A cold & gloomy day in Paris

Our second day out, it was pretty cold and gloomy (again). My mom and I started walking towards the Seine River and detoured towards Place des Vosges. But first, a second detour for coffee and croissants.

Park at Place des Vosges

Place des Vosges was nice. It’s basically a big square with a park in the middle, and closed off by buildings housing various art galleries and cafes. The park in the center is quite charming, with rows of trees and benches, and the surrounding art galleries are interesting to visit. Oh, and Victor Hugo’s house is here as well. To be honest, it was just too cold for me to enjoy much of anything this morning!

Braving the cold, we finally made it to the river and beyond. We visited the Pantheon (well, we visited the outside) as the sun peeked out for two minutes.

After a pit stop at a public toilet (more complicated than it sounds), we explored the Latin Quarter. I was glad to have more time to walk around this area since I didn’t explore it that well the first time (despite our hotel being located in this neighborhood).

Strolling through the Latin Quarter

Our goal was to head towards Saint-Germain-des-Prés, but on the way we made impromptu stops at two other churches.

Saint Severin church

Saint-Séverin was cozily situated in the Latin Quarter, its walls forming part of the narrow pathways into the neighborhood. Inside, the main attraction were these very modern stained-glass windows designed by some contemporary artist. But I have to admit, I prefer the old-school, traditional stained-glass windows. Although it was an interesting concept to juxtapose that old church with its modern windows.

Inside Saint Severin church

At this point, it started to rain again and it was quite cold and windy. I couldn’t take it anymore!

We gave up and headed back to the room for a nap under the warm covers. As much as we didn’t want to leave the room and head back into the rain, a girl’s gotta eat.

After laying in bed for an hour reading about recommended restaurants, we just went to a random cafe across the street, Cafe du Temple. The decor was….interesting. The cafe was decorated in animal prints, feather boas and Marilyn Monroe plates. However, the hostess was super nice and the food was really good – it ended up being an Italian spot.

I had this delicious spinach and sheep’s milk pasta/canoli thing. And a little chocolate mousse for dessert. In addition to our red wine, the hostess even hooked us up with some post-dining, nutty liquor. Altogether, a very satisfying meal!

Update based on a comment from my mom: “Restaurant was Italian-Sardinian, the liquor was chesnut schnapps, the best ever, and remember, the mousse was served from a pot, you could just dig in and take as much as you wanted. I want to go back!”

easyJet: not so easy

"If it don't fit, wear it!"

Our trip from Paris to Barcelona was another rational plan gone terribly, horribly wrong.

First, our flight was at 8 a.m., so we woke up at 5:30 a.m. Getting up that early is never fun. Especially when you go to bed at 1 a.m. And even more so when you have to drag your luggage across the metro. It’s so early you just want to cry because you have to be up and haul shit around already.

By the time we left the hotel it was 6 a.m. Not to mention that our the elevator wasn’t even working yet at that hour and our hotel was still on lockdown for the night. But our receptionist finally dragged his ass out of bed to let us out, and of course the elevator started working as soon as we finished stumbling down the stairs to reception.

Luckily, we got to the metro and a train came right away. And when we transferred to the RER train that would take us to the airport, that came right away too. Which was a good thing, because we definitely hadn’t allotted enough time to get to the airport.

By the time we got off the train, it was 7 a.m. Then we still had to trek our way to our terminal. Now it’s 7:15. We approach the easyJet counter and there is a ridiculously long line. (Insert expletive here). We go all the way to the back of the line and realize there’s no chance in hell we’re making our flight at this pace.

So I find one easyJet guy to see if he can help us, and he informs us that luggage check-in for our flight closes at 7:20 a.m. (so in five minutes). Of course he has no authority, but he recommends that we ask the easyJet lady directing line traffic if she can help us.

This lady was not very nice. She basically just sent me back to the end of the line. Clearly, she did not like me very much, even though I was being my usual, charming self. Well, the feeling was mutual!

