Amamos Paris

Bonjour!

We have just returned from a long weekend in PARIS!!!!  It was super fun and we want to go back immediately.  

 

Day 1: We Arrive!

After a lot of traveling we arrived on different flights.  We all met up (Rachel, Hilary, Greg and Felicia) at a hookah bar (where we ate delicious crepes!!).  Our hostel, D’Artagnan was interesting…  Rachel and Greg went first to check in, and the night guard showed Greg voyeuristic videos while Rachel dropped off her stuff.  He later called Hilary, rojo, which means Red/ Commi, but he was trying to say redhead.  Unfortunately he didn’t give us any sheets.  So, Hilary slept on an assortment of scarves to avoid the chunga bedding and Rachel and Felicia sucked it up and took it like champs!

Day 2: Wandering

We walked around the Champs Élysées and saw the Arc de Triomphe and various other famous sites.  We picnicked in the Luxembourg garden and then saw Notre Dame.  It was incredible!  Later we went out for pasta and met up with Greg’s Parisian friends.

Here we are looking triumphant!

In front of the Notre Dame looking like a JYA poster

 

On the Seine 

Day 3: Graves and Failed Louvre Trip

We pilgrimage to the graves Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde!  The graveyard was gothic and a bit eerie.  We later went to the Angelina, an awesome restaurant famous for its hot chocolate.  Rachel ate an omelet and Hilary got quiche lorraine (and discovered that she LOVES quiche).  The hot chocolate was out of this world and the pastries for dessert were scrumptious! We then attempted to go to the Louvre but only got as far as Hammurabi’s Code before it closed.  We will go back to see the Mona Lisa!  For dinner we went to Greg’s fave authentic Paris bistro!  We ate duck confit, how French!  We went to a few bars  and returned to the comfortable D’Artagnan (luckily by this time we had scrounged up some sheets and bought some communal towels!)

Jim Morrison's Grave 

Oscar Wilde's well-loved Grave (For some reason everyone kissed it)

Day 4: Versailles

On Sunday we made the trek to Versailles, a spectacular palace outside of Paris.  We picnicked on the lawn after getting in for free!  (this was not totally legal)  Anyway, we played the dating game, a new and favorite game of ours!  We watched the musical fountain show; it was awesome!  We walked around the palace which has more than two thousand rooms!  (we did not explore all of them)  It was decadent and sumptuous!  There was a very odd art installation of sculptures by Murakami which features Anime characters and bright colors.  It was kitschy and gauche.  Oh well!  Later that night, we saw the Eiffel Tower, which emitted a sparkly light show at times.  We got Indian food for dinner and sat in yet another café drinking wine (this is a very French thing to do).  And then.  We had. THE BEST SUBWAY RIDE EVER!  Felicia was singing La Bomba some Brazilian friends joined in, as did the rest of the train!  We then sang a medley of New York, New York, What a Wonderful World, Billie Jean, You Can’t Touch This, and Quit Playing Games with my Heart.  After our Brazilian friends left another crazy guy took their place.  He assured us he was from Philly and proved it with a (possibly fake) passport.  He then loudly commented about the silent Asian lady sitting behind us saying, “I can’t read her.  Taiwanese, Chinese, Japanese,  Indonesian….THEY DON’T RESPOND!”  We quickly left.  At the hostel we watched some man sing and play a Hello Kitty guitar.  All in all, a very random yet fun day.

 

In front of the Versailles Gardens

 An example of the gaudy Murakami sculptures

So FRENCH!

Day 5: Back to Reality

After an adventurous trip to the airport, Hilary was patted down AGAIN!  She is a sketchy traveler!  We returned safe and sound to Madrid and are now on our way to a birthday lunch!

Hasta la Vista,

Raquel y Hilary