Oh my lord.
Paris is HUGE. I won't go into tremendously detailed narrative like I've done with the other cities thus far . However, here's a summary and things you may assume without proof:
- Jessica's friend from internship, Anouar, took us on very rigorous walking tours through Paris during all 3 days we were there. Suffice it to say that he took us to every tourist destination. Every. Single. One. We basically accomplished the impossible task of seeing all of Paris's highlights and even some lesser known stuff in 3 days. Anouar was the best! At the price of my ailing feet. Btw, my feet started flipping a shit in Paris and would continue to do so for the rest of the trip (at this point: 1.5 weeks left to go).
- Paris is indeed as pretty as it looks in the movies. Though Amélie definitely did a lot of color enhancing.
- French people PDA more seriously than a bunch of hormonal high schoolers. Holy cow.
- Good, fresh baguettes are not supposed to be rock-hard and scrape up the insides of your mouth. Even though our hostel had all-you-can-eat baguettes with hazelnut spread (noisettes!), it's really all-you-can-eat-until-your-mouth-starts-bleeding.
- We went to a French bar on the first night. It was a small one and not very crowded. There was live music. If I recall correctly, there was a dude performing covers of American songs. Typical. At this bar, I tried a kamikaze for the first time. I found it to be a bit too vodka-y, but I still enjoyed it because it was a cocktail. Also I tried a Kronenbourg 1664, a French pale lager and also the best-selling beer in France. In the typical French fashion, there wasn't much of a punch and in fact it was a little sweet? Thus continuing the streak of sweet beers started in Amsterdam. Drink on!
Sacré-Cœur Basilica (Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, or simply just Sacré-Cœur). Definitely reminded me of the scene in Amélie when Amélie leaves Nino a bunch of clues about her location. Awww.
Atop Sacré-Cœur. Note the people on the leftmost bench making out (click to enlarge the image). They were actually amongst the more conservative couples I saw in Paris.
Could this be?! Café Amélie Poulain is down this street?! Though I'm pretty sure it was called Les Deux Moulins and not Moulin Rouge (dude, I've seen this movie almost 10 times, probably because it's my favorite movie). But those silly tourists won't know, right?
Turns out, theres no Café Moulin Rouge on this street, but there was a Café des 2 Moulins. Score!!!
Luxembourg Garden (Jardin du Luxembourg). Pretty public park that I did not know about prior to this trip. Lots of chairs are provided for sitting and ruminating, etc. Beautiful day.
Went to the Louvre on Day 2. Yea, the crowd of people getting a glimpse of the Mona Lisa (La Jaconde). Somewhat sickening, but it is the Mona Lisa after all. I did not enjoy the Louvre much since the sheer size of the museum discouraged any hope of seeing most of the stuff. Also it was crawling with tourists. And also, I wasn't feeling any of the art. Too classical and old, and statue-y.
A croque-madame. I remember the croque-monsieur from French class, but I didn't know what a croque-madame was so I ordered it. Only difference from the monsieur is that it comes with an egg. Clever.
Made it out to Versailles on Day 3. It's free to walk around in the Gardens, but it costs money to go into the Palace. It works out alright, since the line for the Palace was ridiculously long (like the line to get into the Louvre). It would've been nice to see the Hall of Mirrors (la galerie des Glaces or Grande Galerie), but not a huge loss. The Garden was pretty nice, but I bet it would've been absolutely gorgeous if the trees had leaves.
Only my family will understand this picture. :)
The garden was slightly less crowded than the major attractions in Paris.
Back to Paris. Did you know that the names of famous Frenchmen are on the Eiffel Tower?! I certainly did not. Look, Laplace! and Lavoisier! Lagrange was also on there. Okay, I'm done math/science-dorking.
On the final night, Anouar took us to his university's restaurant. Anouar's university has a military program so we were being served by cadets (they weren't dressed in cadet attire though). It was a swanky affair, which was a nice break -- to get cultured for a bit and not just run around crossing attractions off a list. Since it was a swanky affair, I did not take pictures of my food because it would've been tacky. But it was an excellent meal with some pâté action going on and some juicy, deliciously marinated pork.
Overall, I'm not sure what to think of Paris. When I was younger and after many viewings of Amélie, I really wanted to go to Paris. But over time I forgot about it. Then I finally get here after it's lost its relevance. I was a little disenchanted, possibly unable to appreciate it to as high a degree as I wanted to because we were only there for 3 nights. I get the impression that Paris is definitely one of those cities whose magic fully hits you if you live there, and not so much if you're just passing through. Note to self: spend more time in Paris next time. Much more time.
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