I love Paris in the Winter

I began my adventure in Paris, where my friend (more like sister) is doing her study abroad. It was hard to say goodbye to family and friends at home, but with the excitement of a big trip, it wasn't so bad.

The trip began well - my ticket was upgraded! I was given a taste of first class, which was great for a long haul flight. AND, I was under the weight limit for my baggage! 22.2 kgs, baby! So, For anyone not used to preordering meals, I would absolutely recommend it. I got my food about 45 minutes ahead of everyone, which was sweet, except I think that's why the guy beside me wasn't too chatty.

Hanna met me at the airport terminal, which seemed to be modelled after a UFO landing site or something, with parkade style cement columns and glass tubes to walk through. She took me right to my hostel, which was amazing!! Well, amazing for a hostel. Free sheets AND towels! And I was upgraded, yet again, to a smaller room (only sharing with three others instead of 6). Nice. And only on the 1st floor (instead of lugging everything up to the 5th floor - no lifts, dontcha know.) However, here the numbering system is such that the main floor is not 1, it's 0, which can get to be confusing in malls and such.

After I got settled, we walked up to Hanna's apartment, which was a very short (but very steep) jaunt up the hill. If you are familiar with Montmartre, she is on it. And the metro stops all end at the bottom of the mountain, not at the top. We worked off all the pastries that we ate just by going back to her place! Her apartment is pretty typical for Paris - very small. It is fun to visit, though, with the interesting addition of a bathtub to the kitchen. Nice artistic touches.

Next we went off for some food, which we found near Pigalle, close to Moulin Rouge! For those who haven't been there, that means it's in just about the worst part of town, and as such, this is where my encounters with creepy men began! Guys here are very forward - as in, make eye contact, and they will follow you. Even if you do your best to bitch them out. However, turns out Fuck off is a pretty international term! We took a taxi home that night, which seemed like a good idea, until the guy went for ages in the wrong direction, and then stopped to look at a map of where we wanted to be. Super.

My first full day in Paris began like everyones should - a visit to the Lafayette Market for some food. This is where I tried my first macaroons, which are nothing like at home. Picture two soft meringue cookies squished together with different fillings. Mmm. Our next activity was getting a metro pass, which was pretty cool. You get your picture taken at a booth, and then buy a pass. I totally felt like a local using it, which was wicked.

Then we made our way to Champs Elysees, which was busy as ever. Can I recommend people not visit the Starbucks there? 5 Euro for a tall frappucino isn't worth it, even if you are craving familiarity and a clean bathroom.

In the evening, we went off the La Marais, which is a lovely district for restaurants. The weather was pretty consistently hovering around 7C in the day, and 3C ish at night. We watched some ice skating next to the river for awhile, before finding some food. As usual, when Hanna and I get together, eating seems to be our main activity. So, you can imagine us set free in the land of pastries and cakes on every corner!

The next day, we were a bit more intellectual, and went to Musee D'Orsay. It is gigantic, and impressive, and totally worthwhile, even with the Louvre as competition. On our way to the next eating establishment, we happened past a pretty intense rally at la bastille, which we couldn't figure out, but it had an impressive number of people at it. Next stop: shopping, which was incredibly disappointing. Isn't Paris known for fashion? Not where we were looking, apparently. Then, we went off to see La Defense, which is a gigantic modern version of the Arc de Triomphe.

Our next cultural excursion was to the Paris nightlife. We tried out a local bar, which was great, but expensive. Then we were off to sample club life. The one we chose was a house club (and that's house music, a type of electronic music) set in a large red barge on the banks of the Seine river. Unfortunately, when we arrived at around midnight, it was suuuper creepy - you could hear it creeking, and there weren't many people there yet. So, we decided to check out another club - luckily the metro was still working until 1ish, and we made it to Le Rex, another (probably cooler) house club in the city. It goes from midnight until 6am, which we were troopers for and stayed for. At first, it was really strange - it reminded me of zombie aerobics - people were all facing the dj, and totally in a trance with the music, moving slowly to the beat. Once I got over how strange that was, it was totally cool. To finish off the night, we did it Parisian style and had crepes with nutella, the BEST post-dancing food. By the time we were done, it was daylight, and the metro was working again.

The next day was rather chilly - we tried to be intellectual, despite our exhaustion, and see the Musee Rodin, but it was closed when we arrived. So instead, we went to a cafe for the best hot chocolate I have ever had, and stuck bites of the pastries that we had bought across the street. A perfect way to warm up in Paris. We visited Centre Pompidou on the way back from our activities, which was quite a sight. More glass tunnels that look like the transport tubes from the Jetsons, just stuck on to the side of the building. Very cool.

That evening, we met up with Hanna's roommate and her friends for an evening at a Brazilian club near her house - I was so jealous that all the places we were visiting will be so close to Hanna during her stay in Paris. We tried to do some things that she would be doing while she's there - I visited my first laundrymat, which was interesting. It's kinda clausterphobic though, because if you are stuck talking to anyone creepy, you can't just leave, or you will have wet clothes to look forward to.

We finally made it to see Rodin's Thinker statue, which was exquisitely beautiful. Then, off to refresh my memory of Notre Dam. That evening, Hanna introduced me to the exciting world of soccer (or football, which I will have to learn to call it - everyone here knows and loves it). We watched an Italian league game in the only bar in the city that was playing it, so you knew that everyone there was a true fan of the game and the team. It was there that I tried an amazing pizza - the French know their cheeses, and this pizza had blue cheese on it, which was soooo great! Definately trying that again.

Pere Lachaise was an interesting excursion - you don't often tell people, or get excited about, seeing the remains of dead people, but we sure did. We were glad to have bought a map of the cemetary, because otherwise we would have been so lost, which can get creepy when you are walking among mausoleums.

Then we went off to see Saint Chapelle, which is an exquisite (you guessed it) chapel with stunning stained glass. Usually churches are free, but this one is sooo special that you have to pay for it. Our next meal was found at the Bon Marche, which every city should have. It's as big as a department store, and it's all specialty food. From there, we took a bus to see the Eiffel Tower. It was freezing, but beautiful. I love that building!

For our last evening together, we went to a great Indian restaurant in the Abbesse, which is a great district close to Sacre Coeur (you may remember it from the movie Amelie). We visited a pub afterwards, and had the greatest cider! When I was in Finland, we had wonderful pear cider there, but in France, I'm all about apple cider.

The next day, I was the annoying person in my room that was packing things at 6am. No matter how slow you zip them, zippers are really loud, A bit like candy wrappers during a play, zippers are really loud, no matter how slow you zip them. For breakfast? Cake, of course. I decided to change it up from my usual croissant. It gave me the energy to deal with the post office, which was just short of being a nightmare. There was already a lineup at 9am. The only reason I survived was that I had my translator with me. Otherwise the two women swearing at each other over who would sell me the post box would have been rather distressing.

And then, off to the airport. Paris was fantastic. We were doing the things that many tourists don't get around to doing, which allowed me to see the 'real' Paris.

Pictures to follow - African internet sucks.