Ah, Paris. Where to begin? It was so much fun and so surreal. Everything there was so large, old, and more opulent and lavish than anything I have ever seen. I found the atmosphere of Paris to be something of a slight contradiction. It is tremendously romantic, with couples canoodling and the buildings exuding a warm peach glow, thanks to the smog and sunshine. But at the same time, there is an undeniable harshness to the city; people don't look at one another on the street and they walk around with sullen faces. I almost felt like it wasn't okay to be happy. And, Paris is really dirty.
However, Paris had its lovely little quirks too. I could always hear the soft hum of a motorcycle. I always saw someone jogging-no matter the hour. And 95% of the time they were jogging slower than I was walking...I have no idea how they got anywhere! Shops closed in the early evening--how refreshing to see that the French value life outside the workplace. Also, there were condom dispensers on many streets; Paris is definitely a city of safe love.
Natalie and I visited so many places I don't even think I can remember them all now! Notre Dame was cool inside and the view from the Sacre Cœur was ah, out of this world! The Musée d'Orsay had many a cool piece of art and is really neat because it is an old train station. I lack the ability to adequately describe Versailles, so I won't bother trying; it is just something you simply must see with your own eyes. We saw the Arc de Triomphe: massive. The Tuileries and the gardens at Luxembourg were both beautiful when frozen and snow-covered; I can only imagine how exquisite they are when the flowers are in bloom! Oh, and of course we visited the Eiffel Tower, which is surprisingly large, and we took half a billion photos. Always fun.
The Louvre was rather overrated. However, it was amazing to see hallways lined from floor to ceiling with artwork, and the architecture/moldings of the Louvre itself were far and away the most beautiful things to look at. The dungeon area was pretty neat-o too, and haunted. But, at least now I can say I've seen the Mona Lisa--which let's get real, is why everyone goes there anyway.
My favorite place we visited was L'hôtel des Invalides. Back in the day it was a veteran's hospital, but today it is the museum of the French Army...yawn. BUT, once again, the building itself is gorgeous, and at night the chapel glows gold. The chapel is absolutely stunning inside as well, and it holds Napoleon's extremely large tomb.
I loved being able to speak the language. I remembered way more French than I thought I would, and I loved understanding tidbits of conversations and making sense of the noise. But mostly, I'm glad I knew French so I could order our daily dose of bread from the local boulangeries. Two baguettes, four croissants, and two pain au chocolate. Dip any of that in Nutella and you are in heaven. Natalie and I lived off that for our entire stay, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. Seriously, fresh bread--croissants no less!--is one of the best things ever. Just thinking about all that deliciousness has made me hungry, so now I gotta go eat!
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