Tourist Time!
So this past weekend, my friend Alex (who is studying in Seville, Spain) came to visit me. I intentionally skipped a lot of touristy things so far, knowing that I would have friends coming to visit and not wanting to repeat things over and over, so I finally got to visit and do some of the standard stuff.
I picked Alex up at the airport on Thursday night and then took her to her hostel, Young & Happy, a name that could double as a Chinese massage parlor. After she put all of her stuff in her room, we wandered to a panini vendor, had dinner, and went to a friend’s apartment. Realizing that the next day would be quite long, we didn’t stay out to late.
Friday morning started at about 10.00, and our first stop was Champs-Elysées. We walked around for a while, making sure to visit l’Arc de Triomphe and also the Louis Vuitton flagship store (which is massive). We then went to Notre Dame, which is where the scam artist conversation happened. After going inside, looking around, and taking pictures outside, we wandered over to the Jewish quarter to eat at a falafel place, L’as du Fallafel. I first heard of the shop from a website and then looked it up on Google, only to find out a glowing review from the New York Times. This was probably the highlight of the weekend for me. We both got schwarma, and after downing it, I decided that the glutton in me wanted some falafel. So I got that too, and for about five minutes of eating, I was in heaven. Content, we left to head back near Champs-Elysées to find Palais de l’Elysée. After that we made our way to Palais Royal, which was largely boring. Legs tired, we took a break outside and sat on a bench for a while, and then headed off to Tuileries - but not before running through many lanes of heavy traffic and dodging crazed French drivers. We walked through and decided that it was time for gaufres (waffles) with Nutella. Our last major stop was at the Louvre, where we got free entry (hurray for Student Night!) and saw, of course, the Mona Lisa - which, while small, is nonetheless incredible. We wandered around aimlessly, since it seems that we missed the maps at the entrance of the hotel (go figure, the French would never think to have maps available after the entrance). Finally, we decided that Happy Hour was more important than any more art, so we booked it to La Bastille. We found a bar that had “Mega Cocktails,” which were giant cocktails intended for four people each. And we got two. After about an hour and a half, we had consumed the two litres each, and then headed to another bar. Not staying long, we saw it important to get something other than liquid in our stomachs. We stopped at a vendor and made our way home, ready to call it a night.
Saturday morning rolled around, and our first stop was les marchés aux puces (flea markets) near the outer edge of the city limits. Unfortunately, the markets were a lot different than flea markets in the U.S., and most people were desperately trying to sell whatever garbage they had - cheap jewelry, terrible smelling leather, counterfeit purses, random luggage, and more. We walked around for a while and then went to Sacre-Coeur, which has a beautiful church and wonderful view of all of Paris. They also have an awesome square with a lot of artists selling all sorts of paintings and drawings. Then, we stopped by Moulin Rouge to take pictures and then headed off to Musée d’Orsay to meet up with some of Alex’s friends who were also in town. We ate lunch and then headed to the Eiffel Tower, where we were endlessly accosted by guys trying to sell cheap Eiffel Tower statues (hilariously, “No” to them seems to mean “YES PLEASE ASK ME AGAIN!”). The four of us then walked up the stairs to the first and then second floor of the Eiffel Tower, and then took an elevator to the third - the highest level. The view is absolutely amazing - as well as terrifying - and many pictures were had. After that, Alex and I left her friends to go to La Grande Epicurie, which I think is kind of like a Saks Fifth Avenue of a grocery store. There, we got macarons, which is by far my favorite dessert here in Paris - I got raspberry and she got chocolate. After annihilating them, we went to Monoprix to get food for the night. Finally, we went to a friend’s apartment to have a potluck with my friends, which was awesome - pâté, chips, M&Ms and home-made guacamole, pulled pork (MY FAVORITE! man how I miss barbeque…), cole slaw, and a chocolate and caramel torte, as well as some other awesomeness. Alex and I also did a beer tasting with five different beers. After dinner, we all headed out to a bar, and called it a night pretty late. I got home at 5.00am.
Today, Sunday, rolled around really quickly. I got about four and a half hours of sleep. Alex and I went to a brunch place that has a student price of 2E85, which is really, really cheap. I thank the French government for their subsidiaries. It was raining, so then we decided to go see a movie, Watchmen (called Les Gardiens in French). The French subtitles were often annoying to me, and also served for some amusement. After that, our last mission for the weekend was to get crepes. We stopped at a street vendor, reveled in our newfound awesomeness, and made our way back to my apartment. Soon after, I took Alex to the metro stop and she went on her way, back to Seville.
In all, it was an awesome weekend. I got a chance to do quite a few things that I hadn’t yet done. Also, I found it really, really nice to be able to have some familiarity in a friend from home. The only downside is that tomorrow, my day of three classes, will be in stark contrast to the fun I had.
