Pi Beta Paris

Yesterday, I took the train up to Paris to see a few of my Pi Phi sisters, who were visiting for the weekend. It was incredibly fun to be reunited with them - I'm so happy a group of us were able to meet once abroad before heading home!

Reunited with Paulie at last!

Monday morning, I set off for Paris to meet my friend, Paulie, and her boyfriend. I haven't seen her in over three years now, how crazy?! Last time we were together was the summer after our junior year in the Lavandou with her family so it was so great to finally be reunited.

Summer of 2011

Together at last! - Fall of 2014

Things I learned in Paris

After 2 weeks, this is what I'm taking away from Paris:

Bring a driver's license or passport everywhere

To get discounts on museums and other monuments.

The French love to practice their English on American tourists

And they are also all pretty good at English.

Educate yourself

By reading up on the different places you want to go, it'll make your trip much more interesting.

Slow down

Enjoy the view, the cappuccino, and the croissant...

Wear comfy shoes

Even if they don't go perfectly with your cute outfit.

Zara Home is heaven on Earth

Enough said.

Take pictures or keep notes

Of your favorite places/restaurants so you can revisit them later.

Look up 

And take in the beautiful architecture of the buildings that surround you!

Goin' to the chapel...

On Sunday, our last day in Paris, we hit three churches in one morning!

We started off the morning early (well, earlier than usual) and went to the Notre Dame a little before 9am. We saw a local service, admired all the stained-glass windows, and read about the church's history on big posters propped up at the back of the building.

After we left the Notre Dame, we rushed over to Sainte-Chapelle (in the last few weeks, the line had been ridiculously long but it wasn't today). I had never been before and my grandmother kept telling me it was one of the most beautiful places to visit in Paris. She was right - the stained-glass windows were incredible. They were dazzling! The chapel was really small but it was so lively and colorful, so worth it.

Recently cleaned stained-glass windows in Sainte-Chapelle

We didn't stop there. We took a quick break for breakfast before going to La Madeleine, where we witnessed another service! For some reason, lots and lots of flowers were set up in front of the church on the steps - it was really nice. This church was much different from the others. It was neoclassical architecture, a nice change from the common French Gothic design.

A French continental breakfast across the street form Sainte-Chapelle

L'Eglise de la Madeleine

We somehow found ourselves in front of Ladurée in the Place de La Madeleine after our church tours... Wonder how that happened... This storefront is my favorite - look how cute it is!

The rest of the day we relatively relaxing. I was very into my new book, Gone Girl, so I spent a lot of time reading in the afternoon. We took our last walk around town later in the day, saying goodbye to the Seine.

Bye, Paris!

Dinner was at "Le Chien qui Fume" ("The Dog who Smokes").

A Day in the Marais

We spent one of our last days in the Marais, one of the best neighborhoods in Paris. There are so many little shops and restaurants, not to mention one of the most charming squares in the world: Place des Vosges. It's the oldest square in Paris, with lots of benches under shady trees and squares of grass to picnic on. The surrounding establishments were built back in 1604 when King Henry IV constructed a Royal pavilion at the southern end of the square. They're really nice - red brick and white stone facades, steep slate roofs and dorm windows.

Places des Vosges

After shopping around a little bit, we visited the Musée Carnavalet, a museum dedicated to the history of Paris. It has a great garden, with flowers and vegetables, that my mother fell in love with. There was a special exhibition featuring the liberation of Paris at the end of WWII that was very interesting - it had numerous photos and videos, many of which exclusively belong to the museum.

Musée Carnavalet garden

When we left the museum, we had lunch at the Royal Turenne...followed by gelato!

My carbonara at lunch!

We got back to the apartment around mid-afternoon and hung out for a while after a lot of walking. Around dinnertime, I got a message from one of my closest old friends who was in Paris - she was down the street from me! We ended up getting dinner together and exploring Beauborg, which was so much fun. It was a perfect ending to a beautiful day in Paris.

Friday: Montmartre & the Louvre

We finally made it out to Montmartre, which is so beautiful! Everyone who goes to Paris (for longer than 4-5 days) should visit this neighborhood. The church is extremely impressive - we even got to sit in on a real service - and the town next to the Sacre Coeur is really cute. Very touristy, but if you go to the Place du Tertre, you get to enjoy all artwork displayed in the middle of the square by local artists and can go off on a side street to see a great view of the city.

