Paris Part I: We arrive. We are lazy.

On Friday I returned to Madrid after a wonderful week in Paris with Christina. It was great to be able to spend a lengthier amount of time in Paris, especially in comparison to the "go-go-go!" theme of most weekend trips out of town. In short, Christina and I did it up like true Parisians: 29 crepes, 14 baguettes, and 13 bottles of wine. (Also 9 macaroons, 7 pan au chocolates, 1 mini quiche, and 25 trips to Picard.) We also did it up like true tourists: Louvre, Seine, Notre Dame, Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Eiffel Tower, Musee d'Orsay, Montmarte, Sacre Coeur, Moulin Rouge, Centre Pompidou, Ile St. Louis and a fare share of wandering and shopping. Quel suprise. To avoid a mammoth blog post, I'm going to break it up into segments. Enjoy!

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Part I: We arrive. We are lazy.

Day 1: Friday, March 14
I nervously boarded what was soon to become my first time flying completely alone and anxiously waited to see who would be sitting next to me. I was pleasantly surprised when two little boys made their way into seats 9B and 9C. Stephen and Matthieu were 11 and 9 year old brothers, also flying alone for the first time. They spoke French, Spanish, and English and Stephen must have thought I was pretty cool because after the initial "Parlez vous francais?" he did not stop talking to me. The three of us spoke in a strange mixture of Spanish and English about bunnies (obv), tennis pros (they claim they're related to one), and boats. Once the flight landed we exchanged handshakes, they blushed, and I set out on my search for Stina who was patiently waiting for me upon my exit. We exchanged reunion hugs and boarded the RER train towards central Paris. 45 minutes later we were greeted by Celi, Christina's godmother, and were able to rest for a moment in the apartment that would be our new home for the week before rushing to find Lizzle in a restaurant where she was eating lunch with her program. I was reunited with my Lizzle and after smiles and squeezes the three of us set off towards the Louvre where we saw the Mona Lisa and the infamous Gnome with a Snail. Lizzle unfortunately had to get back to her hotel to go back to the Cope so we said a sad goobye and Stina and I returned to the apartment where we had crepes for dinner and proceeded to pass out early.

loving my Stina!

the Louvre



my new bffs: Mona and Gnoma

happy Columbia girls!

Day 2: Saturday, March 15
The morning of our second day was spent sleeping. Stina had the jet lag excuse but I was just being a lazy bum. Celi ventured pretty far north with us to the Vernaison Antique Market. We spent a few hours wandering through the aisles filled with antique velvet couches, racks of vintage dresses, and doll parts. I picked up a navy velvet bow clip that's pretty cute for one euro! Somehow exhausted again, we went home to relax, take a trip to Picard (an all-frozen grocery store that we worship), and make soup and pizza for dinner. A few hours later we met up with Mikey and tagged along to two of his friends' apartments. The second apartment was right on the Seine and had an amazing view of the Louvre. We drank lots of wine, ate our fair share of Pringles and congratulated ourselves on being oh-so-Parisian before spending an hour trying to hail a cab home in the rain (slightly oh-so-American...). We were happy to be out of the cold rain and again slept like babies.

the market and some doll eyes

not sure if there was enough to drink...Stina loving the Prings

being tres chic on the balcony



loving my Tinafish



kissing porcelain dogs probably isn't the best idea...



oh you know, just your standard view



the big fall!

Day 3: Sunday, March 16
Weekends are meant for sleeping in so I have to admit that we slept in yet again. Once we were mobile, following a breakfast of nutella crepes, we started to walk north towards the Musee d'Orsay. We passed lots of flower shops and fragrant bakeries and did not mind the on and off rain drops. The d'Orsay had an enormous line so we abandoned that plan and instead walked along the Seine. We briefly saw Notre Dame before seeking refuge from the cold in a cafe where Stina and I warmed ourselves up with hot chocolate and cafe vainilla (respectively) and soothed our rumbling tummies with a croque madame and a plate of chevre (respectively). Evening had fallen before we knew it and as we hopped on a Metro home we vowed to arise early for the rest of the week. We leafed through Paris guide books and made an extensive to-do list before cooking up some soup, green beans, and carrots and resting up for the busy week ahead of us.

our French breakfast

and my French snack

and! a French dinner!!