After arriving at the hotel and taking just enough time to wash my face and change clothes, we headed out into the city. A suggested we stop at a pastry shop – I asked her if we were going to get lunch there and she said, “No, just because! We can eat while we walk.” Eating croissants while wandering around Paris? Yes, please.
eating croissants waiting on the metro
We took the metro into the heart of Paris and started walking around. Cobblestone streets and the scent of freshly baked bread emanating from boulangeries filled my senses. It brought back all of the good memories from my last time in Europe. It was beginning to feel magical. We saw the sweetest little flower shop as we were walking around and I had to stop in to, literally, smell the flowers.
peonies – my favorite flower!
It was time for another little snack – street crêpes! There are lots of places for street fare so we stopped at one and ordered. I went with a “savory” crêpe and ordered chicken, egg, and cheese. They make them in front of you on a crêpe machine, spreading the batter out, flipping it in perfect time and filling with your choice of toppings.
Mine was a little full and not five minutes after A says, “You are so brave for wearing white pants!” Liquid cheese squirts out of the bottom of my crêpe and lands all over my relatively new white jeans. Oh well. It’s not every day you’re eating crêpes in Paris while walking along the Seine – no complaints here!
We started to walk down towards the Champs-Élysées. We passed through the Tuileries Garden – just one of the many stunning public parks of Paris. Beautiful flowers, manicured laws, and goats?! The thing with goats is kind of an inside/work joke with A so it was serendipitous to see a goat at Tuileries while we were there together.
We walked to the Arc de Triomphe – A says it boasts one of the best views in the city, especially in the evening!
As we strolled down Champs-Élysées we saw a big commotion across the street. There was a crowd of people clustering around an individual – cameras, screams, etc.
“Maybe it’s Justin Bieber!” A says.
“Let’s go find out.”
“Just hold up your phone and start taking pictures!”
So we’re standing in the middle of the street taking pictures although we have no idea what or who we are taking pictures of. Once the crowd dispersed some, we saw a man emerge – the President of France – François Hollande! Not Justin Bieber, but the second best thing, I suppose. I’M JOKING. I am not a Belieber.
We visited some of the shops along the strip before walking towards the Eiffel Tower (which you really can see from almost anywhere in Paris). I’ve heard people refer to the Tower as a “hunk of metal” and not that awesome but I was awestruck. It was more beautiful than I had imagined.
We found a nice little spot on the ground and lounged around in the sunshine. I think it was at this point I realized what is said about Paris being the City of Love is true. You better not have a problem with PDA when you’re in France. Old, young – age didn’t matter and neither did the location.
yellow stains courtesy of crepe juice
After a little respite, we walked around some more. Lots and lots and lots of walking in Paris. In the days leading up to my trip, my dad and I had a conversation that went a little like this:
“I know you’re an adult and you’re going to do what you want, but I just think that… you should… you know… think about what you wear. You’re going alone to a big city… and, I just think you should… be smart…you know?”
I knew exactly what he meant. He wasn’t talking about my clothes.
“Don’t worry, Dad, I’m going to leave the hooker heels at home.”
“Okay, good.”
No way was I bringing my heels to Paris with all that walking. Plus, the cobblestone, ya’ll! As A said: “You’d be baby giraffing all over the place!”
A took me to Notre Dame and gave me a few history lessons. She was always saying, “Here is your history lesson,” and then went into a short narrative of the structure. So fun!
We walked along part of the famous love lock bridge where couples put locks in pledge of their love to each other. A lot of them had put some serious thought into their lock – it was sweet!
We roamed over to 29 Avenue Rapp – an apartment that has won “the most beautiful façade in Paris”. It is gorgeous! Of course, to me, all of the building facades are charming with their window boxes full of flowers and French doors. Although, 29 Rapp’s door does kind of look like a screaming face to me.
It doesn’t get truly dark until after 10pm in Paris (told you it was magical!!) but we headed out in search of something to sip on while we waited for the Eiffel Tower to light up. After we sat in the grassy area under the Tower for awhile, we walked back up to another point near the Tower as it still wasn’t dark yet. This is where we stumbled upon several groups playing The Shell Game. Okay, I know this is a scam, but MAN! It’s so blatantly obvious how they screw people over – it was killing me! I was dying to play but A basically held my arms down and told me to not talk – ha! I could have won us big money. We stood there for about fifteen minutes and at one point I was so engrossed in what was going on before I knew it, one of the “players” had their hands around me pushing me up to the front to play and had separated A from me. She barged in between me and this group and pulled me away from them and we went on our way. I still know I could have won!
Around 10pm, before the sky was completely in its dark glory, the Eiffel Tower lit up in the night sky.
Shortly after, the sparkling lights came on and glittered us into the evening…
Pictures don’t do the sight justice – it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. No matter how many pictures or videos you see nothing compares to actually being there surrounded by one of the most picturesque sites in the world. And, so my first night in Paris came to a close…
Part 3 coming soon!
until next time… xoxo, patty lauren
