Paris

We had 10 days off last week for Semana Santa, so I packed my cool traveler's backpack (thanks Debbie!) and set out with my friend Gillian to explore a few new cities. First stop on our Eurotour? Paris! I think it would've been pretty hard to top the few days in Paris I had with my dad last year, but this Paris weekend was also really great. We arrived late Friday night at CDG airport and, after a few not so friendly encounters with French airport employees and a lot of confusion, finally made it via the RER train to our hotel. We only stayed there the first night because the other three we stayed with our WashU friends Jonny and Taylor, who are studying in Paris for the semester. Our first full day was Saturday, and Jonny met us at our hotel to give us our own personal walking tour of the city. First things first though, stopped at a cafe for chocolate croissants and coffee. Even though the coffee in Paris is like 3 drips into a cup made for babies. But the croissant was excellent. Then we took the metro into more of the city center and went to see Notre Dame, and then took a long walk along the Senne toward the Louvre. We got really lucky with the weather while we were in Paris - Saturday was beautiful and surprisingly warm, and it didn't rain once the whole 4 days we were there. For lunch, I met up with Lisa who is also studying abroad here. It was so nice to see her and compare our abroad experiences! After lunch we decided to take advantage of the beautiful day so we bought a bottle of wine and sat in the grass right outside the Eiffel tower. So French! We hung out there for a while then met back up with Jonny and Gillian and the four of us went to dinner. Perfect first day.

Reunited with Lisa! See the Eiffel in the background?

On Sunday Gillian and I woke up early and got on a train to go see Versailles. On our walk there from the train station, we accidentally ran into this huge outdoor market filled with fruit, meats, cheeses, and flowers. It seemed like mostly locals were there, bustling about and grocery shopping and tasting the different offerings. So we walked around there for a while before walking the rest of the way to Versailles. Using our student visas and line-budging savvy (oops) we barely had to wait to get into the palace and got in for free! Inside Versailles, sometimes I felt like I was in Grandma Shirley's house because everything was so fancy and beautiful and also I wasn't allowed to touch anything. That lady had good taste!

For lunch Jonny took us to Marais, the Jewish quarter, for falafel! It was so fun to walk around there and see people and shops getting ready for Pesach. Later in the day Gillian and I went to Sacre Cour, which was so beautiful and had great views overlooking the city. For dinner, we went out with Jonny, Taylor, and some other WashU friends who are in Paris.  On Monday morning, Gillian and I went to the Louvre and l'Orangerie. We saw some great paintings in the Louvre, but I really just found it so crowded and overwhelming and wasn't so upset when we decided to leave. Orangerie, on the other hand, I loved. They had Monet's water lilies on exhibit, and we sat in that room just looking at them for so long. After our museum morning we met up with Taylor and had a delicious afternoon snack at Angelina. Then we walked along Champs Elysees up to the Arc de Triomphe.

Sacre Cour

Me and Gillian outside the Louvre

Monday night was the first night of Pesach, and I was lucky enough to get to go to a seder in Paris! Backstory: Gabby, a girl in Gillian's sorority at WashU who graduated last year lives in Paris with her family, and she invited us over when she heard we'd be in town for Pesach. Also, her mom writes for the New York Times (casual) and wrote this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/dining/solving-the-passover-puzzle-in-paris.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0 right before we came! They live in a gorgeous apartment in Montmarte, and the family was so warm and welcoming to me and Gillian even though I had never met Gabby before. Seder guests included: Gabby and her parents, their American cousins, her mom's French research assistant, and Gabby's French boyfriend. Her dad led the seder with a Haggadah written in Hebrew, French, and English. We went around the table taking turns reading from it in three languages which was so cool. Dinner was delicious and overall it was an incredible experience!

The Seder table!

Tuesday came up fast and we packed up our things at Jonny and Taylor's to get ready for our next stop on our trip. We were both sad to leave Paris but had such a wonderful weekend there with great friends. Next stop - Prague!