Paris, France

Bonjour! 

Ca va?

Ca va bien, et tu?

Sadly, that's almost the extent of our French.  Why oh why did I not pursue this language in school when I had the chance?  Zack even spent four years in elementary schooling doing "French extended",  and still we've got nothing on these Parisians.  In our opinion, French is a beautiful sounding language. Yes, it even beats out "sexy Italian"...  haha.  There's something about the way Parisians communicate that sounds sofisticated and soft.  At least that's what we got from all the people watching we did here (and trust me, we did a lot).  We spent a lot of our time here in Paris, really not doing a whole lot!  I actually spent time reading more than just 5 pages of a novel, and enjoyed the parks and scenery of the city.  Being our final destination before England, we just wanted to soak up the city and not exhaust ourselves before the real world of working and living in one city would approach us.  Unfortunately, the weather was a little cooler than we'd had hoped (I guess we left summer behind in Venice!), but we were lucky to have sunshine for most of the time we were there.

The hostel we stayed at was fairly nice, kind of quirky, and extremely tight on space.  "Oops Hostel" (funny name even!) was designed with bright colours and bold textiles.  The rooms were clean, however in our 4 person bedroom, it was hard to find a place to stand if all four of us were in there at once.  But, that's Paris.  The metro population of this city is so high, it's a wonder how there are so many people living day to day in such a small radius.  Even the cafes that line the streets... the patio chairs are lined up in such a tight row that you pretty much are in eachothers conversations.  We sadly did not do any dining out because it is so expensive.  We did however enjoy some good coffees and espressos along with chocolate pastries (we couldn't not do this!  Paris is known for their decadent croissants).  But just strolling the streets here was good enough for us!  We also did a walking tour which brought us past some major sights such as the Notre Dame Cathedral, The Louvre, Pont des Arts, etc.  We also explored the colourful area of Montmartre, which led us to where many well known artists worked and lived, such as Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh.  Back then, Montmartre was a serparate (more rural) town, where basically people lived if they could not afford to live in Paris.  Today, the people of Montmartre still like to consider themselves as separate (if you ask a local, they'll say they live in Montmartre, not Paris) but it actually has merged into the north east side of the Paris.  Below is an oil painting by Vincent Van Gogh of the gardens of Montmarte.  We stood in this exact location, and boy does it look different now.  Instead of rolling hills of farmland and gardens, there are bustling streets lined with shops and cafes (and expensive apartments).  The windmill in the painting, however still stands today.  We were able to walk past the windmill, which is now built up on top of a popular restaurant.

We also made our way up to Sacre Coeur, a church built following the French Revolution.  The church is in Montmartre and from here, there was an impressive view of the city of Paris (although, the Eiffel Tower is hidden from view).  

We visited the Eiffel Tower in the evening, and was more impressive than I had imagined.  Walking underneath the tall structure and then throughout the gardens will always be something I'll remember about our visit to Paris.  The first night we were there, we had the perfect Parisian picnic including cheese, wine, baguette, and other snacks.  We enjoyed that night so much and agreed that this is exactly what we came to Paris for.  :)

A major perk of our time in Paris, were the city bicycle stations scattered throughout the city.  There are bicycles here that are available for use to the public, as long as they are returned to another station.  If used for less than a half hour, they are free to use!  If used for longer, it is only a small fee, so really it's an all around win-win situation!  We were quite successful in finding another station within the half hour, so basically we were able to have free transporation around the city.  It's also a great way to see things that you wouldn't see if you take the metro.  

Our last night in Paris, we sat on a park bench and began reminiscing of our summer travels.  Sadly, our summer travels are coming to an end.  It's crazy to look back and think of all we've seen and done.  But, I'll save all this for another post.  Paris, au revoir!

Luxembourg Gardens

The "love lock" bridge.  I know what you're thinking... did we fasten a lock and then toss the key?  Surprisingly, not (seeing as Zack is such a romantic, I thought for sure this is something we'd take part in :p ).  We found out that this idea actually originated 100 years ago on a bridge in Hungary-  not Paris.  A Hungarian husband and wife were torn apart because of the war, and sadly the husband never returned.  The wife than went to a bridge in Hungary, secured a lock, and tossed a key in remembrance of their love.  It wasn't until the ever popular "Sex in the City" aired, and Carrie did this with her lover, Big, on this bridge in Paris.  That's when the trend exploded, and it has spread to other countries around Europe.  We were told that the fence fills up so quickly, that every so often, a portion will simply get cut off and tossed into the river.  So, I thought I'd just take a picture and move on :)

This is the windmill in Montmartre.

An artist, drawing a picturesque street in Montmartre.

There is a small white building in the bottom left of this photo (behind the orange building)... this is a small cafe where Pablo Picasso used to come often.  He had little money, so would pay the bartender with sketches.  Needless to say, that bartender later made millions off of his orininal sketches.

Sacre Coeur

Notre Dame.