Last Day...Arc de Triomphe

The picture speaks for itself. The top of the Arc is the most picturesque thing I've ever seen. I thought Zach and I would hate that it was raining, but it made it perfect. I know, weird, but true.



When we were at the top, there was this little boy on his toes looking over the edge and kept saying "superbe". I want to take our kids here some day.



9 days in our favorite city, with my favorite person. Best. Anniversary. Ever.

The Grand Arch + Christmas Village

The Grand Arch, actually not an arch, but more like a hollow cube, is so bad-A. The coolest part of it all I think is that you can see straight down Champ-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe. Like a modern arch, vs. the new-cool-hot-studly arch. Both cool, but so different. The view from the top is so legit.







There is an amazing museum at the top, that is called the Information Museum. It has a timeline of computers. Pretty cool. Also, an amazing bookstore.
As our days were coming to an end, we spent a lot of time walking around, and visiting some of our favorite places. This time two summers ago, Chance, Zach, and I went to this monument and played their grand piano in the middle of the giant art exhibit. You'd think everyone would be pissed, but even the guards came over to hear a couple of songs. It is amazing how they can't SPEAK English but they know all the words to Snoop Dogg's Nuthin' But a G-Thang. Weird.

At the base of the Grand Arch, was a Christmas Village. Chestnuts roasting, the whole deal. I loved it, Zach wanted out quick. When he realized they might have popcorn, he was on the hunt.

Centre Pompidou

We were super jazzed to get to the Pomp. They say the square block around the Pompidou is the most dangerous in Paris, and you never forget it. One way to get there, is through a giant mall called Les Halles. As you ride the escalator up to the ground level, you quickly realize why everyone tells you this. Crowds of gangs pack around the escalator. I remember this from the last two times I have been in Paris, but it was never this bad. What throws me off though is that they wear these hats, black beanies with a giant puff ball on top, encrusted in fake gems. I think it hurts their street cred, but whatever.

Once we got to the Pomp, we found that 5 minutes before we arrived, they went on strike. Greve, it is called in French apparently. It took us a while to figure out. The building itself is still amazing, and worth the Metro ride for sure.



Plus we found a bomb.com restaurant.





Another great find:



Zach discovered that our hotel lobby had an XBox. Great. He said it really was a vacation.

Sacre Coeur

We loved the Sacre Coeur Arrondissement. It is one of my favorite areas in Paris. It looks like something out of a fairy tale. A lot of Paris is very industrialized, but not the Sacred Heart. Tiny little shops selling pastries and vintage postcards is what makes up the neighborhood. There was even this shop that sold hand made christmas lights. They were amazing. It is is a hike to get there. Like 3 pastries worth of a hike. Once you get to the top, you realize why so many people are up on the hill. This is what it looks like during the day:



But Zach and I went at night, when you can see the city lights.

Thanksgiving...2

Pumpkin Pie?

No thanks. I'll take one of....



everything?

After the museum, we ate at KONG. Designed by my all time favorite Mr. Stark.



It was just as gorgeous as I thought it would be. The best part is that it was all Zach's idea. I completely forgot about going there, until he brought it up. The ceiling was made of all glass, you could see Paris below. Cherry on top: it started to rain and the glass ceiling was incredible with the streaming water.

Turkey is not big in Paris, but chicken and mashed potatoes was the closest we could get.

On our way home we ate dessert. You guessed it....a cone glace from Mickey D's.

Thanksgiving...Parisian Style

Did you know that in Paris, there is no Thanksgiving?? Just kidding, we knew that, obviously it is strictly an American Holiday. I guess we were just hoping some lonely American would be offering a Thanksgiving Dinner at their gorgeous restaurant. Nope. We also told a few people to "enjoy your Thanksgiving." They just looked at us really odd.

Sidenote:
If you have been to Paris, you know not to step in ANY puddles. This holds true for NYC, London, any major city really. I love the Metro. I think it is genius. Same with the Tube and Subway. GENIUS. I am obsessed with how the whole system works. Unfortunately I think the Metro is the most fowl. It smells of urine constantly. Especially in the corridors, were you can...urinate in private. Well Zach and I were at this stop below....(La Motte Picquet Grenelle)



It is a pretty big stop, it has multiple lines running through it, so it is pretty crowded, and it is how we connected to a lot of different lines from our hotel stop.
ANYWAYS....as we got off, I looked at the map to see what line we had to connect with. I saw in the corner of my eye, about ten feet away from me, a man crouched down in the corner, between the vending machine and the wall. I thought, "poor guy, having a rough day." I look at the map again and that's when I realized what he was doing. I could smell it. I looked over, and he was staring straight up at me. Ten feet away from my boots a man...relieved himself on the Metro dock, in front of probably 20 other people as well. Parisians are disgusting. He pulled up his pants, and walked away from me. It was like one of those moments when you know you should look away, but you can't believe what is happening right in front of your eyes. Like a car accident. So yeah. Don't step in any puddles, or any...masses. Ever.

Back to topic. Thanksgiving.

So we couldn't find anywhere to celebrate our lonely holiday, so we decided to go all out. I have been wanting to go to Kong for two years, and what better day than Thanksgiving. So we woke up and went to the Musee d'orsay. It's Zach's favorite museum, and I had never been there before. So he took me to some of his favorite pieces in the museum. It was awesome.

Date Night!

Paris Day 3:

Sorry to bore everyone with my sappy, sappy ways. Everyone knows that Zach and I had our first date in Paris. We went to the Louvre at night, and ate lasagna at a corner cafe. So, we decided to celebrate our anniversary by doing the EXACT same thing. So we slept in, walked around a lot, and went to the Louvre.



The Louvre at night is the best. There are no crowds, no lines for Ms. Mona Lisa, and thousands of square feet to observe.





They let you take pictures of her now. She used to be off limits to ANY photography, but now you can snap as many as you like...as long as there is not a flash. We took advantage, because all of our other photos of her were very blurred, and usually had guards' fingers in the corner, swatting our cameras away.

Nike, my favorite.



Ms. Milo, Zach's favorite. (Boobs)



We took this exact same picture on our first date.



Side-hug and all.