Paris, Je t'aime!

Paris, you really are something else.

You are a city someone can visit time and time again and you never leave them without something to do. You entertain. You effortlessly sparkle and shine. You are beautiful. You are timeless... and because of these things: we love you.

Leaving Paris as the last city to visit was some great planning and strategy on our part. As ridiculous as it may sound, arriving there at 6:00 in the morning after a 9-hour bus ride from Amsterdam was a huge relief. I felt like I could finally exhale and somewhat unwind. Although my body was slowly starting to give out on me (specifically my legs) along with my mind, I knew I had to just push through the next couple of days until our return to Italy.

Speaking of the bus ride, I have to say we lucked out in what could have been a horrible situation (i.e. 9 hours of being pinned to your seat from the chair in front of you being reclined all the way back...because that has happened to me before, people near you with a non-stop talking disorder, terrible smells, a baby crying, and the list goes on). I cannot tell you if any or all of those things existed on our bus because I spent the entire 9 hours obnoxiously stretched out in the last row of seats sleeping like I've never slept before. That's right, I did not have a seat or even two seats to myself, I had a ROW people. It was fabulous. I could feel the bitterness and jealousy just swooning over me as I laid there with my face mask blocking the only distraction that kept me from falling asleep. And just like that, I was out.

I awoke from my deep sleep to the Eiffel Tower calling my name and a French man on a vespa waiting to take me to the Ritz. And then I really woke up from my fantasy-like dreams and saw that we were standing at the bus station. Half awake, we stumbled to the metro so we could get to our hotel, check in, and get another hour of sleep.
Our first day mainly consisted of walking, site-seeing, pictures, and a lot of oohing & aahing. We started off being greeted with this view after walking out of the metro station...

We walked along the river, stopping at whatever caught our eye (i.e. Saint Chapelle) and eventually made our way to the Notre Dame de Paris.

We waited in a short line to tour the cathedral. The inside was breathtaking and incredibly large filled with so many gorgeous statues, beautifully stained glass windows, and precious relics that belonged to Jesus(!!).

Since it was a gorgeous day out, we decided to climb to the top of the tower for the view of the city as well. This line was not so short, though. We probably waited for a good hour and a half but in the meantime, found things to do with ourselves.

We waited

We chatted

We spotted

....We ate

Jess looking rather European 

I had my eyes peeled for any possibility to jump out of the line. So, I dropped into a few shops across the street that were as touristy as they come. I caved and bought a black beret. When Jess saw mine, she desperately wanted one too. She went back and forth about which color to get and finally decided on an off-white. All within three minutes of making the purchase, leaving the store, and seeing the above picture she said, "I look like a dough head...." It seems our little newsboy wasn't too pleased with her color choice, huh? Maybe next time.
As if that wasn't enough, she then proceeded to justify this purchase by incorporating it into her Halloween costume... "I'll just be a piece of cookie dough." Wonderful, even better.

Quite similar to the look she was going for.

We finally made our way to the front of the line and started to ascend to the top of the Cathedral. I don't think there is any way of preparing you for how insanely exhausting this climb was. The stairwell is not only narrow and steep, but it keeps going for what seems like eternity.

And just as you're about to call it quits, sit on your beret, and slide back down you see the light at the end of the "tunnel." The view is extraordinary and worth every step to reach it.

We were able to see the monuments in clear view, and the fall foliage along the river added pops of color to the otherwise grey and colorless city.

The thing I loved most about seeing the city from the top of Notre Dame is that the Eiffel Tower, one of the most exciting parts of Paris, was beautifully standing in your line of vision. One can view the Eiffel Tower as the center piece, and the surrounding city as its accents.

From here, we continued on with our adventure and wandered through the Latin Quarter until we reached the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens!

And then my camera died...
The weather was turning pretty dreary anyway, so I wasn't too disappointed. Plus, I had three other ladies with cameras that I could borrow from :) These gardens turned out to be excellent for people-watching and snapping creepy pictures of people/their children without their permission. So, we did that for a bit while resting our feet.
Our next stop was the Pantheon. We toured the crypt where some very memorable men are buried including: Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Louis Braille, and Emile Zola. We also saw the Foucalt pendulum. If confused, google it- I'll just confuse you and myself even more if I attempt to explain it. All I can tell you is that it was pretty cool. We also made a pit stop at St. Genevieve Church which sits right behind the Pantheon.
Our next stop, you ask? Ah yes, the Eiffel Tower! As it started to sprinkle we convinced ourselves it would pass, picked up chinese take-out and wine, and made our way to "picnic" at the Eiffel.

