Paris: I Guess We Can't Get Enough

We made it back to Paris in record time, but almost had nowhere to stay. The first place was in the ghetto outside Paris. The second place had no vacancy. The third place was also far, but it was our only option. The place was 7 stories and very ecclectic. Every inch of wall was painted in primary colors, floors seemed deserted, there was a restaraunt, and a bar/club in the basement. Strange.
We spent the whole afternoon in the Louvre and got in for free. The building is absolutely amazing beyond believe. It amazed me 100 times more than all of the artwork. Every corner and space was detailed; every ceiling featured a painted story. It was awesome to imagine Napoleon walking through its halls.

The artwork was also pretty cool. We saw paitings by Michelangelo, da Vinci, Boticelli, etc. We even saw the Mona Lisa, though we both wonder why it's so awesome. My favorite exhibit was the Egyptian Antiquities. They had everything, including a mummy! Oh yeah, and Hunter was starving and bought a sandwich; it turned out to be cheese and carrot. Haha.

After the Louvre we went to a historic district I'd read about: St. Germaine. We found a cool Italian place where you watch one guy hand make all the pizzas. Hunter got an awesome pizza and I got homemade tortellini creme. The cream sauce was the richest, best I'd ever tasted and the shells were stffed with cheese.

The next day in Paris was really fun, even though we wasted the first 2 hours trying to get to Normandy (maybe I can go with my dad someday though!). We headed to Versailles, got on the wrong train, and met an American couple on their honeymoon.

The palace is amazing, but comepletely overdone. Every inch is marble, bronze, or painted by someone famous. We saw all the Kings and Queens quarters, the Hall of Mirrors, and even the door Marie Antionette used to escape the rioters.

The gardens were also awesome (sorry, everything really IS awesome). The manicured beauty went on as far as the could see. There were fountains, statues, hedges, trees, flowers, lakes, etc. All were perfectly arranged and kept. I kept imagining a Jane Austen novel taking place there.

Hunter and I bought sandwiches, rented bikes, and rode around the whole cross-shaped lake. We also saw Marie Antionette's house, which is hidden in the gardens. I'm not usually crazy about gardens, but I think everyone should see these at least once. They are unimaginable.

That night we went out to the Latin Quarter, which is full of clubs and college kids. We wanted to finally have a night out on the town, since we'd failed to go out so far.

There weren't sketchy bars or skanky girls puking behind bushes. The whole street was bustling: restaraunt owners beckoning you, artists painting, crepes cooking, clubs bouncing, ice cream eating, etc. We ate a gyro in a little shop while we built up our courage to enter George's, a club where a bouncer checked you out and let you in.

We were really nervous because 1) We weren't dressed really nice and 2) We couldn't speak French. After thinking we wouldn't get in... We did! It was my first club :)

The waitresses wore Mardi Gra masks and served drinks to all the packed tables. We looked the menu and almost died: 8euro drinks! After all the hassle of getting in, we gave in to the moment and ordered just one. Hunter had the most expensive Corona of his life, but at least my strawberry smoothie had a sparkler in it!

After the club we headed back to the hostel on the metro. Two crazy guys were belting out the lyrics to Kanye West. Come to find out, they were American and staying at our place.

Their sininging continued all the way home and they even got booed by a group of ten year olds. They were really cool guys and we wish we could've met them earlier. They were all from NY. Emile was Parisian and spoke 4+ languages. Parker was a slight nerd. Nate was a 7 foot giant. It was a great night and we spent 2 hours chatting with them until we decided bed was a good idea.