Wednesday
We started off our first day with a bike tour of Paris. In theory I thought this would be really fun, but in reality I was a complete dufus on the bike; running into people and inanimate objects, getting left behind from the rest of the group, and I of course was the only one to be honked at...twice. My goal went from a casual cruise while taking in the city sights to basic survival mode. So obviously Kate was the photographer of the tour while I just tried to focus on not dying.
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| Dummy, for the love of God, please keep your eyes open! |
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Stop 1: Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Stop 2: Love Lock Bridge |
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| Stop 3: The Louvre Hey, I'm still alive! |
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| Kate showing me how it's done. I even had her take over my purse because I was convinced it was throwing off my balance. Such a nerd. |
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| Stop 4: Invalides (Napoleon's Tomb) |
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| Stop 5: Snack time at Rue Cler Market |
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| Stop 6: The Eiffel Tower |
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| Stop 7: Pompidou Center |
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| Stop 8: Place de la concorde |
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| Ride back to safety along the Seine river bank |
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My reward for surviving the treacherous roads of Paris: croque-monsieur + red wine. Kate's reward for bearing the shame of being friends with the lamo of the group: croque-madame + red wine
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The Louvre
We may have been stuffed with copious amounts of cheese and red wine, but we were not fully satiated with sightseeing, and thus headed over to the always fun and not at all overwhelming Louvre Museum.
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| And, we're back |
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| Kate getting cozy with the Venus de Milo & a fellow museum goer |
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| Me getting frustrated by the not so user-friendly Nintendo 3DS audio tour. Seriously, besides some 10 year old boy who would find these easy to use? |
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| Kate and Mona |
Thursday
Breakfast by the Park
We stayed in the Bastille District and discovered an incredible
bakery near our hotel called Blé Sucré.
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| Park across from our table - Square Armand Trousseau |
Notre Dame Cathedral
After fueling up on quiche and pain au chocolat, we headed over to our first sight of the day the Notre Dame, but not without a quick coffee break from, um, eating. |
| Look at that bucket of coffee. I almost finished it. |
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| Reunited and it feels so good |
The Tuileries Garden
Then we had lunch in the gardens before making the trek over to the Arc de Triomphe.
The Arc de Triomphe
After a full day of sightseeing we experienced one of the best 3 hour dinners ever. The food, the atmosphere, and the company were perfect.
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| Kate enjoying her apéritif |
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| Kate getting hugs from the owner |
Our vat of chocolate mousse
The Eiffel Tower
We fully enjoyed ourselves at dinner, being the first to be seated and the last to leave, but our evening was not done yet. As this was our last chance to view the Eiffel Tower at night, we took a cab to see the city of lights in action. Kate used her mad negotiation skills to get us a 10 Euro bottle of Champagne from one of the many hustlers, and some random dude ended up doing an engagement photo-shoot for us. A memorable ending to an awesome day.
Friday
Marche D'Aligre
Before our evening train to Zurich we decided to explore our hood a bit more, and took a morning stroll through Marche D'Aligre - the neighborhood market.
Wine Stop
We couldn't have our last day be wine free, so on our way to a neighborhood park we made a wine pit stop
La Coulee Verte - Promenade Plantee
Our last sight was a very cool elevated park
Well, I think it's safe to say Kate and I did Paris right. Incredible times with an amazing friend. And it was only the start of the trip...
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