THOUGHTS // MY NEW [OLD] READER

I am a big Google Reader fan. I was definitely one of the many readers that moaned an groaned when Google announced that they were shutting down the service. It has become a such cherished part of my daily routine! Like my morning cup of coffee, I need it to feel like a functioning human being.

To give credit where credit is due, let me know if you recognize the photographer! 

Because of my ancient computer (4+ years counts as ancient in computer years), I can't download apps or use services like feed.ly. I was entirely happy with my current reader and simply wanted a replacement. Hooray for The Old Reader! It is essentially the exact same thing as Google Reader. It's even slightly prettier. All the better to view my favorite blogs from!

Happy reading!

TRAVELS // PARIS DAY THREE

Wednesday in Paris began like many of our days - with a visit to the bakery down the street from our apartment. It was by far the most intimidating establishment that we frequented, due to the high concentration of Parisians and low concentration of English-speaking American tourists. We struggled through ordering in French then brought the rewards for our hard work (in the form of pain au chocolat) back to the apartment to nourish us before the day's adventures. 

Day three in Paris began with a walk through my favorite place again. Yes, the tuilieries. We enjoyed the sun for a bit while my mom took 300 photos of the flowers. 

Next, we made our way to Musee L'Orangerie. It is situated in one corner of the tuilieries and is relatively small. It packs a punch and is one of my favorite places we visited. I loved seeing Monet's water lilies series in real life. Pictures and prints just don't do it justice. The basement of the museum also houses some pieces by Picasso, Monet and Manet (among lesser known but wonderful artists). While we were there, we saw an artist mimicking one of the paintings. I snapped a (highly illegal) picture of the action and bought a print of the original in the gift shop.

After spending much longer than expected in L'Orangerie, we made our way back into the tuilieries. My family looked so picture-perfect strolling through the manicured chestnut trees!

We headed to the Musee d'Orsay, which was just across the seine. The d'Orsay was a wonderful museum and I would recommend it over the Louvre any day. It's a former train station and is a sight in and of itself. It's trademarks are two giant windows/clocks on its towers. The fifth floor was filled with impressionist paintings from artists that I had grown up learning about.My sister and I found ourselves making a list of our favorites so that we could order prints when we "grow up." Let me tell you, that list is long!

After our museum adventure, we wandered through the streets until we found a place for lunch. It was a great little italian place. We spoke the little italian that we know with the waiters, which was fun. It was the fourth language we had spoken in two days. That's Europe for you! After eating, we made our way back to the apartment for a rest. Our neighborhood was filled with adorable sidewalk cafes and some great shops. We stopped in on one store, Merci, that is similar to Anthropologie. It also has a "used book cafe" but I didn't get the chance to dine there, unfortunately. 

After resting our feet for a moment or two, we decided to head out and explore the city as dusk set in. The Arc du Triomphe is supposed to be wonderful at that time of night, so we hopped on the metro and arrived right at the base of the monument.

 The view from the top was quite a site. Paris is a unique mix of quaint quietness and bustling urban living. It fascinates me, and I think I spent close to an hour just looking every which way.

 

The Champs-Elysees is a major tourist site/street in Paris. We honestly didn't spend to much time on living the luxurious life, but it was pretty amazing to see the traffic from atop the Arc.

As sun was setting, we realized we had yet to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle. We set off at a very brisk pace to catch what we could of the spectacle that happens after sunset for 5 minutes every hour. What still amazes me is how close we could be to the tower without seeing it. It is often blocked from view by buildings and then, BAM! There it is in all its glory.

We walked back to our apartment and admired Paris at night. It really is something special. I couldn't resist the Seine reflecting the magnificent City of Light. With that, I'll end Day Three. How's that for a tutorial on how to fill a day in Paris? 

TRAVELS // PARIS DAY TWO

Yes, finally! On to day two of my Paris trip before I forget it in a whirlwind of excel spreadsheets, meetings and apartment hunting (another post on that one day). Day Two began bright and early. I always love rising with the sun on vacations. I was desperate to make the most of my time in Paris and enjoy it too! We walked by a park on our way to the day's festivities and I couldn't help marveling at Parisian tulips.

