Paris

Would Parisians hate us because we're American? Are they all stuck up snobs who think there is no world worth living in outside of Paris? Will we love it here? Will we hate it here?? Will they make me cry?? These were the thoughts that were swirling uncontrollably in my head as we pulled in to Gare de Lyon, one of several major train stations in Paris. We had heard so many things about this city- wonderful things, terrible things, and unbelievable things- and now here we were, pulling into the station, overwhelmed by the possibilities that lay ahead of us.

In short, Paris met exactly 50% of our expectations. The half that fulfilled our expectations was the half that was encompassed by having a wonderful time, the beauty of the city itself, and all of the delicious and amazing food and wine that we would joyfully consume and imbibe. Where our expectations fell short of reality was in the people. We were hard put to find anyone turning their noses up at us. In the train station as we were trying to figure out how to work the ticket machine (a trying endeavor in every. single. city.) we were helped by two separate French gentlemen. The first just kindly let us know that if we were paying with cash, we needed to use the other ticket machine (and he was in front of us in line so it's not like he was just trying to move ahead faster). The second one helped us figure out the machine once we were in front of it. At that point we decided to keep track of our interactions in Paris. So far, it was 2-0. A few minutes later, we were meeting Jeremie, our host who lived just outside of the city, and that night he took us to a small gathering in someone's flat in downtown Paris (very small!!!) where we met several of his friends. After the first night, the score of our little game was close to 20-0. I will agree that Parisians DO love their city, but they know it and can jest about it. After talking with one girl for a few minutes, she stopped herself and said, "oh God, I'm being soooo typically Parisian right now, aren't I?" I hadn’t really noticed.

Two nights in Paris were spent with Jeremie and friends (the second night was a birthday party where we met 20-30 locals, all of them very pleasant and fun). He also showed us around the Montmartre area beforehand and we enjoyed the spectacular full moon from there. The other two nights were spent on our own. One night we climbed the Eiffel tower to the second level and then cooked food at home. The last night we ate at a little restaurant in the 4th arondissment. As far as museums we were able to visit the Louvre and the Pompidou, but despite multiple attempts, never quite made it to the Orsay :( One of our favorite things that we did in Paris was at the Notre Dame. After walking around inside for about a half hour, I told Andy that I NEEDED to hear the organs. We decided to check the schedule and see what time masses were. To our luck, it turned out that in a little over an hour there would actually be an organ concert. We busied ourselves for the next hour and came back to listen. It truly took our breath away. Hearing the enormous organs resonate throughout the huge gothic structure was amazing. At one point, the organs came to a rest and we had a few moments of silence until the next note was played, at which point the woman in front of us nearly jumped out of her seat and let out a small “yelp” that was immediately engulfed by the tsunami of sound waves coming from the back of the room.

Some other highlights, which we will hopefully expand on at some point:
-the Louvre: saw the Mona Lisa, Hamurabi’s Code, the Venus de Milo and much more
-the Pompidou: saw some cool modern art, lots of Picasso and Bacon, some really weird modern art, also amazing views from top floor
-dinner (creamy vegetable soup, escargot, duck confit, raisin/goat cheese/walnut crepes, cheese course, questionable tarte tatin)
-Eiffel tower: couldn’t have a glass of champagne at the restaurant, great views, full moon, sore thighs, one snobby b**** at a restaurant on the Seine who wouldn’t give us a menu.
-lunch @ Jade (ratatouille sandwiches, amazing)
-hilarious truth or dare game @ party + meeting a guy who had been to Orange Park (part of Jacksonville)
-missing our train being a good thing so that we could go back to Jeremie's and have him catch me breaking into his mailbox so I could get his key to get back in and get Andy’s shirts. Neighbors are totally sketched out by me.
-catacombs!!! Scary underground passageways lined with piles and piles of bones- remnants of 6 million people.
-walking along the Seine and having 2 separate people try to get us with their damn ring tricks
-Jeremie's tips regarding riding the metro (stand where all the paint has worn down, that’s where the doors will open)
-cold, dry grilled corn getting off the metro (thumbs down)
-Luxemburg Gardens