Prone to Wander: Spring Break Part 4: Paris

Paris is one of those cities I dreamt about as a little girl. When I was in middle school, the way I would fall asleep at night was imagining myself sitting at a street cafe reading. Or working for a fashion company in Paris. These ideas probably stemmed from watching Sabrina starring Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. I watched the movie at least once a month, and my father would come into the TV room, groan and say, "You're watching this again?" Then he would proceed to sit down to watch the rest with me. Mom and Dad love the movie just as much as I do, and probably fall asleep at night imagining themselves in a little cafe too.

The first night there, we walked around the Montmartre area, where all the artists live. You get an amazing view of the city as well. Cafes are left and right, artists are selling their work. It's quintessential. We ate dinner at this amazing Creperie. There were these two young, very french-looking boys, one playing the piano and the other playing the guitar. With this being the first real experience in Paris, I mean, I was in heaven. I had their French Onion Soup, which had a thick layer of melted cheese and fresh croutons on top. uhhhh, it was so gooood. To finish, I had a chocolate crepe. Use your imagination, it was heavenly.

Paris is just one of those places where your imagination can run wild. When we were watching the Eiffel Tower light up at night, I almost cried (But I didn't). I had imagined this moment for so long time, I was a bit overwhelmed when I was finally there. A lover might have added to the experience, but experiencing it with my friends was a happy substitute. We played "La Vie En Rose" on my ipod about seven times that day. We would get funny looks and smiles, but deep down they were happy they could hear Luis and his trumpet.

We took a train to Versailles on the last day in France. We walked through the Palace first, but every window we came to we just had to look outside at the grounds. We could not wait to walk around the gardens. The grounds are huge! And everything is so perfectly kept. Every bush trimmed, every garden bed weeded. I absolutely loved Versailles. Rowers were rowing in the lake. Ever imagine having rowing practice at Versailles? You can also rent bikes and explore the vastness and beauty of the gardens. We're poor, so we were content just sitting by the water enjoying the beauty that surrounded us. I could've spent all day there. Unfortunately we had to depart for Florence that night. But we took advantage of every minute in Paris soaked up the magic of it all.