Paris Part I

Louvre with cool pyramid reflection

We were in Paris for 9 days, so I have divided it up into 3 separate posts. This one is kind of a general overview of Paris and some things we did and whatever. Part II is more specific about things we did/saw, and Part III is about our day trips from Paris.

Playing 1950's housewife in our apartment.

Before Paris, the longest we ever stayed in one city was 3-4 days I think. So, I think its understandable that after 9 days in Paris, I was feeling pretty at home. It was really great because we rented an apartment in Paris, so we felt quite moved in after not too long.

I love spiral staircases, but my legs hate them.

I'm not really sure where to start with Paris. Basically I am in love, and I could stay there forever and not get bored. First and most importantly, let me tell you about boulangeries and patisseries. One of the greatest french traditions is getting a fresh baguette every morning. Before going to Paris, I had no idea how they ate a whole loaf of bread every morning, but after visiting the boulangerie by our apartment almost every morning and picking up a baguette that was still warm from the oven... we had no problem demolishing it. If you know me at all you will understand why I am completely obsessed with patisseries. I have never seen so many delicious pastries in all my life. Sarah was getting a little mad at me I think because whenever we passed one I would have to go in and have a look. I would move to Paris just for this. In fact, I may have to open a bakery at some point in my life.

Laduree Pastries 

I have to tell you about this one patisserie we went to. This store is where macarons were invented. It is the most beautiful place in all the world. It was on the Champs-Élysées, so it was very fancy and quite expensive, but it was beautiful and their macarons were by far the best macarons I have ever had. They also had macaron cakes which I am totally going to try to make when I get home!

Luxembourg Gardens

Enough about french food. Paris is exceptionally beautiful. The architecture here is really nice. We ran into more than one summer architecture study abroad classes and I would love to do that someday! Paris also has a couple really beautiful gardens. The Luxembourg gardens are huge and very pretty. They have a very large circular water pool where there are little kids with small sail boats that run around the edges pushing their sail boats across the pond. Its really cute. The Tuileries gardens are the royal gardens and are really amazing as well. The landscaping is great and they have special goats that mow the steep ditches.

Galleries Lafayette

Obviously Paris has excellent shopping, being the fashion capital of the world! Sarah and I went to a fashion show, which was really cool! Heads up - sneaker wedges are the next big thing, so you should probably buy some. Its part of the skater chic look. We did spend a fair bit of money at the Galleries Lafayette, the big department store which is so gorgeous on the inside. There are lots of boutiques everywhere which have really cool window displays, but sadly they were definitely out of our budget.

Random funny graffiti