Viva la Vida Buena.: Paris, je t'aime

"I don't know why all the trees change in the Fall. I know you're not scared of anything at all. Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away. But I know I had the best day with you today."- Taylor Swift, The Best Day

Just a mere week removed from our lovely adventures in Germany, my roommate, Brittni, my friend, Lisa, and I found ourselves lounging around my kitchen attempting to make homemade pumpkin spice lattes despite 1) a lack of understanding how to use my other roommate's coffee maker and 2) lacking a can opener, thus forcing us to rely on the expertise of our friend Peter who proceeded to open said can with scissors.

No worries, though. We were victorious in our quest as Peter served his purpose and we all enjoyed the splendor of American consumerism, albeit for a short while.

But, our meeting in the kitchen of Calle de Finlandia Ocho was for more than just coffee. Britt, Lisa, and I were a week out from our next trip and needed to discuss the important details like booking a bus and laughing at the negative comments on booking.com hotel reviews. And, it's just better if you do this over American Coffee. (Besides, we had a few hours to kill before meeting up with our Dutch friend we met in Spanish class and his friends who were in town for the weekend from Rotterdam.)

In case you were unaware, our next trip, which occurred last weekend, November 11-13, was to Paris. And, my, what a time it was.

We took a gamble and flew Ryanair again, trusting that we would not run into the same problems we did on our departure from Munich. Luckily, we didn't and we landed in Beauvais, France on time before hopping on a bus to the City of Lights. However, upon arriving in Paris, the adventures began with yet again another cabbie who spoke little to no English but proceeded to sing (loudly) while taking us from the train/bus station to the hotel... and us confusing some random arc on a random street as being the Arc d'Triomphe. (Good thing I whispered when I pointed out the random arc - that saved a potentially embarrassing situation with the cabbie, who by this point was whispering into his iPhone to his girlfriend as though we were going to actually understand any of what he said.)

Minutes later, we arrived at our castle, the Hotel Excelsior. As far as cheap places in Paris go, it was pretty ritzy: one room smaller than my room at my piso with two beds, a closet, a bathroom (which was a separate room, luckily), balcony, and one electrical outlet. It got the job done. The only downfalls were the one electrical outlet, which was conveniently hidden behind the TV attached to the wall and the receptionists who had conflicting answers as to where we needed to walk to get where we needed to go in the city center.

Hooray for Hotel Excelsior.

After checking in, we decided to go look for food. In a ravenous state, we stumbled upon a great ray of light: a dive called "Quick Burger." Yes, I'll admit it: I cheated on my vegetarianism with some chicken dips...but paid for it later as I did not feel so well. After some churros with warmed nutella (aka "the best thing ever"), we took a long walk around the Place de la Republique and retired to the Hotel Excelsior where we naturally did the second best thing ever after churros and nutella: watched Mary Kate and Ashley's Passport to Paris, a classic from when I was nine.

The next day started the real adventures. After more conflicting directions and being told that we "just had" to take the metro because "it was just too far a walk," we set out (yes, walking) towards Notre Dame Cathedral, just where we needed to be to eventually start our walking tour. We found breakfast at a little cafe near the Isle de la Cite where we had croissants (the ones in Germany were better), freshly squeezed orange juice (the best I've ever had), hot chocolate, fresh French Baguette that would make Panera shameful, and, yet again, adventures with the waiter: In Germany, the waiter chastised us for not eating enough rice, but in Paris, the waiter offered to take a picture of us and then started laughing and explaining that it was hard for him to take pictures because "mornings are tough for him." He did, however, give us perfect directions to the Place de Saint Michel.

We went on another lovely walking tour of Paris with yet another lovely tour guide, Onno from Amsterdam. We saw the Paris usual: Notre Dame, the Louvre, Pont Neuf, Palaces, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc d'Triomphe (I swear it was the real one this time), walked on the Champs-Elysees, visited Lock Bridge, toured Les Invalides, and just had a grand old time.

That being said, our time in Paris is better expressed in pictures. That, and I don't feel like typing anymore because Big Bang Theory is on Neox.

Basically, Paris is an incredible city that I absolutely loved. Best three days ever.