My sister and I had an "overview of Paris" walking tour (sightseekers delight's Paris Along the Seine tour to be specific) scheduled for 9 a.m. Since our tour met at the base of Notre Dame, we decided that it would be a perfect use of our time to see the inside beforehand. Pictures truly can't do justice to the enormity of the place. My camera doesn't do the best in low light, so I've only published photos of the exterior which was my favorite part anyway!

It just so happened that a bread festival was going on in the square in front of Notre Dame. Yes, a bread festival in Paris! I stumbled upon heaven in the form of a pain au chocolat. It was quite literally straight from the oven and piping hot. It might just top the list of best things I have ever eaten in my life.

Our promptly began. It allowed us to see many of the "must-sees" in Paris all in one long walk. I would highly recommend it for travelers with time constraints or who appreciate hitting the highlights with a nice amount of culture/color mixed in. Our first sight was the famous english bookstore Shakespeare and Co. where the likes of Hemingway and others found respite.

We glanced into the church where Eva Longoria was married. It had beautiful purple stained glass windows. It fascinates me that this isn't even considered one of the "must-see" churches in Paris.

We walked through my favorite place in Paris once again...the tuilieries! I seriously fawn over those green chairs every time I see them. If only they could fit in a carry-on...

My sister looked like this for the majority of our Paris trip. Her camera was a third eye (and I can't blame her).

We met up with my parents at the end of the tour and made our way across the beautiful Pont Alexandre III. Of course, we had to stop for the perfect photo op. This is one (great) one that I captured of my Dad and sister. For some reason, I have a deficiency of pictures with my mom but I promise she was there!

We found a quintessentially French place to have lunch. The waiter/owner was absolutely charming and spoke four languages fluently. My sister and I had a conversation with him in Spanish about how his mother was from Spain. We even ordered our crepes in spanish, much to the delight of both the waiter and our parents (the education paid off).

After enjoying our Spanish/French creperie, we wandered to the Musee Rodin. This museum wasn't on the top of my to-do list, but it ended up being one of my favorites. I am so glad that we went! It features many of Rodin's sculptures all presented in a French garden. By now, you should understand my weakness for the French garden!

Let me tell you, the view from the other side of the statue above was quite a sight! After the Musee Rodin, we headed back to the apartment for a much needed nap (one of my top five best naps of all time). After resting up for a bit, we walked to the Place de Vosges. It is the oldest square in Paris and was so very peaceful. There was a great statue of one of the Louis. Which one? I couldn't say.

We had to stay near the apartment so that American Airlines could bring our lost bag back, so we choose a nearby sidewalk cafe for our evening meal. It was so lovely that I forgot to snap a picture! We got a cheese plate and relished in the very Frenchness of it all. 

FUTURE 101 // LAND A CAREER-ORIENTED JOB

I know, I know. I left you hanging after the first installment of the Paris trip. My apologies! I do absolutely plan on getting those posts out soon. The truth is that I owe you all a major update (!) and the update may explain a little bit about why my posts have been sporadic nonexistent lately. 

The answer? I've checked off another one of my Future 101 list items and landed myself a career-oriented job! I'm a marketing assistant for a wonderful corporation based here in Indianapolis (yay!) and I could not be happier. After four days of calling myself a young pro, I can officially say that have wonderful coworkers, a steady income and the peace of mind of knowing what city I'll call home (even if I'm not positive on what roof yet). Color me thrilled! 

With this major life change, I'm not exactly sure what this space (or my life) will morph into. Rest assured that however sporadic my posts become, I am reading/interacting with blogs on the daily and I fully intend to populate this space with wonderful things often. My goal is to post 3 times a week, but I'm not going to make that goal too restricting on myself. I'm a firm believer that I fill this space with the best and most interesting content when I'm doing the best and most interesting things outside of the black hole that is internet-land. Do you feel the same? 

TRAVELS // PARIS DAY 1

Let the fun begin! This post is about day one of my Parisian travels! Paris has a certain tone and feeling to it. Just being in and around the beautiful gardens, museums and shops makes life seem a little bit more precious. I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling, but I might forget all of the little details. I'm hoping that there is less of chance to forget this wonderful week if I share it will all of you.

