Paris, France: Sightseeing, Wine tasting, and dodging traffic???

9:30 a.m. Saturday, February 25th.
Paris, France.

We woke to croissants and jelly again for breakfast. Free and delicious! Oh, and don't forget the orange juice.  I  have to admit, I am getting a bit spoiled when it comes to OJ. The boxed juice just canNOT compare to the fresh squeezed stuff I get everyday at my host home.

The weather fit Paris perfectly.  It was gloomy, misty, and slightly chilly. For some reason, whenever I imagine Paris, I always imagine it in a cold, kind of dark atmosphere.  Anyway, this Saturday fit my picture of Paris quite well.

Destination number one: Bonobus. Bonobus, my friend, is the boat version of a metro.  You can buy a ticket and the boat picks you up and drops you off at different stops along the Seine River. Unlimited for a day.  Good deal!!! Oh, and don't forget about my student discount! :)

First Stop: The Notre Dame Cathedral!

On the walk over to the cathedral, I stopped in my tracks to one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  There, on one of the many bridges of Paris' Seine River, were thousands upon thousands of padlocks. They were all different shapes and sizes, but they all had one thing in common: they stood for love.  Lovers put their names or initials on the padlocks and secure them to the bridge to symbolize their everlasting love. I could just die!!! This makes my heart smile so much; seeing the representation of so much love in the world. :)

The bridge filled with love padlocks. 

Close up. 

As I approached the cathedral I couldn't help but think of one of my childhood favorites: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  I also gawked, mouth open, drool collecting, at it's grand size and ancient beauty. I learned so much about the building as I walked through it. To sum it up:

It's old! 

Everything about the cathedral is so old and gorgeous!  It is such an outstanding piece of history.  We were even lucky enough to see the beginning of a mass! Here's a little clip of what we saw:

Next Stop: Hotel De Ville! Yes, like Cruela from 101 Dalmatians (another Disney classic set in France). 

Like everything else in Paris, it was amazingly detailed and beautiful.  

In the Plaza in front of the Hotel was a stand that sold waffles with melted chocolate.  Sweets! Ugh, my kryptonite strikes again! I had to...

Final Stop: Orsay Museum 

Unfortunately, we were too late. It was already closed. So we settled for some French wine in a quaint little pub.  

We then ventured for dinner, once again searching for yummy and cheap.  Does that exist?  Oddly enough, we ate Chinese food in France.  To our surprise, it was pretty good!

Another night out on the town, you ask? Oh, no. For the first time since I've been here in Spain. We stocked up on junk food and headed back to the hostel for a good, old fashioned girls night.

9:00 a.m. Sunday, February 26th. 

Guess what we had for breakfast?  Good guess. Croissants and jelly. And don't forget the boxed oj!  

Goal for the day: "See and do everything we possibly can within our last 24 hours!"   

Goal number one: Go up in the Eiffel Tower. Take amazing pictures. 

                            Done and Done!

View from the Eiffel Tower

Goal number two: Take pictures with the Arc de Triomphe like Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen did in Passport to Paris.  Oh, and don't get killed by the 18 way intersection. 

                             Check and Check! 

Just a helpful hint.  Do NOT try and cross the intersection. Turns out, they have a tunnel for that.  Ooops! Tourists...  

Goal number three: Walk down the Champs-Elysee. 

                             Did it! 

I felt like I should have been in a movie like Passport to Paris. :)

Goal number four: Try a hot dog in a baguette for lunch. 

                             Yum! 

It was quite an interesting experience. Not to mention, delicious! 

Most anticipated goal. Goal number five: Go to a wine tasting in Paris, France!

                             Check that one off the list!

One word: incredible.  From beginning to end, this by far was one of the best experiences I have ever had.  We tasted three different wines, one white and two red.  I learned the ways a wine should look, smell, and taste.  The wine conousiere was great as well!  He taught us so much and answered all of our questions.  And not to mention unbelievably nice!
Another highlight? The company. We met an awesome family from Switzerland and a cute couple from Latin America!  

I would definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone!  

What's the best way to put the cherry on top of a perfect afternoon?  For those of you who have been reading, you should know me well enough now to know what's coming next. 

Dessert. 

A Nutella and banana crepe to be exact.  "The nutella and banana flavors blend together so perfectly!" 

Heavenly...

8:00 p.m. Sunday, February 26th. Dinner time. 

Remember in my earlier blog when I said two things come to mind when I think of French food?  Well for dinner, we tried the later.  Escargot.
Translation: Snails. 

Not only did I try escargot, but it was also fed to me by a French waiter. That's what I call service! Shockingly, it was not bad at all, good even.  I would definitely consider ordering it again! 

Finally, to end a fantastic trip we traveled to the Sacre Creu, the highest point in Paris.  There, you can see a view of the entire city! It was beautiful.

Like something out of a movie, there was a band set up near the steps of the huge building.  People gathered around to listen, to dance, and to chat.  We sat down and enjoyed the rest of the free "concert."  It was genuinely a magical ending to a magical trip.  

In short, Paris was all I hoped it would be and more!