88 Thoughts About Paris

Ahh, Paris. It was the first trip in a long time where if you asked me "How was your trip?" I would not have shrugged a bit and wouldn't have just said "oh, it was good." and leave it at that. No. It would be more like... "Paris was great, it was so great, why don't you just sit right down and listen to hours upon hours of me telling you how great it was. In fact I'm going to tell every person I met, every thought I had, and every sight I see... sound good?" Not the answer you were expecting, was it? Paris was so perfect, it still feels like a dream. Did we really see all of that in 2 and a half days? Wait, I saw the Eiffel Tower? No... I couldn't have, it was just a weekend!

Since we don't have hours upon hours to sit here and chat about Paris, I compiled somewhat of a list about my happenings in this beautiful city. I like lists, but not the lets plan out my whole life list, or these are the things I must get done in the next hour lists (unless I have lots of things to get done in the next hour of course). No... more like the irrelevant, sporadic thought lists that make more sense in my head than down on paper. I will do my best to give you the full experience of my weekend in my 50 thoughts about (my trip to) Paris list.

1. Ryan Air isn't as stressful as I thought it would be.
2. I'd like to see what Beauvais (the place, 1 hr outside of Paris, that we flew into) is really like.
3. Peanut M&M's are the travelers paradise
4. When you have 3 people, a taxi isn't too expensive (for one ride)
5. Our hostel was one of the most lively place I saw in Paris.
6. Late night food shouldn't ever consist of Kabobs (but we didn't have any dinner...so it's okay, right?)
7. You should stay away from dorm style hostels if you snore, just a thought.
8. Dorm style hostels are actually really great, minus the snorers that don't stay away from them.
9. The French DO actually serve a baguette at every meal, and not JUST as a side.
10. A French baguette IS actually the greatest bread you'll ever taste.
11. Ascending from the metro station to the Pyramids outside of the Louvre was a great treat.
12. The Louvre almost looks like a shopping mall inside.
13. The Mona Lisa is actually really small.
14. Wait, the Code of Hammurabi is found at the Louvre? AND the Sphinx?
15. A vegetarian sandwich= green beans, cheese, potatoes, beets, and "salad" enclosed in a baguette.
16. How many baguettes do you think restaurants in Paris go through a day?
17. The Museo d'Orsay was the most amazing Museum I've been to.
18. You're not allowed to take pictures in the Museo d'Orsay.
19. I did. (Found the sign at the end of my visit...I promise!)
20. Toulouse Lautrec is deemed my favorite artist, sorry Degas and Rauschenberg.
21. With a student visa, we got into all of the Museums for free (except for one...)
22. Shakespeare & Company is actually the most beautiful bookstore you will ever see.
23. Fact: You don't have to be a descendant of the great writers to work there.
24. Question: Well then, how in the world can you?
25. Paris IS almost as wonderful in the rain.
26. The Pompidou Museum is incredibly hard to find, if you follow the signs. So don't follow the signs.
27. The Pompidou was our third museum of the first day.
28. Duchamp's Urinal has gone missing. (but really... where the **** was it?) Oh well...
29. If you don't know French, you should probably ask for an english menu.
30. Soup and bread (with butter) on a cold, rainy day is even better in Paris...
31. I just found out that Pain Perdu is french toast.
32. I had Pain Perdu with chocolate, fresh mint, and a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
33. It was not french toast, but rather my favorite dessert I have had in Europe.
34. Sadly, I did not see Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the other greats at Midnight.
35. Breakfast of Champions: Half of a baguette with butter and jam and Black Tea with milk.
36. The Eiffel Tower is more beautiful than I expected it to be. (That's saying something)
37. I took too many pictures of the Eiffel Tower. I'm keeping all of them.
38. The walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Arc de Triomphe was lovely.
39. Champs Elysees wasn't as fabulous as I expected, thought I don't know what I expected.
40. Although there was huge line outside of Palace "Abercrombie and Fitch" Why? I don't know.
41. You could smell the infamous A&F cologne from the streets though...
42. I'm really glad we ended up going into our fourth museum, The Orangerie.
43. Monet's water lilies provided serenity and time to think. They were incredible too.
44. Menu: Sandwich Emmental: Baguette (of course), butter, and Emmental Cheese.
45. What it really meant: Sandwich Emmental: Bread and whole stick of cold butter.
46. St. Germain was probably my favorite district we saw.
47. Even in the winter (with no leaves or blooms) the Luxembourg Gardens were beautiful.
48. Once we got the hang of it, the metro system was incredibly easy and useful.
49. Pigalle (or Pig Alley), where Moulin Rouge is, was an interesting sight to say the least.
50. (But) the area includes a house of Van Gogh, studio of Toulouse Lautrec, and the cafe in Amelie.

