6.26.11 Paris: Day 4 - Leaving Paris

Well Sunday has finally arrived and it's time to head back to Metz (my home away from home). I can truly say that these past four days have been the most exciting days I've had since I've been in France. We were a little exhausted at the end of the day, but we practically got to see everything that we wanted to.

We saw all the major landmarks (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, La Seine River, Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, and The Louvre Museum and its big triangle. We saw everything (for the most part). And I was able to check basically everything off my Paris Bucket list, which is even better! I took pictures of famous fashion brands (Louis Vuitton), visited all the major landmarks, ate many delicious and affordable French cuisines, and took many pictures of my "punished" plates. I tried my best to capture glimpses of French fashion and culture. It was great.

I had pink wine twice (I like it; I didn't drink more than two glasses but that's alright with me). I ate Hagen Daz. They seem to have a lot of shops near the Sacre Coeur. And to top all this, Anthony was such a great host! I know he was tired at times or didn't have as much money (running low on cash; poor baby has been here a whole month and hasn't laid hands on his check from his internship - come on; help a brother out (Black Power!!!)), but he gave me and Zaide so much. He let us stay with him in his dorm, he lent us his metro pass so we could explore Paris while he was in lab (I think I perfected my technique to cheat the system), he took us to all these really cool places and really nice (and cheap) restaurants. Everything was just great!

Before I left, I wrote him a little thank you note to show my appreciation. I thought about writing it on behalf of me and Zaide, but I don't want to speak for her or force her to do perform any gesture that she doesn't want to do. I suggested the idea to her though. And besides, I'm a little selfish (lol). I slipped him a little €20 to help him out a little. I knew he wouldn't take it if I gave it to him directly. The secret note adds a little bit more of an interesting twist to the story anyway (:).

All in all, I just give all praises to God for allowing me to see everything I did, for being able (physically, mentally, and emotionally) to experience all that I did, and for being merciful by protecting us all while we were all so far away from home. I cannot give the credit to anyone else but Him. Well this has been great. I feel refreshed and restored. This trip was just what I needed. I've got one more month to go. I've got to work hard at GTL this last month, get published, get that recommendation letter, and start showing up earlier (i.e. by 9:30AM). It's never too late to change. Change is inevitable.

6.25.11 Paris: Day 3 - The Louvre Museum and Food Babies

Inside the Louvre Museum; time to purchase tickets!

My English tour guide

The Louvre museum took all day and I didn't even get to explore the whole museum or all the exhibits that I wanted to. I really like the Greek sculptures and the paintings during the romanticism era. I like to draw sometimes when I am inspired. I took many photographs of details of facial features and body proportions. I hope to apply them to my sketches. These artists are so talented.

I took so many short breaks while exploring the museum.  The museum is so FRICKIN huge.  It's like a massive mansion.  Lunch at the Louvre was great and of course I punished it.  I had steamed salmon with a side of rice and Orangina (which taste really good, unlike the Orange Fanta here).  All of that for €10.70.  That's pretty reasonable for a meal and a drink in a very famous museum.  I was very satisfied after eating it.

There was one particular painting that I looked at for a good 5 minutes (that's quite a long time compared to how fast I was moving around the museum).  The painting is called "Les Licteurs Rapportent a Brutus Les Corps de Ses Fils" by Jacques-Louis David.  Translation title is "The lictors bring Brutus the bodies of his dead sons."  Something about it struck out to me. I could see the emotion in the face of each character in the painting.  The emotions that I felt while looking at the picture reminded me of my brother, who passed away last year.  I just thought about how much it hurt to lose him or to even see him at his funeral.  Imagine what my family was also going through.  I definitely could relate to this painting.

The Mona Lisa painting is smaller than I thought it would be.  People were pushing and shoving to get a good shot.  I don't think the painting is going anywhere people (lol).  I am very grateful of the man who decided to take a picture of me in front of the painting.  God bless his life.

The Mona Lisa Crowd

At the end of the day, I took plenty of pictures in front of the pyramid.  

Then we headed out to the streets of Paris, off to Notre Dame which was open to the public. We walked across the Pont Des Arts Bridge also known as the Love Locks Bridge.  It symbolizes the everlasting love of two people for each other.  Usually, couples place the lock on the bridge and throw the key in the water.  This is the most romantic bridge in Paris (so cute).  There were some pretty decked out locks.  I kind of wish I had one to throw in for my future love (lol).

We had this lasagna in St. Michel and more pink wine (i had 1.5 glasses).  This lasagna was so good.  See for yourself. I gave birth to a food baby afterwards.  I wasn't even in need of a dessert afterwards.  My last night in Paris couldn't have been any better.  I'm definitely grateful of the experiences I've had while I was here.  I did many touristy things, ate great food, and just soaked it all in.  I'm going to miss Pahhh-reeeee! <3

My food baby (for food baby reference check out http://brain-food.tumblr.com)

The Crepe Man!!! He made the best crepe especially for me!!! :)

6.24.11 Paris: Day 2 - Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysees, Sacre Coeur

Anthony had to go into lab today, so he lent us his subway pass for the entire day. We went to the Eiffel Tower. I think I know where they got the inspiration for the Stair Master. I did stair master for real by walking up the stairs instead of taking the lift to the top of the tower. It was much cheaper anyway and if I'm physically able, I might as well do it. I took many breaks on the way up and my quads were hurting so much, but the trip to the top was so worth it. If I ever have kids to travel to France, I'll tell them to take the steps if their physically able; it's quite the experience.

H&M's everywhere besides home are great! I got myself these really cute curve fitting/accentuating dresses, a tube top (trying to be a little adventurous/try something new), and a souvenir for crystal. [SN: Eiffel tower "entrepreneurs" work in packs; they work together like taxi cab companies to make as much money as possible from cheap/bad quality souvenirs by hustling tourists. We got approached by almost 50 people throughout the course of my trip. They literally walk up to you as if they are on a mission and you are their target. Will continue later...]

