Paris--Land of Crepes and Pastries

It’s really funny when you return to your “home” country, which for me has become London, and tell them that you are only going to be in the country for 4 days.  Well, that happened to me last week as I returned from Paris with my mom and grandma because this weekend I once again took an excursion to the city of MAGIC...Pari!

First though let me just tell you a few more of the adventures that I had last week with my mom and grandma.  It was incredible to share such a long time here with them and get to enjoy the city together.  One of my favorite moments was the day we spent at Harrod’s, including high tea at the Georgian Restaurant there.  Imagine a pink room, filled with pink poinsettias, piano music tinkling in the background, and pristine table clothes on each table.  After sitting down at our lovely table and taking our “high tea” pictures, the waiter poured each of us our first cup of mango tea.  A few moments later, another waiter brought us a tea caddy filled with more delicious goodies than you can even imagine.  Let me attempt to get your drooling on your computer keys: chocolate éclairs, fruit tarts, strawberry pound cake, salmon and dill sandwiches, egg cress, cheese and pickle sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, fruit cake...and keep in mind that all of these plates are endless...High tea was a truly memorable experience. 

High Tea with all its goodies

After High Tea at the Georgian Restaurant

I think perhaps that my favorite day was our final day together.  We went to the Serpentine Restaurant (after class; yes I actually attempt to do work on some days) for lunch. This delicious little restaurant is in Hyde Park, and its wall is entirely windows that overlook the gleaming Serpentine Lake, where I went rowing a bit ago.  The food is deliciously fresh, and we all enjoyed some warm roasted pumpkin soup with a pot of tea.  We then visited the Diana Memorial, which is one of the most beautiful memorials.  It is a circular fountain created to look like a necklace from afar, and the memorial is so simple.  As you walk around the fountain, you can see how its flow and surface change.  At some points, the water is still and serene, while at others, it bubbles and chuckles over rippled granite.  It is there to honor her life, and I feel like it does her such justice.  Bree, my mom, and I basked in the changing fall colors and the brisk cool air.  And if that isn’t enough to create a perfect day, we then finished the day by seeing JERSEY BOYS!  Our second row balcony seats were the perfect spot to enjoy the evening of music and dancing.  I can’t even explain how much fun this was, but I left the show with my toes tapping and once again itching to take the stage in a musical.  The West End was the only way to end the perfect visit.  Bree and Mom, I know you are both reading this and I treasured every moment, every laugh, every memory.

So...on to this weekend...more Paris.  Cortney, Kirby-Annah, Katelyn and I spent the weekend bashing around Paris with April, who was visiting from Germany.  After an eight-hour bus trip (where we did tons of work...aka I fell asleep) we arrived in Paris in a flurry of excitement.  Since we had to wait for April’s train we turned on our girl radars and headed straight for the biggest mall in all of Europe, The Galleries Lafayette.  This seven-story building has a glittering huge Christmas tree in the center of the building that was encircled by 6 floors of shopping.  Now since one t-shirt would probably buy me my food for the rest of the trip, I only bought dinner at the cafeteria there.  But as we sat eating dinner on the sixth floor next to a wall of windows, we watched the sun set behind the Eiffel Tower.  The sky became a blend of pinks, oranges, and yellows all melting into a backdrop for the towering Parisian icon.  And at six on the dot, the Eiffel Tower began its show, which means that all the lights that cover the entire tower begin sparkling!  And we had the perfect view; we couldn’t have begun our trip any better.  The night concluded with welcoming April at the train station.  Cort and I may have bowled over a few people as we ran to hug her on the platform. 

There are so many more moments that I would love to share with yall:

1) Our Creperie: the Latin quarter, which is quite near Notre Dame, is the home to incredible food, best of all this creperie that we visited multiple times.  This bakery had a crepe stand outside that made crepes fresh and filled them with a plethora of ingredients.  If you love nutella, you would have loved Cort’s favorite: Banana/Nutella Crepe.  If you love fruit like me, you would love the Baked Applesauce Crepe.  And if you love some nuts you would love April’s choice: Nutella/Almond Crepe.  Everyone was happy, which is why we visited this place a total of three times.  The final venture was the morning we left, but since the crepe stand was not open we opted for pain au chocolate, pain au raisin, pistachio pastry, chocolate éclair, and a baguette (don’t worry that was everyone’s order rolled into one).  It was a Paris treasure!

2) The Palace at Versailles: This Palace was just incredible; the outside entrance is a glowing golden gate, which is only a glimpse of the majesty of the rest of the Sun King’s castle. My favorite room was the Hall of Mirrors, which is a long hall, one side is windows, and the other is mirrors.  The mirrors reflect each window, making the room filled with light and life.  Unfortunately, the Sun King was not smiling on us the day we visited because it rained and rained and rained.  So we just had to take refuge in a little restaurant, where we had salads, French onion soup, crème brulees, apple tarts, and pies.

3) Walking up the Eiffel Tower: Victory! I walked up the Eiffel Tower to the highest point that you can walk!  And between the two floors we stopped for a little breakfast.  So I had some lovely coffee on the Eiffel Tower as I looked out over the entire city under a bright blue sky.  It was worth every step I took to see that view.

These are only three of the treats of Paris, but overall we loved the city and exploring with one another. Our Parisian flat was cozy and had two balconies that overlooked the city.  One evening we finished the day by watching Marie Antoinette and commented throughout the movie how we had seen each of the places in the background.  Paris was a place of reunions, for we spent time with both April and Bryson; and a place to meet new friends, such as Scott, who is also on the Versailles Trip.  (And it was quite nice to meet up with some French speakers, who we then made order everything for us)  I look forward on this week and cringe at the amount of papers I have to compose, but then I look back on the weekend and wouldn’t have given up any of those moments for anything!

Cort, April, Bryson, and I- We love Reunions in Paris!

In front of Versailles

April and I mimicking the statues at Versailles