Good morning, Paris

This morning, my french mom brought me a glorious breakfast.... ah la vie est belle

After having a typical French petit-déjeuner though, I was met with typical French weather: the rain. Il pleut il pleut il pleut encore.
As a result my new to-do list for the day:

1. Buy a trench coat (wearing a raincoat is just not accepted here sadly so I am going to bite the bullet and finally buy a trench to match every other woman in this city)
2. Find a museum that is NOT closed to visit during the cold and miserable afternoon (most are closed on Mondays...)
3. Find a cozy café that serves hot chocolate where I can sit and finally finish reading Wine and War.

Busy busy weekend

So I had originally planned a trip to Dijon this weekend but bailed last minute with the promise that I would make the most of Paris. I started out yesterday by visiting a market nearby my house in the Latin Quarter... 

 In French, they're Pivoines... my favorite type of fleur.

I kept walking and ended up crossing onto l'ile de la cité where Paris was basically born. I passed the ridiculous crowds at Notre Dame and then eventually came to Sainte Chapelle. It is under renovation until 2013 but was beautiful nonetheless.

Later, after getting caught in a rainstorm and being forced into a café for lunch, I met up with Jamie (who is below) and went to the Centre Pompidou - the best known and biggest modern art museum in Paris.

After strolling through floor after floor of perplexing and sometimes bizarre art, I went a bit past Opéra to L'Atelier des Chefs, a great little boutique with a kitchen for cooking classes (thanks to David Liebowitz's site for the suggestion!). If Georgetown is having a cupcake fad, Paris is definitely having the same with macarons. But les macarons are not merely cookies though, they are an art form and require serious patience and skill to master. Hence, I signed up for this macaron class with Sarah and Clodagh. We made three different types.... Macarons Suzette (yes, like the crepes), strawberry macarons with verbena, and lime macarons.

The class was actually great, and the chef took pity on us three American students and repeated much of the complicated vocabulary. Since macarons really need to sit for a day or two before eating (so the flavors can really melange), we left the class starving. Clodagh and I ended up at A La Petite Chaise which is actually the oldest restaurant in Paris! It was unbelievable but we both left in food comas...

I woke up really early and took a windy walk to Notre Dame for the 9am service - it was spectacular.

Nearby Notre Dame is a Marche aux Fleurs that is open all week and has beautiful flowers from all over the world. However, (naturally) ever Sunday it turns into an exotic birds market. Venors come with birds (and actually all kinds of pets) and people come and buy them or at the very least marvel and the beautiful and sad little trapped birds being sold for as little as 15 euro.

Took a longgg walk along the Seine after this to recover from the sights and smells. Sundays in Paris are different because so much of the city is closed. Even huge international chain stores close for the day, and all small boutiques too. The only things that seem to remain open are more touristy restaurants and museums. This means that lines to enter museums are absurd which was pretty frustrating. I attempted to get into Musée D'Orsay, Musée de l'Orangerie, and the Louvre and totally failed....
Finally the wind got the best of me and I headed back home after stopping at a café for delicious Croque Monsieur. For my program, I have a twenty minute final presentation that counts for most of my grade, and I chose to do it on the history of the baguette. So I have to go do some research... first on the internet then in boulangeries of course hah.

Why do French people love to stare?

If I could only tell you one thing about the French it would probably be that they love to stare, and it drives me crazy. It is not like the woman sitting diagonally on the metro even pretends to look away when I give her a dirty look. Young boys and girls and old grandparents alike have no problem looking you up and down for an uncomfortable amount of time - on the street, in the metro, in a cafe. What makes matters even worse is that if you make eye contact with your voyeur, they don't even really acknowledge you or that anything about the situation is odd. French people apparently hate to smile -  they simply purse their lips or pout. At first I was a little self-consious, thinking that the French were judging me, or perhaps wondering where I'm from, or why I am not as chic as the other young women in this city (no matter how hard I try!)

Ever since I arrived in Paris, I've actively tried NOT to look like 1) an American 2) a tourist, because both are so looked down upon here. If I need to check something on my map I all but go into a dark alley so I don't give away my cover. I read french books/magazines in public places. I wear grey, black, and other dark colors even on the rare sunny day. And after realizing how much the French love to stare, I have started staring right back. It is a surprisingly satisfying change - looking at someone and not feeling obligated to respond in a friendly manner. Sometimes I slip and smile as I pass an old lady or cashier taking a cigarette break on the street outside of his store. In these situations, I am met with a glare by the old lady and usually a provocative comment, whistle, or eyebrow raise by the guy. And to be honest, neither are very appealing.

If you only had one day in Paris

Sunday was the type of day that one would have if they had only one day in Paris.... started at the Louvre and ended at the Eiffel tower! Yes I was a total tourist but at least I got some cross-offs on my list of Paris must-dos.

 Braved the crowds to see the Mona Lisa.... not sure what everyone is going to do with their pictures.

Okay... I took one too ha

Just a few crown jewels...

After the Louvre we stopped by Jardin de Tuileries and had a late lunch while people watching. The sun came out for the first time in what seems like weeks - it was incredible. I really didn't realize that June is still considered spring in Paris.

We then followed the Seine until reaching the Eiffel Tower eventually...

