An American Living in a Parisian World

Today I found myself reminiscing about my time in Paris. Life in Europe was so easy and carefree. I would usually begin my day by sitting in a quaint cafe with fresh baked croissants and a cappuccino. As the day went on, I would explore a museum, stores, cathedrals and everything in between. Each night would end with a walk or cruise down the Seine river or admiring the Eiffel Tower until wee hours of the night. Being in Paris felt like a dream come true. The city, the lifestyle, the food, the fashion, etc., it all felt so natural to me. Granted, I have always had a fascination and love for the french culture. Which is why I wanted to really take the time to share with you all the things that I learned and admired throughout the city in the first couple of days I was there.

February 7, 2017:  My first day in Paris was definitely a rough start. I spent the morning travelling from Italy to France, navigating through each airport, witnessed my Uber driver getting pulled over by the police… seconds before I got into the car, not to mention, I speak absolutely no french and still have no idea what happened.  After the  Uber driver fiasco,  I decided to get a taxi instead. I arrived safely at Le Montclair Montmartre Hostel around 3pm. This hostel was really big. With the room, it also included a kitchen, dining room, game room, and luggage storage and 6 flights of stairs to get to our room…. when I say stairs, I mean a very tiny, and winding staircase and no alternative elevator.

Since Paris is such a big city, it is split up into many different districts. Montmartre was very far away from the Eiffel tower and Champs Elysee, etc., but it is a place that I would definitely recommend going to.  Montmartre is a very easy city to walk around in but also very easy to get lost in. Since I didn’t get to the hostel until later in the afternoon, I stayed close by and explored the neighborhood, found a bakery with delicious baguettes and brioche, a tiny little cupcake place with baked goods and coffee, and I even met a new friend, Haley.

February 8, 2017: If any of you have seen the movie Amelie, you may know that Montmartre is where the movie was filmed. In the movie, Amelie works at a cafe called “Cafe des deux Moulins.” It is a very cute cafe on the street corner with bright red awnings and yellow lettering. Although it may be a little touristy now, the food is pretty good and they will even serve you the same meal that Amelie serves her customers in the movie.

My next stop was visiting the beautiful church, Sacre Couer. It is a beautiful white cathedral on a hill. Which means depending on which direction you come from, you have to climb the many many steps up. It is definitely worth it though. The views of the city are absolutely incredible. My favorite part about Sacre Couer was climbing up to the top of the Dome. You then find yourself looking at the city from an aerial, 360 view of Paris. If you look hard enough, you can even see the Eiffel Tower!

Finally, after a long day of  walking throughout the city, buying crepes at small stands, and looking at souvenir shops, I was starving. The ironic thing was, I found a little Italian/French restaurant with the best Italian food I had eaten the whole trip! They served this amazing chicken, noodles and bouillabaisse sauce as well as a pasta with arugula. It was delicious and the waitress was very friendly and welcoming.

Paris was a trip of a lifetime. Although I have only covered two days out of my entire trip, I am hoping to finish going through all of my pictures and will try my best start blogging on a regular basis again. Hope you enjoyed this post and will stay tune for the rest of my stories!

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