Paris, je t'aime !!!

I was so busy with the EU Summit I didn’t even have to time to get excited about class in Paris on Friday. I was not one bit thrilled to wake up at 7 in the morning after those two, exhausting long days -- and to tell you the truth, all I wanted to do was stay in bed and sleep all weekend. It wasn't until I stepped off the high-speed train in Paris that I started to get excited.

I’ll start off by saying Paris is the most amazing city in the world! Paris and Maui -hands down, my favorite!! I think the weather is what did it for me. I mean, it’s a beautiful place with so much to offer but the weather really made a difference. It was just PERFECT: blue skies, 70-78 degrees, sunny, and all the trees were changing colors with crunchy leaves on the ground!!! My absolute favorite time of year!!! It was GLORIOUS!

The day started with an impressive lecture from former French broadcaster, international correspondent and household name, Bernard Volker. He told us stories of Vietnam, the Gulf War, and the multiple series’ he did on death row. After the lecture, we had lunch with a group of six students from the local J-School. They were so fun. Then we toured two media outlets: Canal Plus, (French version of ESPN) and French 24 (CNN of France). I was loving it all.

That evening we had dinner at a quaint and homey French restaurant. Paula and I spent 10 minutes in the bathroom trying to figure out the sink. Haha we couldn’t stop laughing. There were no knobs so we waved at it thinking it was automatic but the place was far too old for up-to-date technology. So we tried twisting and rubbing the rusted faucet, looking around the whole place for buttons or knobs. At one point she gave up, figuring it was broken and started to walk out. But I knew it wasn’t; there was evidence of fresh water droplets in the premises. Then, FINALLY I found the lever on the ground you had to STEP on. But I didn’t say anything, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to go ‘Hermes’ on her, so I stepped on it and freaked her out. I played with her mind a little but then she started getting scared and thinking the place was haunted so I had to let her in on the secret. Muhaha!

Back at the table, the waiter served my dinner: a HUGE hunk of steak with creamy gratin potatoes. It was the biggest plate of the group with the most food. No one thought I’d be able to finish it, but home girl can eat! I was starved and it was delish!

That night we walked along the Seine River under a moonlit sky. Paula and I (hopeless romantics) admired the massive full moon and couples sitting along the bank. We loved how the night was lit by city lights. U2's 'City of Blinding Lights' came to our minds. Except she kept singing Coldyplay’s 'Speed of Sound'. I was like nooo wrong song! LOL. We walked to the Notre Dame and I saw Quasimodo!!!!! -Just kidding, sike your mind :P After ice cream, Marty and I said goodbye to the rest and we went our separate way since we chose to stay the night. We ran into two really nice American girls who pointed us in the right direction of a hostel.. they were sooo helpful!

The next day we went to The Louvre but I parted from Marty since he takes FOREVER at everything. I spent two hours in there and I probably saw less than half of the museum… and I was basically running since I wanted to see as much as possible. I saw the Mona Lisa, The Wedding Feast @ Cana, The Winged Victory of Samothrace, and MUCH more. I loved the Apollo Gallery but my absolute favorite part was the huge Greek and Roman sculptures wing! Reminded me of good ol' Barnes. After a while, I got claustrophobic. The place is a maze leading you from room to room… I felt trapped! And it was really warm. I almost went out an emergency exit (without realizing) and a lady stopped me. It then took me like 20 minutes to find a proper exit. Bah!

Out in the fresh Paris air, I walked around for a while and made three stops, two at two different fountains and once by a park. I relaxed, people watched, soaked up the sun and admired the glorious day. On my way to the Arc de Triomphe I ran into the Louis Vuitton headquarters. Oh. My. Gosh! I was in a three-story fantasy world. The place was packed with people shopping…what a dream that would be!! When I stepped back out into reality, I saved an old lady’s life… well maybe more like her rather expensive purchases.

This little old lady, probably 80 years old, tripped and dove face first onto the avenue. Luckily there were no cars coming at that very moment. Her bag went flying and although I was on the other end of the crosswalk, I recognized those red boxes with gold writing from a mile away (or maybe feet away) -knowing exactly what they were. So I sprinted, not to her but, to the six Cartier boxes that had sprawled all over the pavement. All I could picture is some thief coming to steel them all. In fact, I probably looked like the thief! I was in a typical twister position -but without the colorful spotted plastic mat below me- with all limbs on red trying to gather them all at once so no one else would. I felt like a kid under a frikin piñata. Just as a man was helping her up, la vieja yells “AY! Y MI BOLSA?!” (Spanish for "Oh! And my bag?!) I handed her her bag filled with her treasures and she was so grateful, I thought she was going to cry. She was more concerned about the bag than the bloody scraps and scratches on her face and hands. We obviously think alike cause I went for the Cartier first!

I saw a guy holding a map and asked which way was the Eiffel Tower. He was on his way there too so we went together. He was from Lithuania! I told him how I'd seen his Prime Minister multiple times in the past few days and he was so confused lol. The tower was really cool by day but it was absolutely breathtaking by night!! When I returned later that same day, it caught me by complete and utter surprise. It was lit up in BLUE (in honor of France’s EU presidency). It was in that very moment that I "officially" fell in love with Paris!! It was such a spectacular sight! I felt like my mother because I couldn’t help but cry a little. She cries for everything. It literally took my breath away and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was all gasps and exhales. I kept thinking of all my loved ones! I could have sat there for hours. But unfortunately, I only had 10 more minutes to marvel at the sight before me, my train back t oBrussels would leave at 9pm sharp...

Time was up. So, I blew the blue beauty a kiss and promised to return!