As you can see in the front of this picture, Parisians spend probably half of their day making out/ straddling each other/ lying on each other in parks..... it is actually ridiculous.
After doing more people-watching we climbed the Eiffel Tower!

View from 2nd floor.

More soon - currently planning weekend trips for the next few weeks. Headed to Dijon on Saturday morning! 

Traveling weekend

Okay I am finally back and have more than 10 minutes on my computer to summarize this past week!

First of all...... my new favorite place: 

 Paris at twilight

 Notre Dame

 So this bridge is famous because whenever someone finds love in Paris, they put a lock on the fence!

Friday morning, I woke up super early and went to Versailles. It was absolutely gorgeous, however no one told me that summer in France is basically early-March weather. Wearing the warmest clothing I brought with me, I was literally shivering in the 50 degree rain. Regardless, we still managed to spend over half of the day outside, touring gardens etc. We actually probably walked about 10 miles come to think of it - since my professor took us by foot through all of Marie Antoinette's farmland, Petite and Grand Trianon, every open room in Versailles, and strolling/picnicing through the gardens.

 Glorious gardens

 My group!

 Marie Antoinette - just watched the film with Kirsten Dunst actually.... she was a revolutionary woman

Freezing rain :(

 Wouldn't mind living here.....

Alright sooo after Versailles, I headed home on the RER and prepared for my next day trip, to Brussels! Brussels is a beautiful, and surprisingly international. Obviously with the EU and all it makes sense, but it was kind of funny to see the juxtaposition of Subway, Indian, Moroccan, and Vietnamese food chains, and Pizza hut with a backdrop of grand old churches and ornate buildings.

These two lower pictures are buildings in la Grand Place, which is basically a big square full of architectural gems (churches, museums etc) and sprinkled with waffle and chocolate shops.
If we cut to the chase, I spent the entire day eating. First, I was greeted by Brussels' amazing waffles.

Followed by lunch at an amazing/authentic brasserie - oddly enough they didn't serve any beer! But I had what I have been craving for weeks - Moules Frites. Yum yum yum...

Unfortunately, a nice local explained that these probably were not even totally authentic as you can really only get Belgium's unbelievable North Sea mussels in July and December! But nonetheless, I had muscles in Brussels which made me happy enough.

Since we couldn't have beer with lunch, we immediately visited a great spot with a gigantic beer selection and enthusiastic/knowledgable servers. I only went with blonde beers (of course..) but my friends tried different amber, brown, and even fruit flavored beers (a hot pink/red cherry beer to be exact.... tasted like pure grenadine.)

Oh also... thought that this was funny:

Just your typical street vendor in Belgium.....

Anyways, we continued on in the afternoon after about 5 rounds at the outdoor pub place by visiting a museum of Brussels' history, then going to I would say about 30 chocolate shops. Literally you cannot walk a block without running into at least one chocolatier - it is paradise.
Oh and of course we couldn't leave without first stopping by Brussels' most famous and frequently visited statue, the Peeing Boy.

Apparently he gets put in a different costume every day, and we saw a ton of his former outfits in the Brussels' museum. He gets outfits sent from literally every country! Best dressed statue I've ever seen.

I took a late train out last night, and then met up with some friends and went pub-hopping just to complete my day of eating/drinking/obesity hah.

I intended to go to the Prix du Diane at Chantilly today (big fun horse race!) but my transportation got messed up to the races so I have spent the afternoon snuggling in my bed, doing work for AdviseHer, and watching Marie Antoinette.

Promise to be better about updating next week!

Sorry!

Get ready for the longest blog post of your life tomorrow! Sorry for being MIA - I've been traveling etc. nonstop and haven't had a moment to post. Spent the entire day (7am-10pm) at Versailles yesterday and going to spend the day in Brussels because I have been craving moules frites nonstop! Have tons of pics to post though so will catch up soon.

Death by chocolate

Today I made a decision: when I die, I want the cause to be eating too much chocolate. Ideally it will be from drinking too much of Angelina's hot chocolate.

It was bound to happen... the pilgrimage to the tea house Angelina's (across from le jardin des tuleries and near the Louvre). It opened in 1907 and has been a must-visit spot in Paris pretty much ever since - did I mention that Coco Chanel was a patron? 

I ordered the house specialty, un Mont Blanc (meringue with chantilly cream and covered in a praline paste) with the hot chocolate. Note: the hot chocolate should really be called cream of chocolate soup, because it is that rich and thick. 

Before visiting Angelina's though, I spent the afternoon at L'Opera Garnier, which is a truly glorious place. It may be even more incredible on the inside than Versailles itself. 

I fit right in, don't you think?

I am going to try to get tickets to see a ballet performance or opera before I leave. I guess it will depend on how much damage I do shopping tomorrow on my day off from classes hah. Tickets are expensive!

Because yesterday was the first Sunday of the month, all of the museums in Paris were free! I visited musée Rodin and les Invalides then had a late lunch at La Source, a nearby brasserie. 

 Yes, I am a tourist.

 Les Invalides!

This is the church inside Les Invalides... funny fact about France's separation between church and state: just above portraits of Jesus, these flags hanging are from every state conquered under Napoleon when he reigned hah 

Have to go lie down and recover from this food coma now.

A bientôt!