Paris Holds the Key (To My Heart)

Paris, oh Paris. What a beautiful city! The buildings are old and white and appear even brighter because of the river Seine. It was so romantic. I get why so many writers and artists flock there! Although the weather threatened to be rainy, it was beautiful! 

I loved seeing all of the art in Paris. Colter and I spent about 5 hours at the Louvre, but I could have spent a year there. I am taking an art and architecture class and it was very surreal to view pieces by all the masters I studied. Carvaggio, Delacroix, Géricault, Ingres, da Vinci, Rembrandt, Renoir, Raphael, Rubens, Vermeer: they are all there! And yes, I saw the lovely Mona. I found her to be even more mysterious and stunning in person! 

 P.S. Note how the green "walk" man is really skinny in France. ha!

 It rained for a few minutes and the courtyard was abandoned! Colter took the opportunity to snap a picture.

My favorite museum was the impressionist museum: Musée d'Orsay. I love how the Impressionists used color and light to express emotion. Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cezanne, Seurat, Sisley, Gaugin, Van Gogh oh my! Monet was solidified as my all-time favorite artist after I went to the l’Orangerie Museum and saw his eight water lily murals. Up close all you can see is large brush strokes, but from far away it blends into a breathtaking landscape. 

Another fun thing Colter and I decided to do (at the suggestion of Maeser) was watch the Eiffel Tower light up from the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It was really magical! However, we decided to do it on the summer solstice so we had to wait a while for it to get dark... Speaking of the Eiffel Tower:

We also had a wonderful relationship with the parks. Our favorites were: Jardin du Luxembourg and Jardin des Tuileries. I spent a couple of afternoons sitting in a park, listening to my ipod, watching people, and enjoying the sunshine. Also I made a deathly hallows with french pebbles on the french ground:

Which brings me to the food. I ate a crepe every day! They don’t mess around with their crepes in Paris. When you order a nutella banana crepe, they put a whole banana in there! I also loved the paninis! And, of course, the pastries! 

Lastly, stereotypes. Some of the French stereotypes I found to be correct: there were lots of beautiful women, the city was very romantic, there were crepes everywhere, and I frequently saw people carrying baguettes around. Contrary to popular belief, I found the Parisians to be very friendly and helpful! Ah, what a wonderful trip! I will never forget the six days I spent in Paris...

And last, and probably least, check out my tan line: 

That is what happens when you wear Toms everyday in Europe for 2 months.

Au revoir!