So I've hit fifty... Did I mention that my special irrelevant, sporadic thought list is in no specific order (other than chronological)? We are only 3/4ths through the second day! This might actually turn out to be hours upon hours... I'll continue.

51. Kenan getting invited in to one of Pigalle's infamous...um...shops brought me to tears.
52. DON'T wait for a table at a nice french restaurant, people WILL pass you to the open table.
53. Salmon Quiche gave me my salmon fix without the price. Oh yeah, it was GOOD too.
54. Beef Tar Tar is actually raw. Like RAW, dog food raw. Kenan won't be ordering that again.
55. Amelie's in Charlotte came up in conversation at least 10 times (sorry Julia and Kenan...)
56. You can't get a drink (even soda and juice) for under 4 euro. Order tap water. They have it.
57. The most amazing couple from Napoli helped us get back to the Eiffel Tower at night.
58. We didn't get their name, but hope to magically see them in America (on their honeymoon...)
59. The Eiffel tower is just as amazing in the rain and even more incredible at night.
60. I took too many pictures of the Eiffel tower. I'm keeping all of them. (Oh, I already said that.)
61. For goodness sakes, GO to the bathroom before you wait in line to go up the tower.
62. The city is actually alive at night. Like the buildings were dancing and everything.
63. Number 62 was supposed to be joke, if you didn't get it move on to 64.
64. The sky at night on top of the tower was incredible, it lit up because of the stormy weather.
65. It's really windy on the tower, so try not to be blown away. Haha... double meaning.
66. There are little to no public restrooms in Paris when you really need them.
67. We made it to midnight (in Paris). Still, no Hemingway. (or Owen Wilson for that matter...)
68. The Notre Dame is beautiful. Inside and out.
69. They had a service going on, while hundreds of tourists walked inside to take pictures. Weird.
70. Unfortunately, I did not see Quasi Modo.
71. The Deportation Memorial was moving. Sadly, I did not get to the Holocaust Memorial.
72. I could walk around that city near the river all day.
73. The hot chocolate in Paris is not hot pudding like Italy, but liquid. It's really good, too. Big Surprise.
74. ALWAYS stop and sit in a dog park. ALWAYS. I've never been so happy. (Maybe...)
75. This guy was the awkward 6th grader who has already hit puberty. And the biggest dog I've ever seen.
76. I met a new dog friend who let me scratch his back in the sun for at least 30 minutes.
77. Paris is even more perfect with a blue sky and sun.
78. Don't just walk into a restaurant because you have to use the bathroom and expect to like the menu.
79. Too many of these thoughts have included the use of the word bathroom.
80. It was almost too hard to get on the bus to leave the city.
81. The ride back in the french countryside made it a little easier to leave.
82. Clouds are prettier in France.
83. French really is the most beautiful language in the world.
84. The Beauvais Airport gave me the least stressful security experience I've had. Thank you.
85. We met yet another friendly person from Napoli. Sadly, he advised me not to visit Napoli for an extended period of time. But people are so friendly there!
86. Paris, however, did help me appreciate the intimacy of Florence (a city I once thought was huge).
87. Either way, can I go back?
88. Just because the number 87 is too random I decided to add another.

There we have it... 88 Thoughts About Paris. I'm proud of you if you got through them all. As a reward, I will actually end this post with only a little rambling. It was an amazing weekend that I will alway remember. (It will be hard not to as I took approximately 726 photos... obsessive? A bit.) I really am starting to experience the beauty of studying abroad. Every weekend is a magical experience and I am so lucky and SO happy to be here. So... how cheesy did that sound?

A few Snapshots from Paris... 

Au Revoir! Ciao!