Five Things Friday: Paris II

Kate and I are running around Barca this weekend!

While I'm a little sad about leaving my wonderful Paris,

I'm thrilled about soaking up some Spanish sun.

Today's Five Things Friday

is Parisian-themed again,

just like last week.

(okay, let's be real...this whole blog is Parisian themed, at least for the next month)

This week I'm sharing five of the most amazing things I've seen in this gorgeous city so far.

Trust me, this isn't even the half of it.

I hope I'll be able to fill you in on everything,

but that could take a while.

Like maybe until December.

But we'll see what we can do.

1. The pyramids outside the Louvre. I felt like Tom Hanks in The da Vinci Code (just with better hair). They are visually stunning and completely stand out from the traditional Parisian architecture. And the big one is sneaky--it's actually an entrance to the museum, which I never realized.

2. The Mona Lisa. Everyone told me seeing it would be disappointing, and it definitely was (it's tiny, you can't get that close, etc) but it was so exciting to see something so famous! And my boy Leo was pretty damn talented, even if the Mona Lisa is kind of a let down.

3. A whole windowsill dedicated to macarons. If I could choose any dessert in the world to eat for the rest of my life, it'd be those bad boys.

4. The religious iconography in the front of the Notre Dame. The detail that the 13th-century sculptors put into it is just astounding.

and last but certainly not least...

5. The Eiffel Tower light show at night. The highlight of my life thus far. If you've seen it, hopefully you know what I mean. If you haven't, I can't describe it, except to say that it is incredibly amazing and you need to get your booty to Paris. Visually stunning, and it made me feel like a part of something really special.

Adios!

Hope you all have wonderful weekends!

I promise to show you the highlights of Barcelona next week.

Don't you Louvre it?

So I've been getting some feedback.

And y'all seem to like all this Paris nonsense I've been rambling on about.

I figure, you gotta give the people what they want!

So fret not, I'll continue to speak of Paris

24/7

365.

Today's adventure covers

Le Louvre.

What is especially cool about the Louvre is that it is free for art history students (which my ID proudly boasts--I'm studying the history of Paris through its architecture, y'all!). A group of my friends and I took advantage of this sweet deal and headed to the palace on the Right Bank on our third night in the city. It was the second-coolest highlight of my trip thus far (you'll see the first tomorrow!). The Louvre is the most exquisite combination of modernity and ancient history that one can imagine. I could ramble on for hours on end about its magnificence, but I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Pretty dang cool.

I still have a museum wish list:

Musee d'Orsay

Ann Frank's House (Amsterdam)

Van Gough Museum (Amsterdam)

Paris: A Foodie Perspective

Food. A topic on which I could ramble forever. It's just so dang good.

In the months leading up to my trip to Paris I was really strict about what I ate.

Tryin' to make room for some Parisian food, y'all.

And boy have I made up for it in these 6 days.

One important point, though: Paris does not love vegetarians.

I'm making do, but most menus don't include any just veggie options at all.

crepes, sandwiches, macarons,

oh my.

my favorite thing so far was the croque madame sandwich (directly above) without the ham.

i got it after my orientation at a cafe right down the street from my school.

guess where i'm going tomorrow.

also, new goal for the trip: eat at least one crepe or macaron per day.

it will be a miracle if i haven't gained 300 pounds by the time i get back.

First Purchase in Paris!

Good news, friends.

July is the unofficial sale month for pretty much all of the stores in Paris.

Meaning every store you walk by

has SOLDES

written in big letters.

I plan to take full advantage.

These shoes only set me back 21 euro

which I am telling myself is less than $30.

Too hard to say no!

Happy Birthday, America!

I love the Fourth of July.

The colors,

the fireworks,

the red, white, and blue,

and most especially,

the history behind the day.

Those revolutionaries were badasses--

they saw what needed to change,

and did it.

So Happy Birthday America!

Though I am not around to celebrate your special day,

know that I think of you often

and will settle for wearing your colors on second-rate Bastille Day.

Happy Fourth of July!

And thank you to the service men and women who work to keep our country safe everyday.

how will i go back to real life after this?

paris, je t'aime.

Five Things Friday: Paris Edition!

Hello blogosphere!

Happy July!

I'm in Paris!

For the past two days I haven't had internet access, but I just got it set up in my dorm and am so excited to upload pic

tures and catch up on blogs!

This week's Five Things Friday

consists of all the things I had heard about Paris that have turned out to be true thus far.

1. The food is amazing. oh.em.gee. It will be an absolute miracle if I don't gain 500 million pounds during this month. We've had wine and dessert with every meal thus far. Yesterday we walked around St. Germain eating a baguette, and we bought three boxes of Petit Ecoliers (my favorite cookie, even in America!), which were only one euro! For lunch today I had a Croque Madame, mais pas de jambon. Parfait! I am literally dying over the fact that I still have a month left of this food!

The first dinner: quiche au saumon (salmon quiche) with a delish salad

2. Everything is beautiful. Like literally anywhere you look. The architecture is tres magnifique, and I cannot wait to start my class (which is History of Paris: An Architectural Perspective). I haven't even seen the big stuff yet (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe), so I know I have lots more gaping to do.

Kate and I in front of the Notre Dame

3. French people smoke...a lot. It hasn't bothered me so much, except when you are walking behind someone who is smoking and they get ash on you.

4. The metro is dirty. Seriously, it puts BART's level of gross to shame. It's dirty and smelly, and always tremendously crowded. But it's so convenient and fast that it makes it worth it. Today we lugged dishes and groceries all over Paris, but the metro made it much easier.

5. One thing I've found not to be accurate: the notion that Parisians are rude to Americans. We always speak French as a greeting, but I suppose our accents must not be very good because the French always respond to us in English. They have been nothing but absolutely lovely so far!

I am absolutely loving this city so far.

I am so grateful to have this opportunity!

Tonight we are going to Le Louvre (because people under age 25 get in for free on Friday nights! Gettin' my Mona Lisa fix) and then out to a bar near the Notre Dame with people from our program.

Tomorrow we are taking a bus tour of the city (I'll post pictures of all the amazing things I see!), and on Sunday, we're going to...Eurodisney!!! (The little girl in me is dying!)

Au revoir!