Well the rain didn't pass, it kind of picked up but we weren't going to let it effect our visit. We embraced the rain, continued on with our "picnic" and accepted the fact that we'd be a little soaking while doing it. Since when did water kill ya?
I put picnic in quotes because it was a rather unusual one. Rather then sprawling out on a red & white checkered blanket on the green in front of the tower, we huddled under it in the driest spot possible. We could not stop laughing the entire time. We looked like helpless wet rats eating fried rice out of take out boxes and drinking wine hidden in plastic bags. To top it off, the light show started right as we took our seats which was perfect entertainment. By the time we were finished eating- my beret had to be rung out, Jess looked like a melted piece of cookie dough, and it was about that time to head out. I loved every single minute of this picture-worthy "picnic."

The next day was ideal. We set out early in the morning for the Versailles Palace and Gardens. Having been to Paris once before, I had already seen the Louvre so I wanted to do something I hadn't done before on this short and sweet trip. This was the perfect alternative. We knew touring the entire estate would take a while so we prepared ourselves for a long day ahead.

 When first walking up to the palace, we were immediately confronted with huge bronze gates. The gates and the palace itself were unreal in both size and architectural design.

 

It was so big that I had to use the panoramic feature on my camera to fit it all in one picture. It took us a good 2-3 hours to walk through the rooms, all unique from one another and decorated completely over-the-top. My favorite was Marie Antoinette's bedroom that was certainly suited for a Queen with it's lavish fabrics, feathers, colors and furniture.

I also loved the Hall of Mirrors. Gorgeous sparkling chandeliers hung throughout the entire hallway and mirrors were placed directly across from each bay window that looked out onto the gardens, making the hall look much bigger then it was.

Treaty of Versailles was signed on this desk

After finishing our tour inside, we continued our adventure in the backyard which ended up being more of a mini central park. It was filled with intricately designed gardens, large fountains, mazes of tall bushes, a large pond (where you can rent boats to paddle on), and several paths to bike, run, and walk on.

Although the trees were painted with beautiful fall colors, I cannot imagine what it would look like in the spring and summer when the flowers are in full bloom.

We took a leisurely stroll around the paths and broke things. Let me explain. Remember when Jess broke that leaning tower espresso mug in Pisa and the shopkeeper held her sunglasses hostage until she paid him for it? Yeah, well those glasses are now broken too...

Karma's a betch

We finished up our visit at Marie Antoinette's peaceful getaway estate which looked rather fake or out of a movie.

 The little cottages had roofs made of twigs, there was a pond filled with all sorts of wild life (ducks, swans, toothless fish... you name it), and vegetable gardens grew throughout the yards.

It was serene, quiet, and all around beautiful. Rumor has it, Antoinette was a real party girl and always stayed out late with friends. I would be totally envious of her life if hers didn't end without a head.
We ended our day with a trip to an authentic pizzeria where the chef, a Florentine native, made us the most delicious heart-shaped pizzas for dinner.

On our last and final day in Paris my goal was to see as much of the city as possible before leaving. Some of the girls wanted to see the Louvre so I took that as an opportunity to go off on my own and explore. I broke off from the group and went on a mission to track down my mom's apartment where she lived in Paris when she studied abroad... a few years ago. ;)
I then continued on through the Luxembourg Gardens with a working camera and clear blues skies where I enjoyed some more people watching (a favorite hobby of mine) and great picture opportunities.

I wandered throughout the little quaint streets of the Latin Quarter shopping and stopping at some cathedrals along the way until it was time to head back, get our luggage, and depart.

Leaving Paris was bittersweet. Of course I would have loved to spend more time there, like anyone, but I was more then ready to end our Fall Break and head back to our homeland FIRENZE for a little rest and relaxation. Preparations also needed to be made for Sarah Johnson's arrival a few days later!