JE T'AIME PARIS!

I got back from Paris Monday around 1 AM. I am still tired and sore.

Paris was amazing! Too much for one week-end. Definitely must come back.

July 31:
We arrive at Paris at 10:30ish PM. Since didnt know how to get to our hotel via public transportation, we took a taxi from the train station [Gare du Nord]. Our taxi was a MERCEDES-BENZ!!! We all think he ripped us off because it cost 24 EUROS for the ride! WTF!?!?!? First of all, he took the long way because he showed us the Opera House, Arc de Triumphe and Champs-Elysees. He charged extra for having 4 people [all taxis apparantly do that in France] and for luggage. Maybe if I kept talking to him in my VERY BROKEN French, we would have been ok.
Hotel:
is in the suburbs of Paris called Suresnes. It's near the La Defence quarter [La Defense is the major financial district]. Our room is a triple, but tiny as hell! Instead of 3 single beds pushed together, there is a bunk bed. No closet. The bathroom is the size of a walk-in closet. At least it was clean. If we stuck our heads out the window, we could see the Eiffel Tower.

August 1
First Paris meal: Mushroom Quiche, Flan and orange Fanta. 5 Euros. Hahaha
We bought it in a cafe outside of the Louvre. Then we got it to go and we ate outside the Louvre.
BEST QUICHE I HAVE HAD IN ALL MY LIFE. The crust was not hard--it was nice and buttery and flaky [but not too flaky]. French flan is more like a slice of egg-custard pie, but the custard is not a custard consistency [like leche flan] but more pie-like.
Le Louvre:
I knew that the louvre is HUGE and it would take all day to see everything. I was surprised that it took us at the most, 3 hours to see [almost] everything. We saw the Mona Lisa and Venus di Milo [the 2 most famous things inside the louvre].
People have said the Mona Lisa is TINY...it's not. It is very small compared to the rest of the paintings in the louvre, but the painting itself isnt very small. The size of the woman in the painting is a little bigger than life size.
Notre Dame:
is BEAUTIFUL. The line to get in was long, but at least it went by quickly. The nave and the choir were roped off because there was service going on [strange why they would let tourists in during service...]I only found 3 of the 6 rose stained-glass windows. I thought the flying buttresses would be enormous, but they weren't as big as I imagined them to be.
Seine River Cruise:
very relaxing. I liked being able to see a lot of historical buildings without having to walk there! LOL. I like the view of things from the river, especially being able to the see the bridges on the river.
Arc de Triumphe:
we had to walk a 200-step [about] spiral stair case to get to the top. [NO ELEVATOR]. It was worth the climb! the views are great! We got to watch the Eiffel Tower light up :D

August 2:
Champs-Elysees:
I have never felt so poor in my life! They had very posh stores and it was nice to window shop [or pretend you can afford things hahaha]. Louis Vuitton is 3 stories tall... very expensive. A keychain is 100+ euros. I liked walking up and down Champs-Elysees for the purpose of people watching...hahaha
Montmartre:
Is located in the only hill[?] in Paris. It's how I imagined France to be--narrow, cobblestone streets with side-walk cafes and patisseries galore! We didn't really go to the Moulin Rouge area because we were headed to Sacre Couer. I really liked all the street art that were displayed on the side walk. I bought 4! I had really really good
Sacre Couer:
it means "sacred heart" in French. It's really pretty. It's a byzantine-style cathedral. It's all white and it's on top of a hill overlooking Paris. I couldn't take pictures inside because it's not allowed. It was definitely more quiet that Notre Dame and less people going inside. Lots of mosaics.
Dinner at Chez Clement:
a restaurant at Champs-Elysees...apparantly it's the cheapest on Champs-Elysees. I got duck magret with grilled peach and french mac and cheese [they seasoned it with fennel, which made it taste like licorice] and creme brulee for desert.
Duck magret is the duck breast of a duck that has produced foie gras. [SAAAD I DIDNT GET FOIE GRAS...IT WAS EXPENSIVE!]
Anyway, it was very, very goood and tender. YUUUUUM. Best non-asian duck i have had!
The restaurant's portion of creme brulee is HUUUUGGGEEEE. The ones I make are little babies compared to theirs. It was good...better than mine.

August 3:
We checked out early to get to the Eiffel tower, but our train didn't leave until later on that evening so we were walking around Paris with our luggage.
My shoulders still hurt.
Tour Eiffel:
I was pretty miserable with all my stuff, so I wasn't exactly very happy. However, it was still a nice experience being at the very top of the Eiffel Tower...I didnt realize how high we were until it got cloudy and cold [it was nice and sunny at the lower levels]. There was a lot of people and children [very loud children]...didn't like the children.
La Madeleine:
It's a church that looks like a grecian temple. Behind the altar, there is the sculpture of Mary Magdelene Ascending into Heaven. The church was very quiet and empty. I guess it's not as much of a tourist spot as Sacre Couer or Notre Dame.
I'm looking over my pocket guide book and we didn't look hard enough for the market!
[JEANY THE MARKET DOES EXIST BUT IT'S BEHIND THE CHURCH]

The rest of the day was spend people watching/eating crepes.
Jeany and I had a chorizo crepe at this cafe called Evangelista. SOO GOOOD.
French Eclaires are sooo much better that any other eclairs. The inside isn't pure chocolate, but chocolate mousse!

I think studying Paris architecture changed the way I experienced Paris. I think it's because I know a little bit of history with particular buildings, so to me, it's more than a pretty building...I know how it was built, or why it was built and it's purpose[or original purpose]. It also made me want to see more of Paris.

I definitely want to go back to Paris and spend more time there. There's still so much I want to see and do.