Paris is Always a Good Idea Part 4

After my nap I quickly got dressed again and headed back out to find the Champs Elysees.  I loved seeing pictures of the arch all over Instagram and Pinterest.  I knew I had to see it for myself.  But for some reason, my print out map wasn't helping much this time around.  I'm glad I opted for my flat ankle lace up sandals instead of my heels.  There's no way that would be possible. 
I took the metro again and walked up and down the Senna River.  It was frustrating because I knew something was off.  Of course the inevitable happened.  It started to rain.  Hard.  I took cover at a bus stop.  I waited, and waited, and WAITED for the rain to stop.  It wasn't.  I was getting frustrated and hungry.  I was looking for the arch for over an hour before it started to rain.  Now I was waiting for over an hour for it to stop.  I will say this.  Parisians walked around as if nothing was happening.  I barely saw umbrellas too.  It does rain a lot in Paris and I think the people are use to it.  I stopped a couple who were roller blading and asked for directions.  They were very helpful.  But they continued on in the rain with their blades.  I was impressed.  I finally worked up the nerve to get moving because I feared I'll be stuck at that corner the whole night if I didn't.  If Parisians don't mind the rain, neither will I!  Of course I walked under a lot of trees first for cover.  lol. 
I made my way across a bridge and FINALLY saw an itty bitty sign with the name Champs Elysees pointing this way!  I was super excited.    But of course, I'm in Paris, and I couldn't find the avenue.  A word of advice, YOU WILL GET LOST IN PARIS.  It's a matter of fact.  The streets are short and end abruptly.  It's impossible unless you know where you're going in the first place.  But it's a beautiful city, and trust me, I didn't mind one bit. 
Except this time.  lol.  I was starving!!!  It was near 10pm and I had not had dinner.  My girlfriend in Italy who I messaged earlier at the hotel told me not to leave Paris without having some French cuisine.  I knew she was right.  It would be a pity not to.
I kept walking back and forth to where the sign cut off hoping I could see another sign pointing out which direction the Champs Elysees was.  But again, no such luck.  I stopped a pretty young woman who was super helpful as well.  She spoke French but asked if I knew Spanish.  (I did).  Another word of advice.  I did not encounter many Americans out there in Paris.  But if you need help with translation, look for hotels, restaurants, etc.  Any service industry should know multiple languages.  Yes it's true if you do know some simple phrases in French it may help but the problem is understanding the dialect from the locales.  If you don't hear French back in the States, you will have a hard time understanding them here as well. 
I walked over a couple of blocks and saw a busy street.  And there it was.  The Champs Elysees Avenue.  It houses retail, restaurants, nightclubs and bars.  It kind of reminded me of Washington Avenue in South Beach.  There was so much action going on!  I got my second wind and ran down the avenue and headed to the arch. 


 

IT'S GORGEOUS!!!

Of course I had to take a selfie!  I look tired here.  lol

By this time it FINALLY stopped raining.  My feet were done.  I sat at a bench and people watched for half an hour.  I was hungry but I couldn't move.  I slowly made my way back down the avenue.  I spotted a nightclub I wanted to check out, too. along the way.  I'm glad I knew where I was going later on.  I was hoping I didn't have to go through another ordeal looking for that.

There was all kinds of restaurants up and down the strip, but one caught my eye.  My friend in Italy recommended I have seafood in Paris, especially oysters.  But I'm not a fan.  I DO however, LOVE mussels, and one particular restaurant tempted my taste buds.  Luckily I got seated right away.  The best part was the restaurant had WIFI!!  I messaged my friend in Italy that I was safe and told her my plans about heading to the nightclub later on.  I also sent her a picture of the glass of champagne I ordered.  She approved.  (She is a sommelier in Italy).  I HATE bubbles, but she insisted I have champagne as well.  The waiter looked confused when I asked for it with my mussels but then corrected me by asking if I wanted pink champagne instead.  Sure, why not?

Well I must say, that it was the BEST GLASS OF CHAMPAGNE I'VE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!  And yes, the mussels were delish too.  I finished that whole bowl.  It was getting close to midnight and I figured I'll walk over to the nightclub to check out the scene for a bit before I head back to the hotel.  I had to check out in the morning to catch a train to another airport.  From there I was flying to a smaller airport in Italy where my friend was going to meet me.

I knew I couldn't stay out late.  That's why I only ordered one glass of champagne.  I really couldn't drink.  When I got to Queen Nightclub, I was a little frustrated because it looked empty.  Great, I thought.  It's a late night spot.  UGH!!  As the night went on, the club got busy.  I stuck around because the music was awesome!  Being from Chicago, I LOVE house music.  Everyone was dancing up a storm in there.  I also noticed that they're wasn't much action at the bar.  I think we Americans LOVE to drink, so the French definitely are not the heavy drinking types.  I had a great time by myself.  I made my way back to the hotel accomplishing everything I wanted to do in Paris!  It was time to say goodbye and I had no hard feelings about it. 

The Louis Vuitton flagship store on Champs Elysees avenue...

Mussels and Pink Champagne at L'Alsace

My one and only glass and it was delish!!

Good times at Queen Nightclub!  Parisians love to dance!

I had a blast!  Until next time...

