What a magical weekend---PARIS 2008!

Wow, this weekend was a whirlwind but I had such an amazing time in Paris. It was so nice to see Stacey and Justin and Denise. I really miss Tufts people sometimes! But before the weekend...

Thursday was a normal day of classes, nothing too exciting. Caitlyn came over after going home to do some packing, and then we walked around the street to get some pizza. It was DELICIOUS, and ridiculously close. They even offered to deliver to my house. I will be returning. Then we figured out what channel it was and watched my Spanish television debut! I'm not sure I can find it online anywhere but if I can, I will try to post it here. I sounded ok--not like a total stupid American. We were kind of screaming the entire time so I'm not sure what quote they used, but it was definitely in Spanish, and they definitely used a lot of clips from my Catalan class. It was pretty fun.

We went to bed at about 12:15 to wake up at 3:40. Oy vey. It was more like a nap than a night's sleep, but those are the sacrifices you make when you have to spend the weekend in Paris. ;-) We split a cab with Christen and Rose to the airport and got checked in and through security pretty quickly. We took a Vueling flight, and it was actually pretty nice. They play American pop music during boarding and before landing. Really odd. I slept for a little on the way there and we landed at 7:55 am, just in time to see the sunrise!

The 4 of us met up with Edon and we took the train into Paris. It was about 45 minutes and cost about 8 euro, which isn't bad considering how much a cab would have been for that distance. Caitlyn and I switched trains and got to our hostel where Justin was awaiting us! It was SO good to see him. Since we couldn't check in yet, we put our stuff in Justin's room and went out for some breakfast. This is also known as the most amazing pan au chocolat ever. It was so buttery and amazing.

We walked over to Notre Dame and looked around inside. I think it was under renovation when I went in 2004, but now it's all cleared away. It truly is an amazing structure. We hung out and waited for Stacey to be done with class. After another joyous reunion that involved slamming our knees into each other (why do we do that??), we all walked to get some lunch. I had a croque monsieur and we sat and talked. Then we decided to go to the Eiffel Tower.

This was a longer walk than I think was expected, but it was beautiful. Stacey said it was the best weather they have had since she has been there. What can I say? We walked down past Stacey's amazing apartment on the Seine, then through the Louvre to get to the gelato place (mmm mango). We strolled through the Tuilleries, the Place de Concorde, and then onward towards the Eiffel. We made a pit stop on some grass and talked. Caitlyn took a cat nap.

We walked some more and found it! It is so amazing being that close to it. It never seems real to me. We took a bunch of pictures (which are coming tomorrow--I'm having slow internet, surprise) and then walked down across the park. After that Caitlyn met up with Edon, Stacey went home, and Justin and I went back to the hostel. We got ready for the night and attempted to take naps.

The 4 of us went over to Odeon and had some Indian food for dinner. SO GOOD. I have been craving food from a different culture than Spanish or American college student food. Tikka Masala has never tasted so good. Afterwards we met up with Denise! She jumped me but it was worth it. We ended up at this piano bar, and Justin Birudavol came too. That was a nice addition! The night was fun (minus the red wine spillage on Denise's coat, which we managed to get out before it stained), and then we went home around 12 to get some sleep! But Caitlyn, Justin and I made a little crepe detour before bed, which was so worth it. I <3 crepes.

We woke up in the morning on Saturday and went over to the Arc de Triomphe. We met up with Stacey and ended up going to the top. My dad and I have a tradition of climbing tall structures when we are in other countries (Sagrada Familia, Eiffel Tower, etc.), but I guess I was out of practice. And it wasn't even that bad, it was just a spiral staircase that never seemed like it would end. Thankfully we made it to the top and saw some really beautiful views of Paris from a bunch of different angles. It was another clear and pretty day in Paris!

Caitlyn had never been to Paris before so she went on to the Louvre. Justin, Stacey and I wound up going over to Montparnasse and getting sandwiches at the place Stacey goes for lunch most days. I had other options, but you know what I chose? Ham and cheese. I guess Spain is sinking in or something. But then we got crepes and I felt French again. ;-)

We started an epic afternoon of walking around Paris. Since I had been there before, I didn't feel tons of pressure to go see all of the tourist spots in the city. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the streets of Paris with two of my best friends and just absorbing it all. We stopped for some coffee on the way, and had some Parisian cafe time. It was quite pleasant until this woman decided she wanted to sit down at the table with us and smoke until we left. That was cool. So we did.

We kept walking down along the Seine and came across this weird competition looking thing along the riverbank. We decided to watch what it was. Turns out it was a line of people who were going to make out with each other. Yep, it was a chain of making out. One sore throat just turned into about 150. I took a video of it because it was so unbelievable, and I'll post that tomorrow too.

After making a quick stop at Stacey's apartment, we went back to the hostel to freshen up before dinner. Caitlyn was there already so the 4 of us went to dinner at a restaurant near the hostel called, I believe, Cafe Pierre? Or something like that. It was basically the most French cliche thing ever. But we had some steak frites and some quiche Lorraine followed by some creme brulee and chocolate tart. We were full and happy and ended up sitting there talking for 4 hours! A typical European meal and it was lovely. Despite the fact that there were 2 people at a table who were ALL over each other for about an hour, we had a really good meal with good conversation and good company. :-)

We went back down to Odeon and met up with Denise at a little bar. It was really good to actually talk to her, as the night before was a little hectic. The men at the table next to us apparently liked that we were sitting next to them, and as they left passed Stacey a note saying she was "the most beautiful and fascinating tonight" and that she should call him. No thanks Jean-Renauld. No thanks. We left soon after they did and went to bed (again, post-crepe time).

Caitlyn and I woke up around 9:15 and Justin came to say goodbye. He walked with us to the metro and we were off to the airport. We took the metro to Gare du Nord, switched to a train to the airport, then took an airport tram, checked in, walked more, went through security, then got on the plane home. A whirlwind of travel indeed. But we made it back to our home away from home, then onto the train and then finally a metro to our apartments.

I had a snack, did some work, took a shower, had some dinner, and now I'm here. It was a busy and wonderful weekend, and I have a lovely little cold to prove it. I loved Paris, but it's nice to be back in a country where I can speak the language!

Pictures on the way!

Besos