Traveling words to live by: Being spoken to in French while learning Italian, and trying to hide the fact that your American, all simultaneously, can be very confusing for the brain.
Clearly I had to leave Rome in the pouring rain...duh. In addition, despite it saying we were taking off on time, the plane left an hour and half late...so Italy.
Thursday: arrive in Paris in the evening. I immediately get lost, find the train, and make my way to the seriously bougie 16th district where my friend, Lulu (Leah), is doing her home stay. Amazing apartment!!! Should have done a home stay (fml = fuck my life...hilarious web site reference...go to fmylife.com for a laugh when you're feeling down). I was tired from travel/am always tired, so we got sushi, walked around, and then just called it a night.
Friday: Drum role please!!!! Lola (Lauryn) arrived!! We checked into the hotel which was in the 5th district and walking distance from basically everything great. If you are ever in Paris and need a cheap hotel, Hotel du Commerce, check it out. We began our sight seeing extravaganza at the Picasso museum. This was great and obviously strange. My favorite part of this museum was finding Lulu and Lola's portraits. We window shopped through the Marais...soo many cute shops! Love The Cooples and so many others. I obviously could afford none of it. Sad. From there we went to the Pompidou. Soo cool! Saw...well everything modern that matters. Also, loved the view from the top! Later that night we went to the brasserie, Allard. Way old school vibe mixed with amazing food. Even Lola the vegetarian ate an escargot! I legit had the BEST tarte tatin and crem fresh ever! Truly an unforgettable culinary experience.
Saturday: My 21st (which we all forgot, including myself, until about 1pm). Up early. Trocadero for a fabulous view of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Ave. des Champs Elysees, the Louvre, Musee de Orsay, and shopping. Also in the midst of all that, we stopped at Laduree for macaroons. Amazing! They were out of caramel and sea salt (fml) but we had an assortment that included casis, mango and jasmine, coffee, chocolate, mixed berry, pistachio, citrus, vanilla, and some more I'm forgetting. Also at various points we also managed to have a giant meringue (lola's fave), profiteroles, chocolate tower thing, and pane cotta (not nearly as good as Italy's). Later that night, had way too much to drink (Paris + 21 bday + great friends = great night).
Sunday: Hangover. Now that I'm older you would have thought I would have learned my lesson...not. Had to say goodbye to Lola and Lulu...too sad for words. Left Paris in the pouring rain. Back to Rome where it is sunny and 65 degrees (spring soo soon!).
In short, Paris is a magical place. I clearly will just have to go back about 1000 more times. Maybe next time I will invite Roberto and Margarita so we can stay in the George V or the Ritz...sound good guys??
Next week: Spring break baby! London, Dublin (St. Patrick's day, no joke), and Edinburough (yay Patsy!). Can't wait but I'm so tired! I think I need to sleep for this entire week before then!
Best, an older, but none the wiser, Lauren
Songs of the week:
Staring at the Sun - Simple Kid
Champagne and Reefer - Muddy Waters
Knife - Grizzly Bear
Need Your Love so Bad - B.B. King and Sheryl Crow
Love You till the End - The Pogues
No comments:
Post a Comment