I'd like to take a moment and introduce y'all to my Parisian adventures. Where pain was conquered by two girls who discovered the metro. Oh and the rest of Paris. These boots were indeed not made for walking.
Three days. Two girls. One Paris.
So, let me begin with our fourteen hour train ride through Europe in a itty, bitty six person sleeper carriage. When we boarded in Venice we were quite happy that we were the only ones in here. We took off our shoes, ate some snacks, and had a little party to ourselves. So of course once we get comfortable, climb to the top of the bunks, turn off the lights and start our movie Anastasia, SOME GUY KNOCKS. And then we get comfortable. Movie ends. ANOTHER GUY KNOCKS. Then another couple. All. Comfort. Gone. So Elissa and I are forced to get into our itty, bitty beds and sleep. And let me tell you, SLEEPING ON A SQEAKY TRAIN IS NOT EASY. Although, I did try to imagine that I was on the Hogwarts express. It didn't help. I slept in two hour increments. Went to bed at midnight. Woke up at two. Woke up at four. Woke up at six. And finally I'm up at eight because I SEE FRANCE OUTSIDE MY WINDOW.
So I pull my unshowered self together and start my journey to the beautiful and cold city of Paris. Elissa and I decided to start with the Louvre, with if you don't know what that is then I'll let you in on some secrets. IT IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE. It is a giant art museum and other collections, there are roughly over 30,000 installations in this one building. It contains three different wings, and Elissa and I walked until we couldn't walk anymore. Literally. We saw the Mona Lisa, which is honestly the only reason most people see the Louvre, but there are SO MANY things to see. We found sculpture gardens, Napoleon's apartments, works by Monet, Vermeer, Dupre and SO SO SO MUCH MORE. I even saw one painting from Degas. Going through the Louvre is like shopping at Forever 21. Overwhelming and exhausting. Oh, I forgot to mention, IT TOOK SIX HOURS TO WALK ALL OF THIS. SIX. HOURS. If you can't imagine it...I'm sorry. I don't have anything to relate it to. I thought that sentence was going to be funnier.
Moving on! We then Spent the rest of our evening going down Champ de Elysse (it's the closest thing to Elissa's name here) and it's unending fancy shops. Don't sorry mom and dad I didn't go in to the H&M. This time. And I heard there was a Forever 21 here too...but I already did that just by being in the Louvre. We walked a good several miles to the Arc of Triumph. I was totally going to say the French word for it but it slipped my mind. So I'll just assume that you know what I'm talking about.
Oh, and we walked about 13 miles. Good grief that's half a marathon.
And in the second day, God created Paris. I say this because everything about my second day was absolutely magical and beautiful. It was as if I truly were a lost Disney princess arriving in a beautiful, colorful dreamland.
Well, if you don't include the fact that Elissa and I walked through the Catacombs. For some reason I don't think piles and piles of skulls and bones artistically patterned really counts as magical. I mean maybe these people are having magical experience now...
As enchanting as skeletons and underground sound, I'll talk about the truly enchanting part. First is the Museo d'Orsay. My eyes feasted on nearly every artist that inspires me to do what I do. Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, Manet. AH! The impressionists and modern painters have possessed my soul. My favorite artists in one place! Did I mention we got in there for free? Elissa and I may have accidentally "forgotten" our Italian visas. Lol. What visas? Welp, we were able to get the student discount anyways which made the permanent collections all the more worthwhile. Except that one weird exotic, erotic exhibit by a French writer named Sade. I thought it was cool he had my nickname. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. It was bad. Real bad.
I'll add a bit more magic to the day as we walked to the Eiffel Tower. Insert the time for a cheesy, magical little love story here: I stopped at a lock bridge in Paris and put a lock for me and my man-friend on the bridge since he can't be with me. Alright, alright, continuing on, we arrived at the Eiffel Tower at the golden hour. Literally. It was nearly sunset, and the massive iron structure was drenched golden sunlight. And moments later, while Elissa and I were eating crepes over the Seine River on a bridge, the lights turned on and gave us a razzling, dazzling sparkle show. All while the Parisian sunset glowed bright pink. It was literally a fantasy.
I hated saying goodbye to my beautiful tower, but I was able to sleep with a happy heart.
I can now say by the third day, Paris was ready to get rid of us. We enjoyed a nice morning where we walked around the Notre Dame, which gave me the strong urge to watch the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
This is where our journey takes a deep slope to the Sketchlands of Paris. We visited the Grand Arch le Defense in downtown/modern Paris. It's literally a giant arch that looks like a cube. And the best part. WE FOUND CHIPOTLE. WE FOUND IT. But we didn't eat there because....drumroll please....WE FOUND THE WALMART OF PARIS. Is it sad we spent more time walking around a supermarket than the Notre Dane? Well, at least we got cheap lunch. However, from this point we had creepy gypsy encounters. One yelling for no reason at the arch, and begging for money on the subway cars. And then we tried to go to a basilica near our hostel but noooooo some very rude guys tried to stop Elissa and I to give us a bracelet, and by give I mean grab our arms until we listened while cat calling us. Thank God, Elissa was with me because all I could yell was BASTA! BASTA! BASTA! In case you didn't know, that's Italian for stop. I'm in France. So that phrase held no significant value at all. But I was so scared and terrified that's the only phrase that came to my mind! Elissa set them straight real good. Thank. You. Elissa.
After that exciting adventure, we decided it was about time to be done with Paris so we made our way to the BNP Paribas Masters were we watched Gasquet vs. Istomin. If you don't know: this is a grand tennis tourney that I'm enjoying without a beer and listening to every rule and thing Elissa says. The best part? We got the French flag painted on our faces. Now, this day can end.
Oh, before I go, let's talk about the French cuisine. CREPES. CREPES. CREPES. Seriously the best pancake I've ever had. And let's talk about the mayonnaise. I LOVE IT! And I don't even like mayonnaise. Daddy would be proud of me. First black coffee. And now mayonnaise!? What is Europe doing to me?!
Oh it's definitely beating me app. I probably have permanent back pain and foot damage. Can I have a full body message for Christmas? K. Thanks.
Oh, Paris, I'll be back for your yummy food, skeevy gypsies, and lovely sunsets.
Next stop, Amsterdam!
Until then, au revoir!
Sincerely yours,
Sadie.