Three Americans in Paris

Currently I am flying through the French Countryside on the Eurostar to London (we haven't reached the English Channel yet). Kelly and I arrived in Paris the day before yesterday and found the apartment we were staying in without much trouble. We had rented a room from a young couple in Montmarte -- very nice people, and a lovely apartment. Kelly and I arrived around 5pm and weren't expecting Jordan for another three hours, so we wandered, found crepes and went to a grocery store to get some salami, cheese and bread for a picnic dinner. Then we went back up to the apartment to wait for Jordan and relax after our long travel day. I sat on the balcony and waited... but Jordan didn't come. 8pm, 9pm. . . 9:30. Did he get lost? If he got lost, he would have figured it out by now. . . What do we do? Luckily, Priscille and Marc came home around 10 or so and figured out how to track his flight. He was supposed to land at 6:30, but didn't end up landing until 10! Phew! Our worries assuaged, we at some more bread and cheese and kept a look out in the balcony. Finally, I saw him turn the corner...and go the wrong way. Kelly and I tried hailing him from the balcony, which only confused him, so Kelly ran down and got him. Reunited at last! Once he got up the five flights of stairs to the apartment, he explained that it had been a ROUGH travel day and proceeded to take off two sweaters and a pair of jeans to reveal a long sleeve shirt and ANOTHER pair of jeans underneath. Apparently, the airline only allowed one personal item and to check a bag would have cost 20 euro (if anyone is wondering, that's about 7 boxes of homemade chocolate from Belgium). In order to conserve space and smash his messenger bag into his backpack, he piled on clothing. On top of that, his flight was delayed, because it was too windy to take off in Florence, so his entire plane was BUSSED to Pisa, and naturally took off late. Happy to see each other again, we stayed up late swapping travel stories (Jordan has been working on a farm in Italy two weeks) and planning for our one day in Paris.

We woke up early the next mornig, so we could be at the Louvre when it opened. The morning was bright and sunny and Kelly and I were elated that it felt like summer again! FINALLY! We got off the metro a couple of stops before the Louvre and took a nice walk through a garden on our way. When we reached the palace, there was a HUGE line out the pyramid and it wasn't even 9am yet. Being savvy travelers, we went and got pain au chocolates and coffee and then munched before we entered from the subway entrance -- still a line, but a shorter one. We bought our tickets and saw all the greats: venus de milo, winged victory, the five leonardo da vinci paintings, Louis XIV's crown jewels, and more and more and more. The hoards of people were a sight unto themselves and sometimes I found myself just marveling over the waves of people instead of staring at the art. We finished our visit in the statue garden -- my personal favorite, as it is naturally lit, quiet and pretty -- and then headed out in search of a picnic. We went to Rue de Cler and purchased brie and a hard cheese at a formagerrie (omygod so many gorgeous cheeses), cherries and apricots at a produce store and a baguette and quiche from a bread place. Armed with the makings of a delicious French picnic, we claimed a place in the park in front of the Eiffel Tower and sat down on the grass to enjoy. It was an incredibly lovely picnic, amongst locals and tourists a like. Also, the food was incredible. The baguette was so soft and the cheese so creamy!!! After that, we walked down the river Seine all the way to Shakespeare and Co. -- a very famous English language bookstore opened for a lost generation of expats after WWI. It is stuffed to the brim with old books and new books, and there is a piano upstairs. It was so calming and wonderful. After browsing for a long while, and refilling our water bottles at their fountain, we crossed the bridge to stare at note dame for a little while (and I read fun facts about the church aloud). By this time, our feet were incredibly sore, so instead of doing the walking tour we'd planned, we walked among the old book and print merchants along the river and then ventured into Le Marais to people watch and find crepes. Eventually we found a small park to eat out crepes and rest our feet. As we watched the people around us, we realized it was very much a "canoodling" park, which was rather hilarious, and wonderful. Soon, we were off again to the arc de triumph and then a stroll down Champs-Elyses. We had planned to climb to the top of the arc, but the entrance fee was highway robbery! So, we got macarons from Laduree instead (I was thinking of you the whole time, Julia!) I got simple raspberry, chocolate and vanilla, but Kelly got a variety of interesting flavors: lime with basil, orange blossom, and a min one that tasted like real mint leaves. They were extraordinary! Then we headed to Sacre Cour to end our lovely little day in Paris. We went into the church, saw the view and then headed home. Kelly and Jordan went and got the fixings for a pasta dinner, while I went back to video chat with Sarah Ellis (my future roommate in NYC) who is finding us an apartment this week! We had a pleasant dinner, packed our things and went to bed.

This morning, we gathered our bags and headed to the train station. We had our last French pastries and boarded our train to London! I can hardly believe that we will be in a place where people speak English! I'm looking forward to the U.K., but I'm sad that I'll be saying goodbye to Kelly, as she is staying in London for a week and then going home, while Jordan and I only have two days here and then we're making our way through England. I can't believe it's time to say goodbye already -- it's been an adventure thus far =) Ah! Looks like we'll be in London in a few minutes. Until the next train ride!