We departed Florence for the airport in Pisa last Thursday night. Our EasyJet flight was rather pleasant despite a fifty-minute delay before we boarded the plane. Other NYU students Drew, Nicole, Alicia, and Christina were also on our flight, and we arrived in at around 11:15pm. The bus system in Paris stops running at 11:30pm, so after a fruitless search, I hopped in a cab to Rue de la Butte Aux Cailles, where my friend Jesse lives. He’s studying abroad with NYU and lives in a single apartment with a bedroom lined with books and a washing machine right next to his dishwasher! He was kind enough to let me stay for the duration of my time in Paris. His apartment is located far from tourist areas but close to a Metro station and it was nice to get a glimpse of real Paris life.
On Friday morning, I got up early to meet my fellow travelers at the Louvre for our 9am reservation. It was a cold morning and complications with their hotel led to my friends being quite delayed, but I got to shoot a few pictures of some large groups and just take in the exterior of the Louvre in all its grandeur. I walked through some of the streets around the Louvre while I was waiting, and it was cool to take in Paris at around 9:30am on a Friday morning. Once my friends arrived, we journeyed through the halls of the Louvre and I took countless pictures of paintings and sculptures. I was prepared for the lackluster nature of the Mona Lisa but not prepared for the overjoyed reaction my friends had to the existence of a Starbucks. We exited the Louvre after a few hours and took a quick look at the gardens on the way to our next destination.
The Louvre!
Becoming one with the artThe day was warming up, so we walked outside for a while past the beautiful Seine, and made it to Notre-Dame. We went inside only minutes before a mass so we didn’t stay for long, but it was still quite impressive. Our travels that afternoon brought us to a gyro place for lunch (my first ever! Pretty good, I say) and the Luxembourg Gardens for some relaxation and sun intake. That evening, I met up with Jesse, who brought me to a local restaurant called Chez Les Filles where I met some other NYU in Paris students. My dinner of lamb ribs was not the gourmet highlight of my trip, but it was still filling and I was positively overwhelmed by the good-tasting bread that’s thrown at diners, since that’s one thing that doesn’t really exist in Florence. A few photos from that afternoon:
Sitting on the Seine
The Seine
Lauren, Nicole, Ryan, Amanda, me, and Lauren
Notre-DameSaturday morning I didn’t meet up with my NYU friends but instead saw two friends of mine from Holliston, dating back to before high school, Alison and Katie. Alison is studying abroad the year in Paris, and Katie was visiting her for her spring break. Katie’s roommate Teja from BU is abroad in Madrid and stopped by for the weekend as well. I met up in the morning with Katie and Teja at Place d’Italie, a shopping center very close to where Jesse lives, and where I picked up the Metro each time I traveled around Paris. We walked around Paris and picked up some fruit on the way to Notre-Dame. Since I had already been there the day before, I was glad to have the opportunity to go see the Mémorial de la Deportation, the Holocaust memorial for the 200,000 French people deported. Unfortunately, I only got to see the outside since it was closed, but it was still an interesting experience. We met up with Alison outside Notre-Dame and walked through Paris for a while. I had my first crepe of the trip (with butter and banana) and we sat down for a bit in the Luxembourg Gardens. That afternoon marked one of the most worthwhile parts of my trip – the Catacombs. We waited in line for a short while and then headed down a lot of steps to walk through the underground tunnels. It was really cool, and there were quite a lot of skulls and bones. When we came out (far from where started), we stopped at a stand on the street and I got a gaufre (waffle) with sugar, one of the things I remembered loving about my trip to France in seventh grade. Our last stop of the day was at Sacre-Coeur, the church at the top of Paris where you can look down and see the whole city. Unfortunately it doesn’t come out as well in a picture, so I’ll just have to recommend you go see it for yourself! The inside of the church was very nice and I left Katie, Alison, and Teja as they were exploring the villages near the church. I returned via Metro to Rue de la Butte Aux Cailles, and Jesse took me to one of his favorite restaurants, Chez Gladines, where I ordered the confit de canard (duck) which was delicious and accompanied by some terrific potatoes. A highly recommend dish!
Walking through the Catacombs
Skulls!
Sacre-Coeur
Alison, me, and KatieSunday morning I reunited with the NYU girls at their Best Western hotel. Before jumping on the Metro to meet them, I went into a boulangerie and purchased a person-sized baguette for a mere 87 cents. It was entirely delicious and I like its on-the-go nature. Our itinerary for the day was to head to Versailles. While the weather in the morning was overcast and it rained for a bit, it got much nicer by the afternoon. We purchased tickets for the Chateau de Versailles right near the train station and got to skip the line to get in. We walked through the palace for a while and it was quite an incredible experience. After seeing the castle, we hopped abroad the shuttle that goes through the surrounding area and got off at the house of Marie-Antoinette. Purely by chance, I ran into Kaitlin, an NYU student abroad in London who I had class with during freshmen year, waiting in line behind me. It’s really fun to see all of the paintings and rooms in Versailles and I have tons and tons of pictures that I’ll hold on to but aren’t quite worth uploading or sharing here. On our way out, we couldn’t resist stopping at a crepe stand and I got one this time just with sugar (simple, but sweet!). When we got back into Paris, we split up and I went with Lauren and Ryan to the Arc de Triomphe. We walked down the Champs-Elysées, which was great, and to really ensure that I tasted all the great French food, I got another gaufre. From there, we headed towards the Eiffel Tower. We got there at a perfect time, just as it was getting dark, so we got to see in the day and then when it got lit up at night. I opted not to go up the Eiffel Tower since I got a headache just looking up at it, but I did go up last time I was in Paris so at least I did it then! The Eiffel Tower was our designated meeting point so I hung out with Mitch, Jamie’s friend, as we waited for everyone else to arrive. Kim, a friend from Holliston who used to go to NYU, now goes to BC, and is currently studying abroad in Paris, met up with us as well. While we were waiting, I even ran into fellow NYU-in-Florence student Alana Weber! It got pretty cold and started raining a bit, so we headed to find a restaurant as soon as our large group of eight was together. We dined at a fairly touristy restaurant, and Lauren sampled escargot. I was satisfied with my decent steak and fries. I took the Metro back with Kim most of the way and turned in for the evening to get some sleep before my last day in Paris.
The Chateau de Versailles
L'Arc de Triomphe
The Eiffel Tower!
The Eiffel Tower, lit up at night
Kim!I parted ways with my gracious host Jesse (who I sadly never got a picture with) on Sunday evening since he had to get up early Monday morning for class. I left Jesse’s apartment in the morning and purchased not one but two baguettes for the day and for our impending train to London. I had instructions to take the 6 Metro line to get to Mitch’s favorite restaurant where we would have our last meal in Paris. I got on the train as planned, but was promptly kicked off because the line was shutting down indefinitely. Fortunately, I was able to re-chart my route and reach my destination as planned. Everyone except Ryan, who had left already to return to Madrid, met up at Tribeca, an Italian restaurant walking distance from the Eiffel Tower. I decided that in light of my ability to have Italian food every day this semester, I should go for something else, and ordered the confit de canard once again. It was just as delicious this time. I ended my time in Paris with a fourth and final crepe. Lauren, Jamie, and I took a cab to the Gare du Nord to take the Chunnel to London, where further adventures would continue! Check back soon for exciting stories!
Confit de canard!
A parting shot of Rue de la Butte Aux Cailles
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