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Published: April 25th 2008
So I got back late Monday, and began to plan out my first week of Spring Break while enjoying my favorite city in the world! Tuesday, I had heard a lot of one of the parks on the outskirts of Paris: Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement. There the Hippodrome is located, oh those crazy French gamblers hehe. The park is gorgeous and used to be the hunting grounds for the royalty, and is expansive and suprisingly still Paris. Parisian streets are exactly what you think of: gothic gargoyles mingling with the models on the street corners and harboring tiny little marble courts with majestic ancient statues. However, since I've spent a lot of time seeing the main attractions, it was nice to see another side of Paris with lush gardens and ponds and free space to breathe the French air. After having a nice little picnic on the larger of the lakes there, I wandered the streets finding my way back and watched as the warmer sun brought out the families to play in the parks. I met for dinner in Little India with my friend Katrin that I had interned with at the EU. She lives in a
very cool area that I never would have known about otherwise. Little canals seep through the streets of the 19th, surrounded by chic cafes and restaurants. We had a very lovely evening of walking and talking.
The next day I went to the Institut du Monde Arabe, where there were gorgeous panaromic views of the city. I walked the entirety of the Latin Quarter and St. Germain-des-Pres areas that afternoon, visiting the Sorbonne University and Pantheon. The jardins du luxembourg are always a favorite of mine, where the Palais is located and actually very near to the school I attend. I sauntered along the Seine as picturesque as it always is, and finally visited Ile-St-Louis, which is next to the island that Notre Dame is on. They have world-famous ice cream at the Berthillon so I got a small cone and enjoyed walking along the river. That evening I met up with friends to go to the Musee d'Orsay. I was able to have a quick cafe creme and vegetable soup seated right next to the famous clock (hence the pictures) and watched the sun set through the darkened hour hands. Afterwards I made my way back, crossing over
the Louvre and serenated by a nice jazz group practicing along the river ways. It was quiet but peaceful, not too many tourists are flooding the streets yet, and it's serene enough to hear my own thoughts and meander for a while. Tomorrow I'll be going to Lisbon and I am very excited about seeing Portugal!!!! Wish me luck 😊
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