I arrived on a Friday and had a couple of hours to spare before I was going to meet Leah after work. I got some lunch and then walked in the direction of what I thought was the opera house. I must be losing my great sense of direction because I have been really off lately. Instead of walking towards opera, which should have been about a block away, I walked all the way to the Arc de Triumph. In new shoes. Not smart. I then went over to the 10th to hang out with Cory for a bit when she watched the kids she au pairs for. I met Leah at the Starbucks right across the street from her work and we went to her place for her goodbye dinner.
After the dinner, Leah and I got ready to go out. Even though she had to work the next day, it was her last weekend in Paris so going out was an absolute must. We went to a bar that Leah and her Paris crew visit often, called Wide Open Spaces. There was a theme of the night: cowboys and indians. When Leah and I were getting ready we received a text from Lindsay that said we should get to her place, she had face paint and feathers. Naturally, we hurried over to Lindsay's for one last rooftop party before going out.
Miss Leah popping open our champagne
rooftop party in paris, nothing better
i love this picture
love this girl
So we finally made it to the bar and got a free drink because we were dressed up. The bar was mostly English speaking people from all of the world and they were playing a lot of country music. It was awesome to be able to belt out Taylor Swift at a bar in Paris. Classically American, yes, but worth it.
The next morning, Leah had to be at work by 11. I took the morning to go visit Pere Lachaise cemetery again because it was such a beautiful start to the day and so peaceful. It's moments like these when I still can't believe that I live in France and have the opportunity to visit some amazing places.
just taking a walk...
...on a beautiful morning...
...in a really old, really pretty cemetery
I went to meet up with Cory and we got lunch with her friend Jaimie and went to sit by the canal by her house. I had never visited this part of Paris before so it was lovely to spend some time here.
canal saint martin
beautiful place to have lunch on a saturday afternoon
And then commenced my lazy afternoon of doing nothing but walking around Paris and finding the next place I could sit in the sun and relax. I went from the 10th with Cory, to the Opera House, to the Tuileries Garden, across the River Seine, and back to the Tuileres.
millennium hotel, where i stayed when i first fell in love with Paris
sacre-coeur in the distance
tuileries on a sunny day
tuileries garden, louvre in the background
view from my favorite bridge in paris
another view from my bridge
hanging out in the tuileries again
it was really pretty
That night we met Leah for one final dinner in the Marais before her flight the next morning. Lindsay, Leah and I went to the same place we went the last time I visited. After dinner, we got a drink at a bar the girls had been meaning to try. We met up with Cory and her friend Ally along the canal and then it was time for Leah to catch the metro back to her house and time for us to say goodbye. So many amazing times with her over the last 3 months, I am going to miss her living super close to me. Hoping we can have a reunion in Oregon this summer!
The next morning, when Cory when off to take the kids to their grandparents' house, I decided that I would try to make it to mass at Notre Dame. I was a little late but I was there for the majority of the mass. I had another moment where I couldn't believe I was actually sitting in Notre Dame in Paris on a Sunday morning. Those are the best moments, and the ones I don't take for granted. When mass was over, I walked outside along the Seine and captured the beautiful morning. Yes, spring is definitely here. And I like it.
pretty trees
can't believe this was my sunday
wandering
i'm one lucky girl
street vendors
shakespeare and company book store
After my walk and a glass of orange juice at a cafe, it was time for the main event: Margaux's marathon. She has been training for months and Parisa and I really wanted to support her and be in Paris with her when she finished. I definitely underestimated the true volume of this event as you can see here:
not even an accurate picture of the amount of insanity going on
After taking an hour to find Parisa, we started walking away from the madness to try to get some air from what had to be the smelliest day in France. Ladies and gentlemen, the stereotype is true: a lot of French people definitely have a distinct body odor and it is not a pleasant one. Combine this with running 26.2 miles in 75 degree weather? I'm surprised the Eiffel Tower didn't wilt over like a dead flower. Flowery descriptions aside, we needed to get away and fast. Margaux called us to see where we were and we met up with her and her friend Chris. The 4 of us then went down to the Trocadero to get some pictures of our baller friend in her finisher's t-shirt with France's greatest landmark.
standing with the champion, way to go Margaux!
we made her change into her finisher's shirt, glad we did
never will i get tired of this view
parisa, margaux and me
did i tell you i went to paris this weekend? here's my proof
view from the bridge used in inception
We walked around a little more and got some lunch at a cafe nearby. And at that point, it was time for me to head back to the Gare St. Lazare to get my train (and in time to pick up a mocha frappuccino from Starbucks). Then it was back to Caen to host Cory and her friend Jaimie for 2 days.
C'est vraiment la belle vie! :)
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