“When good Americans die, they go to Paris." -Oscar Wilde

Once arriving in Paris, we met with Sam and Laura. Sam was a friend Paz met in Berkeley and Laura studied with us in Berlin. Sam hooked us up with accommodations in his girlfriend's studio. Her studio was in a really nice area of Paris and we went out to a fantastic dinner. I had a huge plate of mussels that were not too expensive.
  Our first full day in Paris we saw the Notre Dame. My American self could only compare to what I have seen in Disney's Hunhback of Notre Dame. Then we went to the biggest museum in the world, Louvre. It was a 2 hour wait to get into the main entrance (where the pyramid is, see picture below), but we found a side entrance and walked right in!

Bakery right by our studio...best bakery ever!

The Louvre is the home of the Mona Lisa, and swarms of people crowded around this small 11x20
painting. In the same room, complete walls were painted like I had seen in the Vatican.
   We then made our way towards the Eiffel Tower but on the way we stopped by Napoleon's old military hospital that still had cannons and other weaponry.

Next to Jim Morrison 

  We made it to the Eiffel Tower Park and basked in the beauty of the structure. Seeing pictures is completely different than in person. We also saw the Wall of Peace, a glass wall that says "Peace" is several different languages that looks into the tower. We then walked down the famous Avenue de Champs-Elysses,a really fancy street with high end shopping. We stopped at Paris's famous macaroon store,  Pierre Herme and indulged.
   After a long day we return to the studio and make a fabulous dinner complemented with wine.
  The next morning was my 21st birthday. I was greeted in the morning with fresh pastries from the bakery down the street (thanks Paz). We also made sandwiches from their fresh baguettes..they were so soft and delicious and  heightened the wonderful culinary experience we had in Paris. We then visited the  Père Lachaise Cemetery where many famous people who experienced their lives in Paris are buried and is also the site of WW1 memorials. We saw the gravestones of: Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Rossini, Chopin, and Edith Piaf. 

Entrance to the Louvre

  We visited a park that Napoleon built which overlooked the city. There were gorgeous waterfalls and rolling vegetated hills. We could also see the Montmarte area which has the best view of the Eiffel Tower, houses the Moulin Rouge, and is in several hit films. We did not venture into that area because it is not considered the safest and is a huge tourist trap (aka lots of robbers). 
   Despite the biting cold, we went to the Berthillon Ice Cream Shop and indulged in amazing sorbet and chocolate (which of course I bought some extra to share with the family).

One of my favorite paintings

Eiffel Tower by night!

Escargo

We had been cotemplating going up the Eiffel Tower. You may be thinking, "You were in Paris and were not going to go up the Eiffel Tower???"" But it is quite expensive to do so, plus the weather had been less than ideal our whole stay. But Paz and Laura insisted we go for my birthday (thank you guys for the optimism!). We arrive and only the elevator to the first level was open and the very top was closed. I didn't think it was worth going and suggested we hit the bars. Paz and Laura both looked at me and said, "Damnit Christina, it's your birthday. We are in Paris. We are going up SOME part of the tower." ahh I love my friends. We wait in line for about an hour and when we make it to the ticket window the cashier asks, "Would you like to go to the top? Winds have died down and the top just opened." Again, I love my friends. The view of the city from the top was gorgeous. There were still small streams of clouds floating by and sometimes we were actually IN the clouds. The night couldn't have gotten any better..but it did. We met up with Sam at a restaurant/bar area where many students hang out. I had duck and escargo (yay vegetarian me) but it was FANTASTIC. One of the best meals I have ever had. Then we did some bar hopping and to top off my birthday, one of my good friends from Berkeley happened to be in Paris that night and met up with us! Danielle and I were so happy to see each other. We drank the night away until it was time to leave for the airport back to Berlin. 3 weeks of non-stop travel, 1 week before our return to the states, 5 months in Europe. Life is good.

Duck dinner