A Day Lost is Really a Day Gained

So yesterday my roommates Gabby and Megan and I decided to go explore the city for a little bit. We had been reading about this farmer's market and wanted to go check it out.

Unfortunately for us it wasn't really what we were expecting, or looking for so we just browsed on through and then decided to go get lost in the city. The only plans that we "had" to keep was that at some point Gabby and I had to go look at a particular painting in the Louvre for our Haute Couture class. Aside from that, we had no plans, no schedule, no where to be except exploring the city we call home.

 Right down the street from the farmer's market we discovered a park. There were children playing and people reading. It was city and in the heart of the city and as green and lush as if it were in a quiet town. We sat and enjoyed the serenity of it all as we tried to get a grasp on our whereabouts, and where we wanted to go next.

Gabby, our trusty guide, looked in our handy-dandy mapbook trying to figure out where we were and where we should go next. 

Another view from our new favorite park.













After we left the park we decided that we would just continue to walk around and just explore the streets, since this part of the city was new to all of us. After walking for a few minutes I looked down a side street and saw the Notre Dame. It's so funny how one can think that they are so lost, or far away from the familiar and then out of nowhere you discover that you weren't far after all. I think it's also hilarious that I now call the Notre Dame familiar.
We came across some museums, churches, arches, and even found a Mexican food place which looked similar to Chipotle that we decided we HAVE to try. After about an hour of wandering in the humidity we decided to hop on the metro and pop on over to the Louvre.
When we got there there were still a lot of tourists and we were feeling a bit upset because they are the whole reason we haven't wanted to go to the Louvre yet. Since Gabby and I had to go for class Megan decided to go off by herself and enjoy the rest of her day while we waited in line.

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Gabby and I only waited in line for about 10 minutes before we were allowed inside, and since we are students we get free admission. It was awesome! We jetted over to the paintings we were supposed to analyze and took our notes. We felt bad, and felt like people were definitely judging us since we were just blazing past all these amazing unbelievable works of art...pieces of history. In our minds, we know we are coming back, and when we return there won't be 92083028 tourists around.
After we were done seeing what we needed to see for class I turned to Gabby and said, "Let's just go see the Mona Lisa since we are here." Her response...."alright". We were off! Man-oh-man we probably should've waited for another day because that painting is just a tourist attraction. Although it was pretty amazing to see the painting up close. Especially when it was a complete spur of the moment activity.

After the last picture we quickly ducked out of the room and just ran past all the tourists...we were hot, cranky, and wanted ice cream!

We decided to cave in and buy a McFlurry from McDonald's because it was so humid outside and we were dying! Our justification was that it was a "Magnum" flavored McFlurry, which is a type of ice cream here in Paris. So...it's not like we got KitKat or M&Ms :)
To get away from people, and to enjoy our ice cream in peace we headed over to the park that is in front of the Louvre and pulled up some chairs under a huge tree. We sat. We talked. We watched the parisians. We contemplated how weird it is that we actually live in Paris. We discussed how much weirder it's going to be when we move back to San Luis Obispo.

This is what a typical Parisian man does. He wears a suit. Has an awesome bag/brief case. He pulls up a chair under a tree in a park. He smokes a cigarette. He is NOT on his cell phone. Simply put he is just enjoying a break in his day alone.

It's amazing to watch the parisians. They don't care about being alone. They enjoy going and eating by themselves. Reading a book while sipping coffee at a cafe. You hardly ever see anyone on their cell phone unless they are in the metro and even then it goes right back in their bag once the message is sent. I truly respect them for their ability to cut themselves off from the rest of the world, even if only for a cigarette.

One of my favorite parks of Paris (I feel like ever park I go to is my favorite, but I can't help it, they are all so gorgeous). The leaves on these tree's have started changing colors and I can't wait for fall. I've never lived in a place where the leaves actually change, where they fall off the tree's, where there are actual seasons. I'm so excited to come and just read a book underneath the passing seasons. 

One of my favorite things about this park is that there is artwork everywhere you look. Sculptures. Monuments. Fountains. They scatter the park inside and out. It's amazing how much history and culture there is everywhere in this city.







After leaving the park Gabby and I went to the Royal Square, and then decided that our 6 hour day in the city was nearing an end. We were tired, our feet hurt, and we wanted to take a well deserve nap. We started heading towards the Eiffel tower, but stopped on a bridge to just breathe.

To our right was this scene. The Seine. The Eiffel Tower. Museums. Shops. Trees. Parks. And to the left was the Notre Dame. The Louvre. Shakespeare and Company.
Within one sweep of the horizon so much to look at, so much to discover. So many unknowns about this city. It's just crazy to me everything that has happened here, and how little I know about it all.

For some reason whenever I see this tower I get emotional. It's probably because this is the reason I wanted to come to Paris. Everyone in the world knows the Eiffel Tower, and when I was picking the city that I wanted to live in for 5 months, a city to discover, I knew that I needed to see this sight. I knew nothing about the tower, except that I found it beautiful. Now I can take the metro for 20 minutes and be there with a baguette and a book and just waste my days looking at it. It still blows my mind that I'm here in this city.

So much art and culture at every juncture, every square, every stop light. For those who have not traveled, or seen another country there are no words to describe the feelings one gets. It's crazy that something so simple, something that thousands of people pass by every single day and pay no attention to, is older than our entire country.