Paris

Mid March proved to be a great time to visit….. Paris! Oui Oui! In what unfolded as a series of unfortunate events and massive misunderstandings, my roommate Mira and I missed our Eurolines bus to Paris and had to re-buy train tickets to Paris. Mira happened to have some family and friends staying in Paris, so fortunately, our accommodations were free!! We stayed in the Montmontre area; an adorable and quintessentially Parisian neighborhood walking distance from the walking Sacre Cour church. 

Exhausted but excited, once we finally got there, Mira and I took a tour of the neighborhood. We went to the boulangerie that was credited for having the best baguette of 2010 and promptly got a pain au chocolate and a baguette stuffed with olives and cheese. The pastry was flakey, moist, and buttery; the bread was soft and chewy, savory and warm – the absolute epitome of delish.

There were SO many things to do in Paris. Most notably, EATING! 3 course meals everywhere! For reasonable prices! One day, I had lunch alone at the café Le Saint Severin and pined upon the Paris experience:

“Could I have asked for a better Paris at this moment, at this time and at this space? No. After such the long and cold craze in Northern Germany, the rich Parisian sun has chosen to beam down upon me as I sit up gazing at the Eglise Saint Severin Church; it is the rawest display of sunlight I have felt since being in Europe. I am sipping on a crisp, Sancerre white wine, waiting for my lunch, getting the whiffs of cigarettes in my nose.  Swirling around my auditory is the combination of jazz notes from a lone musician, clattering dishes and different languages and tongues. God, these rays of warmth feel good. At this moment, the dearth in academic rigor and support in my master’s program at Jacob’s University has turned into a blessing in disguise: my life is exceptional and I am 100% fortunate to be living here and now.”

Of course, a visit to the Eiffel Tower was also a must. Mira and I practiced jumping in front of it for about a half hour ‘till we got the perfect shots. And we did!! I was definitely way more impressed by the tower than I thought I would be because of its incredible size.

 My favorite sight although had to be the Sainte-Chapelle, a gorgeous church on the Seine and a  “gem of High Gothic architecture”. The stained glass windows on the top level of the chapel are some of the most breathtaking I have ever seen. The fine detail of each individual window paired with the sheer mass of space these windows took up made this one of my favorite religious places I’ve visited.

All in all, Paris was an interesting place, albeit not my favorite; it seemed to lack the romantic element that all the movies put such a high emphasis on.  I also couldn’t manage to find a decent French Onion soup! I tried 4! No balance at all between onioniness, crouton and cheese flavor. WTF. Whereas I did get to see the Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame, and try rabbit for the first time, I did not get to do all the things I wanted to do, like go into The Louvre and The DeOrsay museums, eat escargot and spit on a hobo. And find a good French Onion! 

Next time Paris, next time!