Let's start at the very beginning. We left Indianapolis for Paris with a layover in Chicago. In total, our flight time was about 9 hours and it was no fun. We were leaving in the afternoon EST but arriving in the Parisian morning. It put a lot of pressure on us all to get some shut eye. My tip for those traveling on long flights is to always always always bring/wear a scarf. It can act as a pillow or blanket in times of serious discomfort and adds a little pizazz to a typically slouchy outfit.

We landed in Paris and discovered that my sister's checked luggage was missing in action. No fun there. Luckily, my sister and I are the same size in practically everything so we made do until the bag arrive two days later. We opted to take a taxi to our apartment to save our discouraged souls. I thought my life was in jeopardy a handful of times. Parisian taxi drivers are no joke!

Our apartment for the week was in the 4th Arrondisement. It is also known at Le Marais and is a traditionally jewish area. More recently, it has become a prime local for adorable shops and artist studios. It was exactly what I had hoped for. We entered our home for the week through a beautiful old courtyard. The place itself was a semi-loft space and very modern. Not my typical style but fun to try out for the week!

By the time we were settled, our stomachs were grumbling. We decided to split our party in two in order to run a few errands and tackle lunch at the same time. My mom and sister hit the nearest monoprix supermarket for some basic staples like milk, OJ and jam. My dad and I went on an adventure to pick up our museum passes (which I would HIGHLY recommend if you will be in Paris for longer than a day).

We took the metro for the first time! The Parisian metro is very efficient and is usually easy to navigate. Just know the end stop in the direction that you want to move in. Also, some of the trains have levers or buttons you need to push in order to open the doors to get on/off.

After picking up maps and the indispensable museum passes at the tourism office, my dad and I set out to find a bite to eat (no shortage of places in Paris). It was sunny, although a bit chilly, so we decided to grab something that we could eat outdoors. We walked towards the Tuilieries Garden, which is essentially the backyard of the Louvre. The Tuilieries is by far my favorite place in all of Paris. We went four times throughout the trip!

As we walked through the white stone and sand paths and around the statues and perfectly manicured trees, my dad told me to look a certain way. At the perfect moment, he told me to turn in the opposite direction. This is the view that I saw...

The Eiffel Tower! We grabbed baguette sandwiches from Paul (one of the oldest chains in the world..and definitely a place that doesn't serve food that is typical of our chain restaurants). There is a Paul cart right in the garden so it was very convenient...and tasty!

From there, we regrouped at the apartment and decided on a game plan. We had a tour of Montmartre (a district closer to the outer edge of Paris) scheduled for 5:30 p.m. so we had a couple of hours to kill. The Centre Pompidou, a modern art museum, was close to our apartment and was a place that we wanted to see but not spend all day in. Admission was included in the museum pass, so it was a no-brainer to spend a few extra moments there.

The art itself was not my favorite (let's be honest there is a lot of competition in Paris). The view from the top floor of Centre Pomp is great though and definitely worth making a stop here. Escalators take you to the sixth floor. The view ranks in my Top 5 Parisian Views for sure.

We took the metro from Les Halles to Montmartre where our tour guide was meeting us. This required some metro line hopping and connections. The metro station Les Halles is a major point of connection for most lines. If possible, I would plan your trips to avoid having to navigate its tunnels. It was a terrifying mess of people running in thousands of directions at varying speeds. It was massive and I think we walked a mile underground just to get to the appropriate line. Nevertheless, we made it to Montmartre.

Montmartre is the highest hill in Paris and is known for Moulin Rouge. It also hosts some cute cobblestone streets and was an area where many artists once lived (we saw a former Van Gogh residence). The Basilica Sacre Coeur sits on top of the hill and is beautiful in and of itself. Although the district has a sketchier area, it is mostly residential once you begin to wander through it. We used the tour company, Oui Paris, and were happy with our guide and his knowledge of the area.

Our tour led us up the back of Sacre Coeur. I think it's honestly a much better view of the place, and was peaceful and quiet.

After our tour, we found a place in Montmartre to eat dinner. I honestly don't know the name of the corner cafe, but we had great entrees, great crepes for dessert and great service. That was definitely a theme anywhere we went! After our tasty meal, we headed back down to Le Marais and called it a night. Paris Day Two was full of amazing experiences, so get ready for that soon!