The Last Bits - À Bientôt, Paris

5-course lunch at Giverny (caviar included, fancy) and exploring the gardens of impressionist artist Claude Monet's house.

Finally had escargot in France with my chicken dinner at Chez Gladines.

Last day spent picnicing by the Seine with everyone at sunset.

Edit: Click here for a website I just found that seems promising as a reference guide for good food and excursion spots. Wish I had stumbled upon this sooner!

The End is Near

Napoleon's apartment in the Musée du Louvre. Also where the Mona Lisa is housed if you're interested in seeing it.

Ladurée

Musée d'Orsay

Steak and fries from le Relais de l'Entrecôte.

Centre Pompidou: museum of modern art, and lunch on the rooftop terrace.

Cimetiere du Père Lachaise: the burial place of singer Edith Piaf alongside numerous other famous French people including sociologist Pierre Bourdieu and civic planner Georges-Eugène Haussmann, the man responsible for how much of Paris looks today. 

Pork bun from Belleville Chinatown.

Week four has come and gone. Now I'm left with four days, a presentation, two finals, and just a few hours here and there to squeeze in some last minute escapades. It's going to be a busy week! But I'm excited. I'm slowly feeling a bit more ready to leave but with a lot of convincing myself that I will be back. Plus all that's back home makes it much easier. See you all very soon! I'm so ready to binge on all the goodies I've missed so much.

A Nerd Crush on Louis Pasteur

Institute Pasteur: medical research center and home to Louis Pasteur, chemist and microbiologist extraordinaire, for the last 7 years of his life. Probably my second favorite field-trip this summer.

The best felafel in this entire world from L'As du Fallafel. No exaggeration.

Poet Homes and King Cribs

Château and gardens of Versailles

Finally fully recovered from a tiny bug that's been going around, figured it's time I do a recap on the week I skipped–that is, to the extent to which I remember. A few highlights: snuck a few peeks at the Tour de France cyclists on their way through avenue Champs Elysées; had tea and pastries at the mosque tea house featured in Paris, Je t'aime; had a relatively cheap and tasty 3-course traditional French dinner at La Maison de Verlaine in the Latin Quarter; revisited the Palais Garnier, this time on a guided tour; did laundry for the first time ever; spent a very sweaty day in Versailles a bit underwhelmed but with excellent company; watched The Dark Knight Rises in a very poorly ventilated movie theater; had sushi and Mexican food, and some of Angelina's famous hot chocolate and a strawberry and rhubarb tart; and splurged 10 euros on a pretty friggen awesome ride at the Jardin des Tuileries. I can't believe we're now 4/5 the way through our trip. I don't think I'm quite ready to leave yet–not that I won't be happy to be home but five weeks is not nearly enough time for all there is to do and see in Paris.

A Little Bit More Down Time

Our itinerary this past week has been a lot more chill. We finally came around to buying some of, yelpers-proclaimed, Paris' best macarons from Pierre Hermé. And today for lunch, we had crepes again but from Breizh Café, where I accidentally ordered a bowl of alcoholic strawberry cider, forcefully downed it so as not to seem rude, and proceeded to turn tomato red. Some other nom-highlights include ice-cream for days (delicious Yaco coconut bars from the Asian market and Häagen-Dazs' banana and cream), éclairs from a corner café, and finding a Thai place just down the street with bombass chicken pad se-ew (you know I'm a happy girl now). I also gave pho here another chance, but it sadly is still not up to par with my beloved Pho Ao Sen back home (but we're getting closer). Overall, this week has been less sight-seeing, more happy-eats. I'm koo with that.

Ballet and Fireworks on Batille Day

After spending the eve dancing the night away under the stars and rain at the Firemen's Ball at the headquarters in the 17th district of Paris, we recuperated with seven hours of sleep and made our way to the Opéra national de Paris–Palais Garnier for a ballet (Frederick Ashton's "La Fille Mal Gardée"). Imagine exiting the metro and being jaw-dropping stunned at this sight (see 1st picture). It was so grandiose, so beautiful! This opera house has got to be my favorite building so far in Paris (and that's saying a lot). During intermissions, we left to catch the metro to la tour Eiffel and met up with the rest of the gang just in time to pop some champagne and watch the fireworks. And let me tell you, if anyone can put on a firework show, it is the French hands down. Their theme this year was the disco (hence the disco ball in the center of the Eiffel Tower). There was a huge crowd, bright lights, and a spectacular array of fireworks blasting in brilliant choreography to some disco classics (mostly American music. They play a lot of that here). It was quite a night. The metro ride back home was a little less fun but we all made it back safe and today will be spent catching up on Parisian history of the Middle Ages. I hope everyone back home is doing well. Vous me manquez (I miss you all).

My First Week in the City of Love

I should really record my thoughts daily because at this point everything is a blur–a breathtakingly beautiful one. If I had to describe Paris in one word, that's it right there. Beautiful. Everything here is a feast for the eyes (from the architecture to the graffiti on the streets, to the doors, to the windows, to the walls, to the sweat drop down.. wait. no). So far, we've taken a boat tour through the Seine River on the Bateau Mouches (highly recommended as one of the first things you do here), visited the Musée de Cluny, seen the outsides of the Basilique du Sacré Cœur, the tour Eiffel, and the Cathédrale Notre Dame, had crepes from the Crêperie de Josselin, and ice-cream from Glacier Berthillon. We've also had their McDo and KFC here (twice), tried some disappointing pho, got harassed by strange men (also twice–once while picking up some rocks for Maggi at the Eiffel Tower–that automatically makes them special), shopped a little, unintentionally skipped a few meals, binged during breakfast (our only guaranteed meal of the day), had overpriced milk tea, walked a lot, metro-ed a lot, made friends, and did a lot of not-doing-homework. I'm sure I've overlooked quite a few things while typing this, but I hope you've got a good jist. It all still feels so surreal. I'm in Paris! What the fuck?!