Today, we started bright and early at 9AM, went to the Eiffel Tower (all the way to the top, I got charged 1€ more for being "old" (24years +) which I am clearly not). Anyway I let it go because I went to the top of the FREAKIN Eiffel Tower! From the Eiffel Tower (ET), I could see everything and it was beautiful. I pulled out both of my Kodak cameras (disposable and digital). I could see the Arc de Triomphe because of all of the big trees leading up to it. Even better for me. Then we grabbed lunch at Quick fast food restaurant. I ordered the big bacon burger = AWESOME = SO GOOD! It had this really special sauce in the middle of it. It was on point. We visited the Arc de Triomphe and then went shopping on Champs Elysees. I saw the Louis Vuitton store, Omega, Swatch, Mercedes-Benz, Peougeot, Swaroski (really cool sparkly steps with me in Front).

Then we met up with Anthony around 6:30PM. I got dressed up in my new booties (see previous blog) to go out the eat pizza at a restaurant recommended by Anthony. Boobies!!! I wasn't used to letting all my goodies out for the world to see, but tonight was the night to be free. It felt good and I think I rocked it pretty well. I got a lot of double takes = yes!!! People notice me (lol). My shoes were comfortable for the night. They're quite a good pair. I'm glad I bought them. We went to Cafe de Roma and ordered two pizzas = barbeque and oriental = delish!

Then, we headed off to Hagen-Daz. I got one scoop of strawberry shortcake with whip cream. Do you know they charge you 1€ for whip cream!?!? I didn't care much because the ice cream was so good. It was so worth it. Then we traveled to Sacre Coeur which was closed when we got there. More steps! And they never wanted to end. They don't switch up like the steps at UMBC. Instead we took pictures from the top and sat on lawn and got a good view of Paris at night. About 20 people approached us about buying Heineken beer for 2€. One seller was like 1 bottle for 2€, and 2 bottles for 5€... They think they are slick. Obviously that is not a good deal and their math is incorrect. I hope many tourists weren't ripped off with that one.

Everything started to look the same and I started to get a little dizzy walking down the steps (it's okay, I wasn't tipsy). Leaving there, one street seller tried to grab my hand to get me to buy something from him... Scrrrrch! Stop the car... Pump the brakes... Heck to the NAW!!! I said No [FREAKIN] Merci!!!

Highlighted conversation though:

Man: Hello miss

Me: No merci

Man: Where are you from?

Me: No merci!

Man: Aww come on... [Help me out] Black Power!!!

That made my night event better. I should've pulled a move from "I Love You Man" <insert reference here>. That would have been hilarious! Paris has taught me how to beat/cheat the [subway] system. I am like a natural criminal here. I've become slick and subtle with navigating through the system. Along the way I have been perfecting my "under the rail" technique. Jumping over the thingys, following behind people, for free fares now. It's been great. Well that was my day and night in a nutshell. I'm off to the Louvre tomorrow. So excited.

6.23.11 Paris: Day 1 - Lights After Dinner

We found the Metz SNCF train station - it is under the big clock before you get to the major bus terminal in Downtown Metz. The train is pretty cool. They've got really nice, comfy, cushioned seats that are pretty comfortable for second class. The train is equipped with lots of luggage space (or maybe it just seems that way because I brought only one bag - kudos to me).

I realized after the fact that I did not have to lift my luggage to the top shelf because there was luggage space level to the ground. Well at least I know that for next time. The seats have bendable cushions and the doors are passenger friendly, unlike the DB trains from Frankfurt, Germany to Saarbrucken which slam directly in your face as you're trying to bring your luggage through. I can't really give a review for Wi-Fi at the moment.

Right now the seat right next to me is unoccupied. It feels nice; but how long will that last? Well I did get on the train almost 20 minutes before departure. I spoke too soon. Did I mention that this train has lots of luggage space and extra space for you to place your jackets, smaller bags, toolboxes, etc.

I can't believe I'm going to FREAKING Paris!!!! I'm super excited. Since I've been here, I've been picking up on the language little by little, learning a few new words and phrases, and I've been able to "get around." I love it thought. I think my knowledge of some Spanish has helped me very much. I recognized many of the similarities. I've come to the realization that English is really complicated. I see why people often struggle with learning it. It doesn't sound as fancy compared to other languages. German language just sounds disgusting. The French language sounds so beautiful.

We met up with Anthony at the Paris SNCF train station. Man was it crowded. We arrived during rush hour. I kind of forgot about that. We dropped our things off in his room, rested a little, and then headed out in the town. We traveled on the metro to Saint-Michel where we walked around at visited the souvenir shops. We then ate at this restaurant called "Le Clou de Paris". I ordered a sandwich called Croque Poulet along with some pink wine. It was one of the cheapest things on the menu but it was soooo delicious. Here is a before and after picture of my dish (I got a little bit of help finishing it because I was so full).

Before

The sandwich was composed of juicy grilled chicken on top of toast with melted cheese. I couldn't quite figure out what kind of cheese was used but it was so good, I didn't really care at the time. Croque Poulet only costed me about 6.90€ plus my portion of the pink wine, totaling to 10€. That was a pretty good deal for such a delicious dish. I definitely recommend it to others who appreciate cheese, toast, and chicken.

Midway

Punished

Time for dessert!

We ended the night by walking around the corner from the restaurant and getting crepes from this creperie shop. We all got a banana and Nutella crepe. My night was made some more. My night was made some more when we went to the Eiffel tower at night and saw the light show at 10PM. We got there just in time. The Eiffel tower is huge and prettiful.