Day Eighteen- Arcs and Champs

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Actually not that much to report today! We were out for a while but doing quite uneventful stuff. We had another vegan yogurt and granola breakfast, then set off to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées for the day, which is another quite long walk to get to (about an hour). On the way we walked past that juice shop again, and decided that, you know, we had had quite a small breakfast so it would be the smart choice to get another juice, right?
I had one with spinach, pineapple, apple and ginger.

Then fuuuurther along the way, closer to our destination, we found a food truck selling hot, fresh crepes. Trudi grabbed my arm and her eyes lit up- “we have to get one.” It was more of a statement than a suggestion. After I (unwillingly) protested that we’d just had breakfast very recently, she reminded me that we’re not in Paris for long and might not get another chance to have one. So, we got one. And it was GOOOOD.

Anyways, so the Arc de Triomphe is at the bottom (or the top, depending on where you stand) of the Champs Elysées, so we decided to walk up the left side (or the right side, depending on where you stand) of the street, see the Arc, and then walk down the other side. The first side was gorgeous! Shops like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Lacoste, and Abercrombie & Fitch (which had its own secret garden path leading up the four story building) to name a few. We also found Ladurée, a famous and ridiculously classy pâtisserie (also the one Blair Waldorf buys her macarons from in Gossip Girl- just a fun fact for trashy TV show fans). We lined up for about 10 minutes (it was packed?!) and eventually treated ourselves to one macaron and one jasmin-flavoured chocolate, just so we could get the box it came in as a keepsake. Both were delicious, but I don’t think you could ever get me to spend that much money on a macaron ever again.

We saw the Arc de Triomphe (another astounding monument) and watched the chaotic roundabout for a few minutes, wondering why people still use it when it’s the most dangerous roundabout in the world. We then headed down the other side of the Champs Elysées, which I must admit was a bit less impressive, boasting two McDonald’s’, a bunch of souvenir shops (which I did buy a lot from) and a lot of average restaurants. Speaking of which, we went into one and had a baguette for lunch, then decided to head home at 5pm.
We got home around 6pm, planned tomorrow, and then had a homemade dinner of pasta and pesto. It’s now 11pm and we’ve been playing cards for a while.

To save a completely boring blog post, here’s some things I’ve noticed in Paris so far-
- The stereotypes about the people are true
- There are security guards absolutely everywhere (there was one in the entry to McDonald’s today)
- Their public bin liners are clear so you have an amazing view into it from every angle!
- Parisian’s are the most reckless drivers ever
- They’re also very patriotic
- It’s an easy but long walk everywhere
- There are heaps of museums
- When an eating place advertises that they are a “cafe”, they’re not really cafes but restaurants. DO NOT EXPECT A QUICK COFFEE AND A TAKEAWAY PASTRY.
- We saw a man stealing a bicycle

And I think that’s about it so far! Off to Versailles tomorrow, but now to bed.

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