2 Days in Paris

Such a great movie. Check out the trailer here. It's follows the relationship of a Jack, a classic neurotic with his hypochondriac traits, and his girlfriend, Marion, the sexually liberal Parisian, as they spend two days in her hometown, Paris.



I'm on my way back from a journey—two days in Paris with my dad. I'm exhausted as I sit on yet another late-night. delayed train back to Lyon. Hopefully we'll depart before midnight, putting me into Lyon two hours later, but four hours past my anticipated arrival time.

Whatever because I LOVE Paris. The city of lights and cliches. Croissants, fromage, and espresso. Patisseries, boulangeries, and brasseries. Boots and scarves and classy fashion. It's also the city where lovers walk hand-in-hand through the city, partly in fear of falling off the overly narrow and busy sidewalks. There's as much art and culture as transportation strikes, and as much entertainment as there are metro lines. It's the European Manhattan.

We arrived into the city on Saturday at 3 a.m., due to snow storms in Lyon that delayed all trains, including ours that was set to depart Friday at 8 p.m.. Have I mentioned how much I hate the snow, yet? Four hours in a subzero station, three bags of luggage, two hours on a train, one hour in a taxi, two double-espressos, and more clothing layers than I can count. Finally, we made it to Paris, but more importantly, our hotel with a hot shower and the most comfortable bed I've encountered in 2010. To make things easy and because familiarity is calming, we stayed in the same hotel that I stayed at two years prior, and it was just as amazing as before.
Saturday morning, the sequel, started around 11 a.m., a billion times better off than the day before, and thrilled to be in Paris. Scarves, gloves, ski socks, hand warmers and any other clothing item that is synonymous with heat, we put on and set out what we came here to do.

It was 2 days that included: walking around the city...

The Louvre Museum...

...with weather that turned the fountain pond into...

...an ice skating rink.. Until I was yelled at, by Dad...

There were statues...

...and famous pieces...

...and people watching...

...Oh my!

There was a walking tour to Notre Dame...

...but we didn't climb the 386 stairs to see the Bell Tower and view from the top, like I did in 2007 with my mom!

There were lunches in local cafes...

...and dinners in the Quartier Latin

There was a lot of walking, a lot of pictures, a lot of site-seeing, a lot of culture-comparing, a lot of talking, and a lot of laughs.

...and maybe even a Starbucks (x2).

I am also heading back to Lyon with an extra bag, thanks to Dad, who took me boot shopping! For the first time in 8 days, my feet are dry and can move! Snow storms? Bring.It.On!! All in all, it was an amazing 2 days. I love exploring Paris with different people to see their take and desired "must-see-places" which always presents a different experience than the last. I am infatuated with the city and would live out the rest of my Au Pair Project there, if I could, but alas, it's back to the suburbs, back to the kids, back to Lyon.

Thank you, to my dad, for a wonderful mini-vacation to Paris!!

Daily Gratitudes:

• New boots and a new scarf, all which are so warm! Best part: I didn't break my New Year's resolution!
• After this evening, I feel confident that my dad will be able to navigate around Paris for the next week while I'm back in snow-ville.
• I was able to Skype with my mom before heading to the train station. Being in Paris brought back good memories of being here with her a couple years ago.
• I start "school" this week.
• Ipods and mini candy-canes.