La Basilique du Sacré Cœur de Montmartre

Left inside a store near Place du Tertre,
a man fishing out coins from the fountain at the foot of the steps

After a couple hours up in Montmartre, we made our way back down to the center of the city to go to the Louvre. It was crazy busy - anyone traveling in Paris and is interested in museums: get the museum pass! You don't have to wait nearly as long to get into the museum since most of the waiting is to purchase tickets. Besides the crowds, the Louvre is...the Louvre. The sculptures, paintings... It's quite amazing.

Everyone trying to get a shot of the Mona Lisa

Thirsty Thursday - Hot Cocoa and Beer

On Thursday, my mother and I took a long walk. From our apartment, we walked down the Rue de Rivoli, past the Louvre, and to the Jardin de Tuileries. From there, we turned and headed north to the Place Vendome. In the square, we window-shopped at the various jewelry stores – admiring the gems of Chanel, Cartier, Bvlgari, and more… After leaving the square, I showed my mom a beautiful store, Repetto, nearby that sells ballet shoes and flats. They had a great display and it was fun to admire their pretty things. We walked on to the Place de l’Opera, which was quite busy. There, I pointed out the Café de la Paix to my mother – I had gone there a few years ago for a late afternoon snack with my friend and her grandmother. By the time we had made it to the Operahouse, we were both pretty hungry. So we headed back the direction we came and had lunch at Angelina, a restaurant famous for its hot chocolate. 

Angelina storefront

After our main courses, followed by macarons and hot chocolate, we conceded that the only thing really worth getting there was the hot chocolate. The quiche and croquet madame were mediocre and the macarons were no match for those at Laduree. However, the hot chocolate was wonderful: rich, thick, and creamy.

Dessert at Angelina

After a big meal, my mother and I walked over to the Jardin de Tuileries, where we saw leashed goats grazing in the park! Natural lawnmowers, I suppose.

After sitting by the pond for a little, I walked my mother halfway to the Cluny Medieval Museum where she was to meet my father and grandparents. On my walk back to the apartment, a mother and her daughter asked me for directions to St. Michel – this was not only exciting because I did know generally where St. Michel was, but also because she must have thought I was a local! I’m sure the mother realized I wasn’t once I opened my mouth to answer her, but still! What a compliment J

Theo and I hung out at the apartment for a bit before heading out to shop on Rue de Rivoli, which is actually an extremely big shopping street. There were so many people! Theo was great company, and very patient as I walked from store to store. After I had found what I was looking for, we sat down at a corner café for a pre-dinner snack - our own mini Thirsty Thursday (hehe)!

My adorable big little brother

Lunch in the Eiffel Tower

Wednesday was incredible to say the least. We had lunch in the Eiffel Tower (yes, in)! My grandfather made a special reservation at Le Jules Verne for the six of us and, from 125m up in the air, we enjoyed three delicious courses and a magnificent view of the city. The three and a half hour meal included a few of my favorite things: kir royales, foie gras, and macarons.

Haig Selfie 

Musée d'Orsay

On Tuesday, we decided to go to the Musée d'Orsay. My mother, father, and I chose to walk there so we could see a little more of the city. We ended up crossing the Pont des Arts (Love Lock Bridge), which was quite a sight.  

Pont des Arts

It took us a while to get to the museum. First, we had to take pictures on the Love Lock Bridge, then we admired cute trays and posters sold by the street vendors, and then we had to wait in this ridiculously long line to get through the front doors of Orsay! (Thank goodness my grandparents and my brother got there before us - we were lucky not to have to wait so long.) When we finally got in, it was absolutely incredible - and we weren't the only ones who thought so because it was so crowded! The collection was enormous. On the first floor was a special exhibition featuring Carpeaux (a famous sculpture who was often commissioned by Napoleon III), Toulouse-Laurec, and many other artists. One of the exhibits I liked the best on the first floor was the Orientalism one. It featured many paintings of the people and landscapes of the Middle East.

"Vieil homme devant des tombeaux d'enfants"
Osman Hamdy Bey (1903)

The fifth floor was all Impressionism (my favorite)! There was Monet (lots of Monet), Renoir, Degas, Sisley, and more... One of the most impressive canvases we saw was Monet's "Femmes au Jardin", the huge painting had a wall all to itself.

"Femmes au Jardin"

After two floors, all of us were too tired to explore the rest of the museum so we left for lunch.

But, yesterday, my mother and I returned to see the second floor: Post-Impressionism. We saw Van Gogh, Gaugin, and pointillists Seurat and Signac. Van Gogh's self-portraits and Signac's Demonlitionist were my favorite. 