Queen Nightclub is owned by international DJ David Guetta

Paris is Always a Good Idea Part 3

I spent my first day getting to know Paris from the outside.  Now I wanted to get to know the Louvre Museum from the inside!  I wanted to get up early to head down there to avoid the long lines, but again, jet lag kept me sleeping til 11am!!  HERE WE GO AGAIN!  I quickly got ready and made my way back to the metro to get to the Louvre.  Once I got to the entrance, I was feeling much better.  I didn't wait too long.  I have a feeling as the day got later the lines looked longer.  Maybe tourists sleep in late like me?  Regardless, I was overwhelmed of the size of the museum.  It was a bit chaotic as well.  I personally feel the Vatican Museums in Rome where much more organized, but here there were people everywhere.  A word of caution if you don't like crowds. 
Once I found the area where the infamous Mona Lisa was, it began another cat-and-mouse game to find out where exactly it is.  I love looking at art, and was discouraged when I didn't get a chance to see as much when I was in Rome last summer.  Here, it was just me, and it felt liberating to observe these priceless works of art.  I felt privileged to be there.  Everything was beautiful!  I  spent a couple of hours there wandering about. 

Line not so long on this beautiful sunny day!

Inside the infamous triangle entrance!

Is it me or does it look like he's taking a selfie?

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

MONA LISA!!

Had to take a selfie of course!

Grande Odalisque

The Death of Sardanapalus

Venus di Milo!!

Hermaphrodite

Outside the louvre where I decided to rest but then had to leave abruptly...



Had some macrons to hold me over til dinner...

Getting out of the Louvre was a challenge too, since now the museum was packed with tourists.  I stepped outside and wanted to rest for a bit.  I saw people laying out at a park at the Louvre.  I figured I should do the same thing.  I wanted to find the Champs Elysees to knock that off my bucket list, but my feet were killing me.  I laid out my jean jacket and plopped on top of it.  I had my sunglasses on and was slowly resting when I saw something in the corner of my eye.  A man was peaking from out of the hedges and was looking at me.  I think he was checking to see if I was sleeping or not.  Here we go again with the pick-pocketing!  My purse was next to me but I know this man was up to no good.  I quickly got out of there and he scurried away.  How frustrating!  I needed to rest badly and this man messed this up for me.  I headed back to the hotel for a nap.  Now my plans have changed a bit, but I figured I'll look for the Champs Elysees and then go out to dinner for some French cuisine!  I also wanted to go out for a bit and check out the night life.  Unfortunately, I had to get up in the morning to catch my train to the airport, so I knew I wasn't going to be out late.  My nap helped out a lot, but my feet were still killing me.  The weather the 1st day in Paris was in the 60s, but this day got close to 80 degrees.  I was hot!  Now that's it's later, I decided to wear a long sleeved mini dress and accessorize it with my Alexander McQueen leopard scarf.  I wanted to bring my heels with, but I couldn't think about wearing them out at all.  I opted for my lace up flat sandals and hoped I didn't look too casual out in the town. 

I rode back on the metro to finish my bucket list!



Paris is Always a Good Idea Part 2

After my UNPLANNED NAP I jumped out of bed and rushed to take a shower.  I did not expect to sleep so long.  I only have 2 days in Paris and now I messed that up.  I got ready and headed back to the metra train station.  According to my research, I was suppose to get off the next 2 stops at Norte Dame.  I planned my trip very carefully, especially since I knew I was going to use public transportation a lot.  I printed up the Paris Metro map and used the same Line B that got me out of the airport.  My stop for my hotel was in Luxembourg.  The hotels around the strip were pretty pricey, so I figured if I stayed outside the strip I could save more money and make my way over there on my own.  Luckily I got there in no time.  The metro map seems easy enough.  Here in Chicago we have a pretty good transportation system as well, so I wasn't worried at all about getting lost at this point.

I got this map off the blog MaNouvelleMode...

Line B is what I used to get out of the airport and to get to my hotel.  I stayed off Luxembourg stop.

Since I was getting off at Saint-Michae-Notre-Dame I was hoping I was going to see the cathedral right away.  Umm, not so fast.  I was overwhelmed on what direction to take so I headed over to Starbucks to use the wifi hot spot and look for info on my phone.  That's another thing that can be frustrating when traveling.  Not being able to use the internet.  I did buy an international package for my cell phone use, but the data was very low.  Buying data is very expensive, but my cell phone representative advised me to take advantage of the hotspots all over Paris.  Starbucks and McDonalds were the most recognizable ones so I always looked for those two when wandering about. 

Once I located the river Seine, there it was!  Notre Dame!!  It was beautiful!  It was surreal!!  It was also closing!!  NOOOOOO!!!  By now it was 6pm and there were not letting anyone enter the cathedral.  I took my tourist pics and kept on going. 

I got this off tourist-destinations.com.  I used it as my guide line for sight-seeing...

IT"S GORGEOUS FROM THE OUTSIDE AS WELL!

Not the original love-locks bridge but they're everywhere!

A cute French restaurant...

musee d'Orsay

I had trouble finding the Eiffel Tower.  It wasn't near the river, but according to the map it was nearby.  I looked over the horizon and saw something peaking over some trees.  I knew I was looking at the tip of the tower.  I ran like a mad woman and made my way over there!  I was getting excited!! 

FINALLY!!!

Of course I had to take a selfie!  By the way, it started to rain right here...

By now I was starving!  I ended up having a French baguette sandwich. 

I ate underneath the Tower.  It was surreal to be there.  My feet were killing me at this point.  I decided to slowly head back when I realized it was getting dark.  That's when something wonderful happened!

The tower lit up!!!

Walking back from the Eiffel Tower, I ran across the Assemblee Nationale.  The city looks completely different at night.  So pretty!!  You have to check it out again

The bridges look magical!!

I looked back one more time and by now the Eiffel Tower was twinkling!!  I wish I had stayed out there longer, but I didn't want to walk back in the dark.  By now it was 9pm.  Day one accomplished!!