Paris, je t'aime!

I just returned from an absolutely amazing trip to Paris. I wish I was still there!

Left Nantes at noon on Saturday and got into Paris Montparnasse around 2:15. Took the metro to Pigalle, and found my hotel without a problem. It was a really small room with a bed, sink, and table. Bathroom was down the hall. A little noisy as I was right next to the staircase and people were walking up and down at all hours of the day and night, but it was fine. For 40 euros a night, with breakfast included each morning, it was a decent deal.

After I put my luggage in the room, I headed out to find some pastels that my uncle wants. I mapped out two stores in Paris that carried them according to the web site, but both of them were no longer in business. Bummer.

Went to the Champs-Elysee after the pastel no-go, and felt a huge sense of relief. Nantes is a nice town, but Paris is just so busy and crowded and full of life...and I needed to be in that environment after so many months here. I'm ashamed to say that I found a McCafe and bought a frozen chocolate drink (can't remember the name exactly)... and it was fantastic. I really have tried not to go to the kinds of places I could find in the States while I'm here, but it was a nice taste of home.

I also saw the stalls where merchants are going to be set up for the Christmas market in a few weeks. Made me even more excited for my mom's visit!!



I headed back to Pigalle after that and found a salad for dinner at a nearby grocery store. I took a short nap, then read some assignments for school for a couple hours after that. Finally, Celina, Joe and Sarah showed up around 11:30.

I brought a bottle of Muscadet to share with them so that they could have a taste of Nantes, and then we headed out to see more of Pigalle. We found a crepe stand as we were walking down the street, so Joe, Sarah and I each got one. Delicious!! We saw the Moulin Rouge, and then found a bar where we had a few beers before calling it a night around 2 a.m.



Next morning we were at breakfast at 8:30 so we could get an early start to our day. We started at Champs Elysee and went to l'Arc de Triomphe. It never seems that big until you're actually standing next to it.



From there, we walked all the way down the Champs Elysee toward the Louvre. We didn't go in, as they were going to go today (after I'd left to go back to Nantes). We did go into Musee D'Orsay though, and saw some nice works of art there. My favorite by far is Toulouse-Lautrec, and they had several pieces of his on display.

We finished there around lunch time, and we found a restaruant not too far from the museum where we had lunch. It seemed touristy, but the food was actually fantastic. Celina, Sarah and I each ordered a Croque Madame, plus Sarah ordered some french onion soup, and Joe got a cheeseburger. We were all very satisfied after that meal.

Our next stop was Notre Dame, which is another beautiful French church. It always amazes me how old all of the churches are here, and yet they're still in great shape. It is a little disconcerting when you see machines where you can get tourist medallions like you would find at the Eiffel Tower, though.





Celina decided to go home and take a nap after Notre Dame, but Sarah, Joe and I made our way to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. I think Sacre Coeur is one of the most interesting churches in Paris, and I personally like the inside of Sacre Coeur better than Notre Dame.



We wandered around and saw all of the artists in Montmartre, and while I saw some pieces of art that I liked, the prices were quite high. oh well.


We took a break at a cafe not too far from Montmartre and had some beer and wine. Then we made our way to the biggest flea market in Paris... Marches au Puce. It's huge, and very crowded, but I found a great present for my brother there!! I also tried on some boots, but none of them fit me very well. C'est la vie I suppose.

We took the metro back to our hotel, and after a brief break, we headed back out to the Champs Elysee. I thought the lights would be turned on for the holidays, but not yet. We did get to see the Eiffel Tower lit up and sparkling though-- that was great!!



Headed to the Latin Quarter to try and find a good restaurant for dinner, but all of them were ridiculously touristy. We had been walking around for about 30-45 minutes looking for a restaurant, and finally I just found a group of police officers and used my limited French skills to ask them for a "good restaurant close to here that's not too expensive." They replied (in French), that there aren't any good restaurants in the area that aren't expensive, but they pointed us away from Latin quarter and told us we'd have better luck with good food in another area. We found the place they were talking about, and we struck gold with a restaurant called "Les Cinoches." It was pricey, but we all had absolutely amazing meals.

Celina had an appetizer of fried eggs covered in cheese and mushrooms and an entree of macaroni, cheese and ham. Joe had an interesting appetizer of mussels in a cream sauce with pureed broccoli and then scallops with a side of polenta as an entree. Sarah had some type of artichoke wrapped in pastry dough as her appetizer, and duck with ginger dressing for her entree. I chose a pumpkin soup served over creme fraiche as my appetizer, and had chicken in a pot of warm broth with peas, green beans and capers. Delicious!!! We all split a dessert called Pur Chocolat, and that's all it was. A circle of melty chocolate. Amazing.

After a very satisfying dinner, we walked down the street to a piano bar and sang along as the pianist played "Au Champs Elysee," "Imagine" and "What a Wonderful World." We ordered a bottle of wine, and our waitier brought us an extra half pitcher for free. It was a perfect end to the day.



I left Paris around 11 this morning, and got back to Nantes at 1.

I have a lot of work to do in the next three weeks, but I'll have it all done before my mom gets here and then I can just relax and enjoy a much needed vacation!