Springtime is blooming in Paris!

Paris has officially transformed into springtime (printemps-in french) this past week! Yay! The weather has been 60 and above everyday with the sun shining down all day long. Yesterday, I didn't have to wear a jacket to class since it was so warm out, it was great. The weather perked up just in time for my first visitor in Paris-Zach. It was unbelievable how lucky he was because the day that he came was most likely the nicest day thus far in Paris. It was about 65 degrees and sunny the entire day. Determined to show him all that Paris has to offer in just his two day visit, we started the morning bright and early with crepes and coffee at a cafe by the Notre Dame.

delicious banana and chocolate crepes!

After our huge breakfast, we headed over to the Notre Dame to take some pictures. The cathedral wasn't that crowded and I've learned that going early in the morning to the Notre Dame is the best time. If you go any later, there are too many tourists and too many gypsies surrounding the square. After walking around Notre Dame for a bit, we walked back towards my school for some lunch. I made Zach get my favorite panini from my favorite panini stand (they're only 2,90 euro!) and we ate lunch in the Luxembourg gardens. The Eiffel Tower was next on the agenda so we made our way over there. It was pretty crowded, as always, so we waited for about an hour before we made it onto the lift to go up. We got to the second floor and took in the amazing few of Paris. It was a clear day out so we could literally see the entire city. After snapping some pictures, we got in line for the lift to take us to the top of the tower. However, as we were about to get on the lift.....all panic broke out. The security guards starting saying "on font evacuer"...meaning "we must evacuate". So instead of getting on the lift, we were hustled towards the stairs to walk all the way down the Eiffel Tower. The security guards wouldn't say what the problem was but they made it sound extremely urgent that everyone got out of the Tower. On our way to the stairs, Zach and I ran into a group of Americans who were extremely confused. Everyone was ignoring them and their questions of "Where is everyone going?"(in the southern accents) so I stopped and told them we had to evacuate. BIG Mistake. In All American fashion, they started screaming, pushing people, and sprinting towards the stairs. You would've thought we were on the Titanic seeing the way that they responded. We tried to tell them to calm down, but it was no use. For the most part, Zach and I were probably two of the calmest people out of hundreds on the Eiffel Tower that day. We casually walked down the stairs, took some pictures, and made a safe calm exit out of the Eiffel Tower. By the time we got to the ground, the French Army was already there blockading the Tower. We learned that someone had called in a bomb threat to the Eiffel Tower and that's why we all had to evacuate. It was somewhat frightening thinking that we were in the Eiffel Tower at the time the threat was made but thankfully everyone made it out just fine. Later, we saw the Americans (who I have a feeling were from Mississippi) still running away from the Tower, doing a headcount of their group, calling everyone they knew on their cellphones to tell them what just happened, and whining about a refund. Zach and I obviously went as far away from them as possible.

View of Paris from the 2nd story

us "evacuating" aka walking casually down the stairs while most panicked

After the Eiffel Tower ordeal, Zach's friend, Robbie, (who is studying Architecture at Versailles for the year) was in Paris for a sketching class and met up with us to go to the Louvre. I was more than happy to show Zach the Louvre (I've now been there 9 times) and of course we went straight for the touristy work of art -The Mona Lisa (or La Jaconde in french). As Robbie and I explained to Zach ahead of time, it was not going to be as cool as he imagined, and we were right. There is so many cool things in the Louvre that people miss because they're so focused on seeing only the well-known pieces of art. After some walking around the Louvre and mostly looking at the Italian Renaissance works, we went to the Napoleon Apartments in one of the upper wings of the Louvre. The Louvre was a palace before it was a museum and still has the bedrooms, dining halls, sitting rooms and everything in the same fashion as it was when it was a palace. Not many people know about the apartments, so it was very cool and empty, and we got to take our time looking within every room. 

After a few hours at the Louvre, we went to Montmarte for dinner. Robbie had gone to a really good restaurant with this brother the week before and we decided to go for it again. We walked most of the way to Montmarte (which is on a hill, so therefore a tiring workout) and Robbie found the restaurant with ease. The waiter recognized him and was nice enough to explain the menu to us in English since there were mostly meats and since I don't eat them, I don't know that vocabulary too well. For an appetizer, the boys got Foie Gras, also known as, duck liver. They forced me to try a little bit because of its "authentic frenchness" and for once I gave in. I had less than a quarter of a teaspoon on a piece of bread, but I have to say it was not bad. I, of course, would never order it for myself, but I'm happy I tired it. The boys then got suckled pig and leg of lamb for dinner (which I did not try ANY of) and I stuck with the fish and vegetables. It was extremely good though and we got ice cream and chocolate cake for desserts which was also extremely scrumptious. 

After a long and delicious dinner, we went to Sacre Coeur (a famous church on the top of Montmarte) to take in the view of the whole city and get a few pictures. It was very beautiful and there were many street artists painting along the walk to the church. I definitely am going to go back later in my semester here to buy some street art. Montmarte is famous for being home to Moulin Rouge as well as many famous artists. We made it to the top of the Sacre Coeur and to our relief, the Eiffel Tower was all lit up-and most importantly- still standing!

Some Paris Fashion trends that I've been noticing: BOYS

1)letterman jackets. I know.... a bit strange but they are a huge trend here. 

2) skinny ties are very in and I hadn't noticed so many boys wearing them until recently. 

And for the ladies- 

1)This pains me to say it, but..... jean skirts are a huge trend here right now. I am not a fan of jean skirts whatsoever, and I will NOT be participating in this trend, but they are everywhere lately! 

2)khaki/gray colored trench coats are really in. Long ones and short ones alike. H&M sells them for pretty cheap so I'm considering getting one as my springtime jacket. 

I'm now off to go see if I can find the great weekend vintage flea markets that everyone has been raving about! Au Revoir!

-Paige