All in all, Musée d'Orsay is a must-see. 

Sunday in the 6th Arrondissement

After a late start to the day, we spent the entire afternoon in the Saint Germain-des-Prés quarter. We traveled by metro, which was a lot more fun than I anticipated, and popped out right next to the famous Saint Germain-des-Prés church. Having slept the morning away and, therefore, skipping breakfast, we quickly sat down at Les Deux Magots (which supposedly translates to "The Two Figurines" and is based off of the title of a famous play in the 1800s) for lunch. Not only is this one of the cutest cafés we've been to yet, but it is also historically significant! It was the "hang-out spot" of the literary and intellectual elite of the city (i.e. Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and the list goes on)... And they have extremely delicious croque madames!

Lunch at Les Deux Magots

After a bite to eat, we walked around a little and stumbled upon the entrance of Musée National Eugène Delacroix, the apartment-turned-museum of the French painter. Not only were the lithographies (on stone and paper) incredible, but so were the furniture pieces in the beautiful apartment. Anyone who is interested in art, or Shakespeare (many lithographies featured were of scenes from Hamlet), should definitely stop by. 25 years old or under: admission free!

Then we walked back to the church, right as it began to rain. We took a half hour to ourselves, sitting in one of the pews and read for a little. Afterward, we wandered a few blocks until we found Café de Flore, another café historically known as a rendezvous place for intellectuals and artists, and sat down for coffee.

Outside/Inside of St. Germain-des-Prés

Coffee break at Café de Flore

The last thing I wanted to do before we left was visit the Jardin du Luxembourg so we walked from the café down to the garden, stopping along the way to take pictures of pretty doors (some of which had plaques describing the different famous people who once lived there). The garden was impressive - the landscaping, immaculate. It was busy with tourists and locals, sailing remote-controlled boats on the pond, reading, and taking pictures. The weather was beautiful so we decided to sit down in a few chairs surrounding one of the center lawns to read under the sunshine. Before we knew it, almost an hour had gone by and it was time to return home. 

When in Paris...

Today was the first full day we spent in Paris. The sun finally came out and it felt like the city was bursting with life! There were so many people walking about who, like us, were taking advantage of the awesome weather. My mom and I walked from our hotel, past the Arc de Triomphe, down the Champs-Elysées, to the Petit Palais where "Belle Époque" is being featured. However, the line to purchase tickets was ridiculously long so we skipped it - taking mental note that we should buy tickets in advance - and walked through the Place de la Concorde to the Jardin de Tuileries. It was the first time I had been to the garden and it was absolutely incredible. It was enormous, but still intimate. The little side gardens/squares provide people with a sense of privacy and quiet, whether it was to read their books or share a moment with their company. It is the perfect place to picnic and relax on a warm day.

Place de la Concorde

The Louvre behind the Jardin de Tuileries

After walking around the garden, we decided to go to the Musée de l'Orangerie. (PSA for college students: don't forget to bring your license or passport to get discounted prices on museum tickets!) The exhibitions were incredible. My favorite paintings were obviously Monet's waterlilies, but the lower floor also featured beautiful works of Matisse, Rousseau, Cézanne, and more. By the time we were done seeing all of the rooms, it was mid-afternoon and we were starving!

And what better place to go for lunch then Ladurée? (Highly recommend the Club Saumon for an entrée and macarons with a cup of tea or a cappuccino for dessert!)

Having gained some energy after our macaron break, we decided we had enough strength left to climb the Arc de Triomphe! (Another PSA: bring your ID or passport if you are 25 or under for a free ticket.) The view on top was absolutely breathtaking.

Haigs in Paris!

We landed in Paris in the late morning and made good time to the hotel despite the rainy weather. After lunch at an Algerian restaurant nearby, there was a lot of coffee and a lot of napping. We set out for dinner a little after 8 and spent the good majority of the hour starving and wandering down streets off of the Champs-Elysées -- my dad was determined to find the restaurant he and my mom went to a few years back. We finally found it: Le bistro Marbeuf. The wait was worth it, dinner was absolutely delicious!

Foie gras de canard mi-cuit

Escalope e veau à la crème de champignon et riz

Dame Blanche

Mapping the Lay of the Land

Decided to multi-task during breakfast and find a few towns to visit after our stay in Paris. There are just so many beautiful places, it's so hard to decide!

What are your favorite places to go in France?

Two weeks left!

My trip is just around the corner! I can already see the City of Light.

Eiffel Tower

What are your plans for the rest of the summer?