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Published: December 29th 2011
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Questions for the Day:Why do French people zig-zag on the streets and not decide to walk either on the left or the right of the street? Why do they glad-wrap their travel bags? Why do they listen to Western music but no one speaks a word of English? They all hum along to the lyrics which is pretty hilarious. It would be like us listening and singing French songs all the time but not understanding a word of it.
Can you believe that the sun only rises in Paris at 8:30am? When walking out to on the streets at 8am in the morning, you seriously feel like you have gotten up at the crack of dawn. Theres a little bakery down the street from our apartment that we have become accustomed to for our early morning croissant - Ben has a plain one, I have a chocolate one of course!! (Pain au chocolat).
Yesterday we got up early with lots planned fo the day. With the air brisk yet refreshing, it was peaceful walking down the empty streets of Paris and watching the lights of Galeries Lafayette reflect upon the windows of the most briliant architecture. The eclectic fusion
of old and new only makes Paris that much more remarkable. We went for breakfast in a very traditional French Brasserie. The waiter was even wearing a bow-tie and a vest- nothing that you would see in Australia. French people really love their omelettes and thats what we had. Coffee review to date - Cappucino: Nothing to rave about (more like urn coffee with froth on top) Flat White: Actually pretty good.
After breakfast we made our way over to the Louvre. You could tell when you hit tourist town as an array of brightly coloured jackets and beanies appeared with tourists standing on blocks pretending to be holding the Louvre with their fingertips - how tacky. Hawkers pervaded around the grounds of the Louvre attempting to sell hundreds of Eiffel tower key rings which they had jiggling on huge silver rings. It always feels so different when you get to see tourist sites which you have only visualised within the pages of a highschool textbook. The outside structure of the Louvre and its contrast to the meticulously carved sandstone and marble buildings around it . Its mindblowing to think how long some of these things took to be
built. There was only about a 20 minute wait in line for the Louvre and the entry fee just $12. Needless to say, the art withing the Louvre was astounding and stunning. Ofcourse everyone crowded around the securely cased Mona Lisa which takes up an entire wall for itself. There were many amazing paintings depicting Jesus life / death which gave you a more vivid perception. The artists of these paintings must have been so inspired - the detail in these artworks is unbelievable.
After the Louvre, we headed to 'Angelina's, which is renowned for having the richest and most beautiful hot chocolate in France - it didn't dissapoint. Very rich, the liquid chocolate with whipped cream hit the spot. We also ordered some pastries. Ben had a chocolate brioche scroll, and I had a Camaramelised puff pastry with gooey caramel and whipped cream (Dad you would have loved it!). Angelina's was great, but has definitely given us our chocolate fix for the next few days... haha) Even Angelinas had expensive gold wallpaper and victorian style chairs - the French don't do anything in halves.
We have browsed some of the shops and Ben has got the Metro
system downpat (which he already has a big head about). I am getting by on the few terms which I learn't in Year 11 French to speak to the locals. On our train ride home it was very hard not to laugh at a Chinese guy singing 'Amazing Grace' very loudly in French on the train to try and get money from people. He actually had a pretty good voice.
For dinner last night we bought some very tasty cheddar & brie cheese from the same bakery down the road and a fresh 1 metre long baguette for just 90 cents! We also cooked up some yummy chorizo sausage. All the food is so flavoursome!
Well that pretty much brings you all up to date. We haven't headed to the Paris Christmas markets yet but will do so today.
Todays plan: Eiffel Tower for sunrise / breakfast, Notre Dame, & the markets.
Stay Tuned!
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Leslie
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My favorite store in Paris! In addition to Au Printemps!