As we moved up slowly in line, approaching bitchy line traffic lady, Daniela looks at the screen and it says the flight to Barcelona was expected at 9:40 a.m. So we got some renewed hope that maybe we would make our flight after all, and wouldn’t have to book another one.

We finally checked in our luggage and confirmed our flight was delayed. Thank God easyJet is as punctual as they are organized! But at check-in, the guy told me that I could literally only take one carry-on bag, so my little luggage and backpack wouldn’t fly (literally). “No problem,” I told him. “I can fit my backpack into my suitcase,” I added confidently.

Well, let me tell you, fitting all my shit into my already full luggage was not fun. I had to get a little creative and wear a few extra items (my new motto: if it doesn’t fit, wear it) and then sit on my suitcase to close it, PLUS carry a few things in my hand, but mission accomplished.

Success!

I won’t even get into details about the trauma of getting thoroughly felt up by the lady in security after the metal detector went off as I walked through.

Luckily, we got onto the plane early enough to sit together since it was free seating.

Then, of course I spent the remainder of the flight freaking out because of turbulence and my increasing fear of flying. Next flight, I’m popping a Vicodin to help me relax!

Anyways, we made it to Barcelona safe and sound, after a passionate political speech from the captain prior to take off about the necessity for Europe’s air traffic controllers to unite so we could avoid more delays during this busy traffic season.

Paris, day 2: Museum Pass, bird poop edition

Our second day in Paris, we decided to get the two-day museum pass. And we decided to take advantage of it. That was the plan, anyways.

Our first stop was the Pantheon, which was actually pretty random – it was just the closest place to the hotel that sold the museum pass. However, if you have the pass, the museum is worth visiting for the cool crypt, which includes the tombs of Marie Curie and Victor Hugo, among others.

Louvre courtyard

At that point, it was time to conquer the Louvre. That was quite a mission! When we first started out, I though to myself, “This isn’t going to be so bad, we can do it!” But it truly was an overwhelming amount of exhibits, and in the end I didn’t get to see everything I wanted to.

If you've read the DaVinci Code, you know what's hidden here in the Louvre

I did get to see a lot of French paintings, which I haven’t had too much exposure to before. Of course we saw the Mona Lisa, which was a little bit of a let-down since the relatively small painting is housed behind glass and roped off. Not to mention the relentless crowd swarming the area – more focused on snapping photos than actually looking at art.

We tracked down the Venus de Milo sculpture, but I actually enjoyed the Winged Victory of Samothrace better. The museum also has a pretty extensive collection of Egyptian artifacts – so extensive that I unfortunately didn’t get through them all. There was only a small section of Spanish paintings, which I’m realizing are my favorites.

Me and D in the Louvre. Just trust me, we're in the Louvre.

Funny enough, we ran into our Chicago/Indiana friends from the champagne cruise at the museum, too. Either it’s a small world, or us Chicagoans like our art.

After a few hours trying to make it through the Louvre, we had to call it quits (after a visit to the gift shop, of course).

We go outside to sit on a bench in the shade and relax. I have a nice view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance…and all of a sudden Daniela and I feel something hit us. It’s bird shit! Daniela is freaking out because a piece of it landed in her white jeans. In the meantime, I have crap all over my hair! I know it’s good luck to get shit on, but it was pretty damn gross. After some stern words, I finally convinced Daniela to get over the grossness and help me scoop the poop out of my hair. Needless to say, we hurried back to the hotel where I proceeded to wash my hair a few times.

View of the Seine & Notre Dame at sunset as we crossed Ile St Louis on our way to Le Marais

After recuperating, we walked across Ile St. Louis to the Le Marais neighborhood for dinner. We promptly got rejected from a couple fancy-looking restaurants located on a quiet street right next to a big church as the hosts looked at us in disdain when we tried to get a table without having a reservation. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like we truly experienced French food while in Paris. It seems like we just chose a lot of random, mediocre spots to eat.

