Bonjour!
Landing in Paris, we were greeted by our favorite Frenchman, Camille. This genuine, down to earth guy was part of our "Spicy" crew at SpicyThai hostel in Chiang Mai. Originally, we planned at least four days in Paris-if you're going to do it, do it right...right? Well, after the many other additions to our list of cities to visit, we realized we'd left only two nights for Paris. It wasn't near enough to see and do everything one may normally do on a Paris trip, but we did what we had looked most forward to-spending time with a friend.
Camille opened up his flat to us, even giving up his bedroom. And I must say, having a French-speaking local with us was incredible! Our first day, we stopped for a nice lunch (think-steak, sausage, duck) paired with a bottle of Rosé. Magnifique. After lunch, Camille played tour guide(and a good job at that!) and showed us around the enchanting city of Paris. It was easy to see how one would fall in love with this city. Romance, history, fashion. Croissants and fresh baguettes. Espresso, espresso, espresso. The streets are a hustle bustle mass of well-dressed men and women, walking under the ever-present cloud of smoke. The sidewalks are covered in small round tables, holding even smaller cups of espresso. We've both actually really started to enjoy our espresso. We've ordered several of these energy-jolters since being in Europe. With that said, you can't beat a BIG coffee. A drink-till-it's-afternoon sized coffee. Ahh Grande Skinny Vanilla Lattes, I'll never stop loving you...
Enough about coffee.
The three of us checked out the Notre-Dame and the gardens around the Louvre, marveled at the shelves of english books stuffed into the cozy little Shakespeare book store (the oldest British book store in Paris) and walked along the Pont de l’Archevêché, or the "Love Bridge"-named this because people leave locks on the chain siding of the bridge, symbolizing their love for each other.
That night we went to a small bar to watch a "football" game. The Euro cup is going on right now, so everywhere you go, there is a game playing.
We had an early celebration for Andrew's 23rd birthday...let's just say the European beer kicked his butt, and he may have left a little treat under the Eiffel tower the next day...You can ask him for the story.
We had a delicious breakfast of French pastries the next morning. Croissants, pain au chocolat, complete with an espresso.
After breaky, we got ourselves ready to climb the Eiffel tower! First, we had a little picnic in a park nearby, then we bought our tickets and made our way up. After enjoying the view of Paris, we went to Les Buttes Chaumont, a beautiful park with a huge manmade stone hill, complete with a waterfall and creek. Camille ran to a nearby bakery for some birthday cake, and we fought with the wind to light the candles. Once we got a few to stay lit, Andy made a wish and-with the help of the wind-blew them out.
HAPPY 23rd BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!! (on June 15th)
We had a nice dinner and spent the evening relaxing at Camille's. I think we were all still feeling the effects from the night before, so the chill-out time was needed.
After a good sleep, we got up to enjoy our last half-day in Paris. We went and seen the Sacré-Coeur Church, which is also the highest geographical point of Paris. We walked around Montmartre, an area full of tourists, as it's dubbed to be the "typical" Paris. Tons of shops and restaurants line the narrow cobblestone streets. We had lunch with Camille and his friend, and then they sent us off at the train station.
Camille, merci beaucoup for sharing your city with us. Paris has an enchanting air to it. I loved the food, the fashion. Andrew loved hanging out at the local pub and watching football with the boys. It was a great, although quick, 2 1/2 days. We will miss our French doughnut, so Camille, don't wait too long before coming to Canada. Your little moose will need a little French in our lives again soon.
The train from Paris took us to Amsterdam Centraal, where another SE Asia friend was waiting for us. I'll write about our amazing 3 nights in the Netherlands soon!
Love to all,
xx A&C
No comments:
Post a Comment