from paris with love

A few weeks ago I took a weekend trip to Paris to visit one of my best friends from high school who is going to school there. The weekend was so perfect, like something out of a movie. The following is a peek into a few excerpts from my diary from that weekend. From Paris with love <3.

” September 25, 2017

This weekend was an absolute dream. I’m on my way to the Charles de Gaulle airport in an Uber now. It’s 5 am and I could barely sleep last night. Woke up before my 4:30 alarm on the couch with all the lights still on. Got ready just fine and left the apartment on time to meet my Uber downstairs. But all was not so smooth as I was locked in at the front door to the apartment building and could not get out. I ran back upstairs, called Syd and banged on the door despite her sleeping roommates (I had a flight to catch!). No answer. I went back down to try the door again come to find that there was a button labeled “porter” that I needed to push to get out. Silly me. Ran to my Uber.

So much happened this weekend so I guess I’ll start from the beginning. On Friday morning around 10 am I took a cab from my apartment in Florence to the airport. Easy flight to Paris. Then I tried to figure out the metro. Big Mistake. I don’t speak French or come from a big city. Got so confused I ended up taking a cab to Syd’s place. Was 50 euro but at least I didn’t get lost in the metro.

When the cab dropped me off I stood outside Syd’s apartment with my giant hiking backpack not knowing what to do. I had no cell service and was not sure if I was even in the right place. The front door to her building was locked so I had to wait until someone came out. Finally, a girl did and I asked if she spoke English and if she knew my friend. She did and let me in. After our reunion, I put my stuff down and we went out to hit the town. First stop was a fruit stand nearby. I got some figs. Then we walked around and took the metro to the are where her school is. We got a handheld pita with falafel and walked down to a nearby church and ate on the steps. Then we went to her school so she could go to class. I walked around the area of her school, went into a few shops, stumbled upon a walking street with adorable cafes and fruit markets. Then went and sat in a coffee shop and bought a green tea so I could use their wifi.

After her class, we met up and walked down towards the Eiffel tower. Popping into a few shops to buy items for a piqnique on the way. We got a baguette, figs, peaches, artichokes, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and a bottle of wine. We sat down in the grass by the Eiffel tower and feasted. It was a golden hour, and the sun was shining a beautiful golden light over the park where we were sitting.

On Saturday morning Syd and I took the metro to see Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur. The view from the top was impeccable. You could almost see the entire city. I never knew Paris was so huge. Then we metro to the Louvre It was huge and beautiful with a vast garden in the back. The weather was so perfect and the gardens so green that we grabbed a baguette and some more veggies to have another picnic surrounded by wildflowers and the fresh breeze. Afterwards, we wandered around the gardens and even stopped to watch some cute french toddlers bounce on some trampolines in the park. Then went to one of the Louvre’s museums to see Monet’s “Water Lillies” collection. Dinner consisted of our 3rd picnic under the Eiffel tower. We had perfect timing as the tower started to sparkle as night fell.

On Sunday we took the metro to a farmers market in a residential area of town. It was heaven. Fruit and veggie stands everywhere you turn, fresh flowers covering the ground, and mountains of freshly baked bread. I was in my element. We got loads of figs and a fresh squeezed orange juice and munched as we strolled through the market. After, we walked to a vegan pastry shop that happened to be close by and split a croissant. Yum!

We got tired so we found a park and laid down in the grass while gazing up at the beautiful blue sky. Little french kids laughed and played around us as we rested in the grass, enjoying the fresh air and cool breeze. When we got back to her apartment we got some veggie sushi and dumplings from a shop close by and watched “Ratatouille” in her bed. We said our goodbyes and I fell asleep on the couch, content with the perfect weekend.”

Thanks for all the love Syd. Wouldnt have wanted to spend the weekend with anyone else <3

~ September 22-25, 2017