Welcome to Paris!
Grace and I were staying at the Caulaincourt Square Hostel which was in the Montmarte area of Paris, one of my favorite places there. After dropping all our luggage (they starting to get very cumbersome considering I was literally carrying all my possessions from Ireland) at the hostel, which was very nice, we went out to explore a very hot Paris. We had the whole day in front of us because it was only 10:15 am when we arrived.
Since we were already in the Montmarte area I thought it was best to start there. Also, this is one of the best places in Paris to really get the Parisian feel so it is the perfect place to start. We walked up by Sacre-Couer and on the way Grace also stopped in a bakery and tried her first authentic French baking.
Grace made a habit of trying as many French baked goods as possible.
One of my other favorite places in Paris is Notre Dame so I decided to make that our second stop. One of my goals for my second trip to Paris was to got up in the towers of Notre Dame but the line was outrageous that day and we did not feel like waiting in the heat wearing the clothes that we traveled in (I had to wear abut four layers so my bags weren't overweight); passing out was not on our to do list. Instead we sat in the shade of Notre Dame and Grace took a little nap while I wrote in my journal.
Grace taking a little nap outside Notre Dame. It was a long day.
After walking around Notre Dame we had to indulge in one of Paris's greatest treasures- crepes. After we both enjoyed a nutella and banana crepe, which was a little too hot for a very hot day, Grace and I took the metro back to our hostel.
Notre Dame is so beautiful
When we got back we tried to check into the hostel and the man at the front desk would only speak French. Apparently he thought we could speak French but the truth is that neither Grace or I have ever taken any French, so we were completely lost, unless he by chance said a word that sounds like an English or Spanish word we knew. In other words, basically everything was lost in translation. When everything seemed to be in order, I say seemed because I had no idea what he was saying, we walked towards our room and the front desk clerk called after us, in an American accent, "By the way, I speak perfect English." Turns out he was from Washington DC and apparently just likes to frustrate American tourists.
The big gift that Grace and I wanted to get our parents while on our European vacation was a sketch of us drawn in Paris. After freshening up at the hostel and arranging to meet our cousin later on in the night we headed over to Montmarte and investigated the sketching scene. There are a lot of artists there and they all have samples of their work out so that you can choose your favorite. We choose the stereotypical French man in a red and white striped shirt. Stereotypes never lead you wrong.
One funny thing he said while drawing Grace was "You have a special eye." He didn't speak very good English and we still don't know what he meant by it but I'm guessing it was because she was wearing eye shadow. After drawing it he also said, "I make miracle for you." He is so modest, but I have to give him credit because he did give me a nose job in the sketch.
Our artist, Grace, me, and our sketched selves.
Our second cousin Andy just happened to be in Paris too so, in order to be as dramatic as possible, we decided to meet under the Eiffel Tower. He was climbing in Europe this summer and was with his other two friends so the first order of business was finding a restaurant to feed the hungry masses. We had a pleasant dinner and then went back to the Eiffel Tower to take the quintessential Eiffel Tower picture with our cousin. It was a once in a lifetime photo opportunity.
Grace and Andy just had to climb a French lamppost too.
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