walked by Moulin Rouge. Oh, there's scandal in the house!

moulin rouge.

Brendan and I did a lot of exploring in this area. We knew that as long as we kept going uphill we'd end up at Sacré-Cœur. So we just kept walking and looking, and sure enough, soon enough we were at the top. We sat on the steps of the basilica and just looked out over the city of Paris.

wandering around Montmartre.

After a bit, Brendan had to leave to meet up with a friend, and I had to meet up with the rest of our group. I used the Paris metro by myself for the first time and survived just fine (it's actually really easy to use). I found everybody, and we went out for dinner. I ate some really delicious lasagna. Not French--I know--don't hate me.

dinner!

After dinner, we all got nutella banana crepes. I've decided this is the best possible combo for a Parisian crepe. It's incredible. Really. Tryyy it.

So good. So full. So happy. 

Afterwards, we booked it to the metro in a mad rush, desperately trying to make it to the Arc of Triumph. We finally made it to the right stop, got on the escalator, and headed upwards. The escalator was uncovered for the last half--and we were shockingly and instantly drenched in less than five seconds. It was raining ridiculously hard. We couldn't take the escalator back down so we just had to keep ascending the escalator in the pouring rain, desperately trying to find our umbrellas. It was a struggle. I'm pretty sure we looked really dumb. I don't know though, I'm just judging from the muffled laughs coming from the Parisians who passed us. Great moment. 

We decided the Arc of Triumph wasn't worth it, so we headed back into the metro station and RAN to catch the next train. We didn't catch it. We were running late for our overnight bus, so we were beginning to sweat it a little. We got on the next one, made it to the bus station, stood in the longest line, and boarded our bus in the nick of time. 

We couldn't sit together because we were so late...so we sat wherever there was an empty seat. I got to sit next to a savory French character. His friends told me I shouldn't sleep while I was sitting next to him. I laughed (ha ha...ha?). Although he cussed out the man in front of him for leaning his seat back, he didn't bother me at all though. If you don't count the fact that he kept up a very lively, rather loud conversation with his friends until the wee hours of the morning. 

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't too bad. Especially when you consider the fact that four of our friends got stuck in Paris when their bus left without them...and had to buy new tickets. Good bye 150 euros, it's been nice.

Or the fact that two more of our friends were delayed for 2.5 hours when somebody on their bus got caught up in customs. 

As it happened, we got home with plenty of time for me to get to my 9:00 class. 

I stayed awake in said class. 

I'm still proud of that one.