After dinner, we walked through the Le Marais neighborhood which I liked a lot. It has a bit of a boystown vibe, but it’s the old Jewish quarters of Paris, so this part of town is made up of those old school, narrow streets I love.

This is where our walking mission began. We strolled through Bastille to the (nearly) 12th arrondissement to see our champagne cruise host aka aspiring musician, Brendan, play at some random cafe. The gig was actually in a nice area – Daumesnil Avenue – and there was a charming viaduct/promenade area there with restaurants and shops. However, it was late and maybe wasn’t the best idea for two girls to be walking across Paris at night alone.

Regardless, we made it there just fine in the end. Unfortunately, we missed our buddy Brendan’s set. We did, however, catch this other character – a middle-aged American (or Canadian) blues rocker who clearly had some stories to tell. His repertoire included such classics like, “Nobody ever called Pablo Picasso an asshole” and “Paco Apacolypte.” Our closest taste of any kind of Parisian nightlife!

Bonjour, Paris! Popping bottles and climbing stairs

Our first actual day in Paris, we did our own little walking tour. But first things first – food. We sit down at a cafe, and Daniela orders her usual – a Coke. They have three sizes, so she asks me which one she should get, and I say medium. But of course, she goes for the large size. Next thing we know, the waiter comes out holding a 2-liter mug filled with Coke, complete with fireworks. If that’s not the breakfast of champions, I don’t know what is:

Our first stop on the Agatha and Daniela Walking Tour was Ile de la Cite, the island on which the Notre Dame is located. It was insane to actually stand in front of this immensely historic building.

Then we kept strolling to the other bank and walked all the way to the Louvre. When we walked into the main courtyard of the Louvre and saw the huge pyramid structure, I have to admit that I got a little emotional; I just felt a burst of emotion swell in my chest. Paris seems to have a very emotional effect on me – just being here for the first time and seeing these world-reknown sites. They are truly beautiful and impressive.

At this point, we had taken a little detour to Starbucks and the tourism office to collect a bunch of brochures. We were hot, tired and sweaty, so Daniela and I headed to the Tuileries Gardens right in front of the Louvre to sit and rest. And watch the adorable duckies in the pond – well I watched them, you know how Daniela feels about animals.

Tuileries Gardens

We decided to take a champagne cruise to top off our first day in Paris. The boat cruise was a good call. On our way to the boat, we got our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, since our tour took off from the Seine right at the foot of the tower.

Our group of champagne drinkers had a nice VIP area at the front of the boat, closed off from the rest of the people (thank God!). And our group was pretty small, just about 10-12 people altogether. Funny enough, there was a family there from Chicago, too. Either it’s a really small world, or us Chicagoans really like our champagne cruises!

It was a beautiful cruise up and down the Seine River, right as the sun was beginning to go down. The boat took us from the Eiffel Tower, down to the Notre Dame, around Ile St. Louis and back again. Plus we had fun chatting with the other folks in the group – the family from Chicago, an Australian couple and our champagne tasting host, who ironically was from Indiana.

After the cruise, Daniela and I decided to get some dinner before tackling the Eiffel Tower, especially since we were feeling the effects of the champagne tasting. After dinner, we had a decision to make: pay extra to take the elevator to the very top (yikes!) or climb up God knows how many stairs to the second platform. I’m not sure if it was the champagne talking or us just being cheap – I mean frugal – but we decided to take the stairs.

View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower

It was pretty rough, especially since we were dolled up in dresses and not optimal climbing shoes. It was worth it though, being inside that steel structure and looking out over Paris. And we climbed back down in time to see the tower light up in the dark with thousands of twinkling lights – another emotional experience.

At that point, we were truly exhausted (and a little crabby) so, after a little drama catching a cab, went to the hotel and literally knocked out as soon as our bodies hit the bed. Ok, maybe I woke up a couple hours later to throw a tantrum about Daniela’s purse being on my side of the bed, but after that it was back to sleep.