{"id":324,"date":"2009-03-12T13:19:39","date_gmt":"2009-03-12T20:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rhinoblues.com\/thoughts-wp\/?p=324"},"modified":"2015-12-14T08:33:35","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T16:33:35","slug":"paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rhinoblues.com\/thoughts\/2009\/03\/paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

My first overseas trip has finally happened.\u00a0 I finally made it to Paris, after wanting to go for at least 12 years.\u00a0 Because my current job is still through a temp agency, which means no vacation days, I was only able to schedule a long weekend.\u00a0 I left on Wednesday afternoon from LAX, arriving Thursday morning in Paris.\u00a0 Here is a picture from the plane as we crossed over the English Channel into France:<\/p>\n

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After arriving at the airport, I took the train into Paris and headed to my hotel (in the 13th) to check in.\u00a0 After a shower, I ended up walking up to where Alicia’s class was near the Bastille.\u00a0 When then walked around a little more, checking out Notre Dame Cathedral and the Shakespeare & Co Bookstore<\/a>.\u00a0 For dinner, we went to Le Zimmer<\/a>, a place recommended by my Irish friend Lynda, for their French Onion soup<\/a>(click for picture).\u00a0 Since I was recovering from the long flight, we decided to take things easy the rest of the night so I could be rested for Friday.Friday, we took the metro out to Versailles.\u00a0 We had brought some stuff along to have a picnic out in the gardens.\u00a0 The size of the gardens is kind of amazing, however it still being winter, most of the statues were covered up.\u00a0 Luckily the clouds had decided to break, and we had nice blue skies to enjoy our lunch under.\u00a0 In the end, I decided that I’d rather spend 12 euros going up to the top of the Eiffel Tower than to go inside the chateau, so we ended up heading back to Paris not long after eating lunch.\u00a0 We headed to the Eiffel Tower and took the elevator’s up to the top.\u00a0 It was pretty cool way to get a perspective of Paris.\u00a0 That evening, we ended up heading to the Montmartre area, planning on going to a fondue place that serves wine in baby bottles.\u00a0 However, when we got there, there was a decent wait, so we decided to walk around and find somewhere else to eat.<\/p>\n
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\nAlica looking for her apt from the Eiffel Tower<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n

Saturday, after breakfast (oh have I forgotten to mention the amazing Pain au Chocolat and Baguettes yet?), we headed to the Place Palais Royal to meet my friend Armelle, whom I met working in Sun Valley, ID the summer between my Freshman and Sophmore years of college.\u00a0 We walked around the 1st, a little bit before heading to a cooking class.\u00a0 There we made lemongrass chicken, with fingerling potatoes (cooked with garlic and lime juice) and a mango tart w\/ passionfruit caramel.\u00a0 After the class, we walked around some more before heading to Armelle’s apt in the 15th for some homemade crepes.<\/p>\n

Sunday, Alicia and I went to church at the American Cathedral and then went to the Louvre.\u00a0 I was able to see the Mona Lisa in person (though a little disapointed that you can’t get within 5-10 feet of it).\u00a0 I think the ceilings and architecture of the Louvre were more interesting than a lot of the art inside, but then we did just do a quick trip through the museum.\u00a0 For dinner, we went to a restaurant on a medival street in the Latin Quarter.\u00a0 It had a 15 euro prix fixe menu.\u00a0 For a starter, I chose escargot, as I figured where else better to try it than in Paris.<\/p>\n

Monday, I packed my suitcase and we dropped it off at Alicia’s apt and explored her neighborhood (the 15th) for awhile, until I had to head out to the airport.\u00a0 I really liked Paris a lot.\u00a0 Its a big city, with a small city feel, at least in many of the neighborhoods.\u00a0 The bread was amazing and inexpensive.\u00a0 Same with the cheese.\u00a0 I still don’t know if I had a favorite part though (which is the question everyone asks).\u00a0 I guess I’d have to say the food (and of that the bread) if I had to pick one thing.\u00a0 Restaurants are pretty expensive though, trying to eat fairly frugally, I still spent just under 50 euros for each dinner out (for 2 including wine).<\/p>\n

More pics here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My first overseas trip has finally happened.\u00a0 I finally made it to Paris, after wanting to go for at least 12 years.\u00a0 Because my current job is still through a temp agency, which means no vacation days, I was only able to schedule a long weekend.\u00a0 I left on Wednesday afternoon from LAX, arriving Thursday … <\/p>\n

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