Paris Top 10

The past few months have flown by… been on the road a lot. Got my mom moved into her new house, went to Paris, had my birthday and all subsequent parties, went to Hawaii, went to Vegas, and tried to catch up on everything in between.

So, in typically fashion, I am going to post about a trip I took over a month ago…. But I think it may be worthy of a post, so here it is: my Paris Top Ten.

This past April (about 2 weeks before we left), my good friend, Janice, invited me to tag along on her business trip to France. I don’t know about you, but I am not one to pass up a chance to hang out in Paris. It was spectacular. One of the best parts about the whole situation was the fact that both of us had been to Paris before, so neither of us felt like we needed to spend any time at the typical tourist sites…. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, etc. AND neither of us is really a museum fan. Don’t get me wrong, I love history, just not the museums so much. But as with most things, there are definitely exceptions. It was fun to just enjoy the city by just being there and taking in all the sights without having to stop and get too many photos. I had a great time and it was fun to step off of U.S. soil for a few days. That being said…..

la Tour Eiffel

Notre Dame

10. (Dix) Walking past the Louvre in the pouring rain.

The quintessential Parisian moment. Wish I had a picture of that.

9. (Neuf) Seeing what you get when you think you know what you’re ordering.

In this case, it worked out. But I was not always that lucky. I took about 6 years of French back in the day. You’d think I’d be able to understand and/or speak it better than I do, but alas, I knew just enough to slide by. That 6 years of French also did little to help me out with menus, so it was a trip trying to figure out what would be safe to eat. And by safe I mean something that is fully cooked and does not resemble anything slimy or tube-esque. The French eat the most disgusting things… beef tartar, livers and intestines from any given animal, and of course, there are the snails. Ew. (These are not snails in this picture... It's actually pasta.)

8. (Huit) Beautiful Countryside

How spectacular is this scenery.

7. (Sept) Getting to wear my new white trench.

I had to layer up a bit to be warm, even in this new Banana Republic spring collection trench, but it was definitely worth the lack of thinsulate.






6. (Six) Petit Hameau

One of my favorite things about Marie Antoinette. During her reign as the queen of France, she decided that she wanted to play ‘milk maid’ with her little Queen’s assistants, so she had a little village built. Of course she did. No wonder there was a revolution. This was one of the things I really wanted to see on this trip to France. I had been to Versailles years ago, but missed going to Petit Hameau, (Amber, I can’t believe we missed that part) so it was so fun to see it.

5. (Cinq) Train Stations

We spent some serious time in lines for train tickets, but once train ticket is in hand, I love how easy it is to get around over there. On our 2nd day there, we took a train out to the Loire Valley. Amazing. I had just finished the book The Five Quarters of the Orange (by Joanne Harris) and that takes place in the Loire Valley. This is one of my favorite regions in France where the Chateaux are in abundance.

4. (Quatre) Fabulous Architecture

Everywhere you look. Picturesque. I just love how much detail there is on almost everything there and how beautiful it is.

3. (Trois) Having a great travel companion

Janice is so fun. She’s up for anything and she’s not a total cheap skate (but totally budget driven at the same time). Great travel companions make all the difference.

2. (Deux) Swanky Hotels

Since I design for a living, of course I love swanky hotels. LOVED this one. I so wish my hotel clients would let me use a feather chandelier in their lobbies.

1. (Un) Nutella Crepes

I heart Nutella crepes. They are my favorite thing in France. It’s true. I think I had a Nutella crepe everyday. Sometimes twice. And the French aren't messin around with these things.. they are pretty significant in size and sooooo good. Long live the Nutella crepe.

And there you have it. A recapitulation of my adventures in Paris. Good times 2008.