On the morning of our first full day we went on a Fat Tire Bike Tour of the city. Our guide was a young woman named Anya from just outside of San Francisco, so she spoke a language we could understand! She took us all over the place and gave a great history of the city and the buildings. Who knew that the penthouse was for the peasants and servants? Or that the guillotine had to be repositioned throughout Place de la Concorde during its prime because all of the blood softened the ground and made the killing contraption much less effective? Or that a large portion of the city is symmetrical? Or that the easiest way to remember the important King Louis's is that King Louis XIV built the city, King Louis XV enjoyed the city, and King Louis XVI paid for the city? You're all welcome for that lovely little history lesson. We got to see some beautiful buildings including the Louvre, the Military School, the Eiffel Tower, L'Arc de Triumph, Iglese du Dôme (Napoleon's burial site), and many more. We also enjoyed a lovely stop in the Tuileries Gardens where we had some incredibly delicious hot chocolate. Just as we got back to Fat Tire headquarters it started to pour. We made our way to lunch at Leon de Bruxelles where we ate some muscles and steak and french fries. Shout out to BB who told us that she was too full for a dessert, but when we all ordered desserts she decided to order one as well. Not only did she finish all of it, but it took her less than five minutes to inhale her vanilla ice cream with warm hot chocolate sauce.
We returned to the apartment as the rain continued and all took a much needed nap. Which lasted about four hours.... We woke up and the rain had stopped and we walked to dinner at Meres et Filles where they were closing down as we arrived. They were kind enough to let us in, but as we were so late, we did not get to order. We were served pork with golden raisins and rice pilaf and fresh French bread. Never would I have ordered something like that, but it was one of the most amazing meals I have had on this trip. We got back late and were surprisingly all tired despite our long naps.
The next morning we woke up to take a tour of the beautiful Luxembourg gardens before the expected rain, but on the way we stopped for our first round of croissants. There is nothing quite like a Parisian croissant, I have now been spoiled. The gardens were absolutely beautiful and all was going well until I looked down at my shirt to unzip my jacket further as it had gotten warmer out. I looked down to find a most unpleasant surprise: pigeon poop. I was unaware that I had been pooped on, but trust me the evidence was there. (shoutout to Annie Apple, I now know how you felt at my sister's soccer game). Aunt Kait was a champion and helped me clean it as BB and my mom looked on and laughed. Apparently it's good luck to get pooped on though. I'm willing to bet that what that really means is that next time I will be lucky enough to not get pooped on.
After the gardens we made our way toward Conforama, something I would describe as similar to Ikea, which we were all unaware of. We stopped at a crepe stand and I had the most scrumptious Nutella crepe that ever existed. We also stopped at a really cute stationary shop. Afterwards we bought tickets to a concert at Saint Chapelle and then made our way through the pouring rain to a Mexican restaurant called Fajita for some yummy fajitas. We sat the showers out and then walked toward a famous linen shop to buy a present for the people who own the apartment (thank you Frinks!). I think it was on this trip that we stopped outside of Notre Dame again and walked through the giant tent that was set up on the area outside of the cathedral. It ended up being a bread exhibit that was kind of cool to walk through. Then we went into the cathedral, and it was absolutely beautiful. This is probably the only time I will have anything nice to say about anything named Notre Dame. We then headed back to the apartment to change before our concert. We got there a little bit late (shocking I'm sure to everyone who knows anyone in my family) but the music was beautiful and the ambiance of the chapel and the sun streaming through the stained glass windows made for an incredible experience. Once it was over we went to a restaurant called Le Caveau du Palais for some beef bourguignon. Then we made our way home but stopped for a dessert of crepes.
Our last day in Paris was really only a morning as we had to leave for the airport at 14:30 (yes I will be using military time because that is what my class schedule uses). We had delicious croissants for breakfast again and then went to the Musée d'Orsay where we saw some incredible artwork by people like Monet and Manet. On our way back to pack we stopped for lunch to-go and had quiche, grapefruit, and ham and brie sandwiches.
All in all it was a very successful trip to Paris, although next time I am there I will be sure to stay longer so I can experience more of everything.
A few side notes:
1. My fitbit is very happy, over 12,000 steps every day!!
2. We are masters of the Metropolitan
3. In the wise words of BB "p-r-u-n-e-s = h-a-p-p-y!"
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