One of the BEST DAYS EVER - Day 53

To say that I tackled the day and hit the ground running would be an understatement. I covered so much ground that I’m almost at a loss for what to do tomorrow. (Almost, but not quite.) After a lousy night’s sleep (I’m neurotic and couldn’t get over the thought that the men from Taken were coming for me or that there were bedbugs in my bed and getting in my hair… I know, I’m not normal), I finally fell asleep around 1:00, only to be woken by my crazy family who decided to Facetime me at 2:00am Paris time. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. Then I couldn’t fall back asleep until about 4:00. Boo. So I figured that today was going to be less productive that I had hoped, but I rallied like a trooper! There are a TON of pictures so I’ll pretty much just let them do the talking and just add in my commentary here and there.

First I woke up around 8:45 to get moving and was greeted by this glorious sight from my balcony. 

Good Morning Paris! (Le Marais)

Once dressed and ready to go, I began with a walk to find the Museum of Victor Hugo, which inadvertently used to be his apartment many (many) years ago that they have now turned into a museum. On my way, I stopped to grab a croissant for breakfast. Note: ALL days should begin with a croissant. Consider that my public service announcement for the day. It was delicious. Yay croissants.  

Clearly, waaaay too excited about croissants! (Is there such a thing?)

And along the way I also spotted this, which made me smile.

Btw, this isn't rare - many of the sewer grates look like this. Isn't it cute?

A few wrong turns later, I finally found Place des Vosges, where the museum is located.

Place des Vosges, a parc/square that Hugo's apartment overlooked. 

Nerding it up with the audio tour. Look out!

His apartment was on the 2nd floor (3rd if you're American)...
meaning, he actually walked up these very stairs! How cool is that?!? Yikes, is my nerd showing?

Smile Victor! (He looks thrilled.) 

His actual writing desk! Holy cow this is a little bit awesome!

Then I walked back down Rue de Rivoli through Hotel du Ville to make my way to Notre Dame.

On my walk through Le Marais.

Hotel du Ville

Me on the Seine walking over to Ile de la Cite.

This sign kinda cracked me up.
Ok, thanks Paris, good to know just in case my flight gets canceled. 

This OBNOXIOUS structure on my left is some sort of stadium seating thing that they rigged for a ceremony to commemorate the 850th anniversary of the construction of Notre Dame. (I think.)
Regardless, it's an eyesore and it's in the way! 

Yup, there it is.  

I walked back over to the Right Bank to meander over to Le Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries. However, I didn't go inside the Louvre. Not today at least. I really did it up when I lived here before and there's too much to see in such a short amount of time. Plus, it was too beautiful to be inside! Tomorrow it's supposed to rain, so who knows, maybe I'll end up back there if the weather acts up. 

My first Eiffel Tower sighting! Squee! It's so yiddle!

My walk down the Seine.

Hellllloooo Louvre!

This park is one of the most beautiful parks I've ever seen. The flowers are in full bloom - reds, pinks, yellows.
The fountains and statues are magnificent. Just unbelievable! 

I sat in one of these chairs and took a little rest for a bit. SO RELAXING!  What a view!

I restarted my trek after my little rest and took a detour to find the Longchamp store on Rue de Saint Honore. For those of you who do not know, Longchamp is a Parisienne company that makes handbags and shoes and is VERY upscale. Think Coach. Kate Spade. Prada. You get the point. Anyway, so you can buy Longchamp bags in the States, but there is a particular print that they ONLY sell in Paris and it's the only print that I really wanted. Now, I'm not really a bag girl. For those of you who know me, you know that makeup's more my thing. But this bag is special in the fact that you can't get it anywhere but here! So that was my big purchase of the trip (and it wasn't even all that expensive really, just way more than I would ordinarily pay for a bag, which isn't saying much since I NEVER splurge on bags. Ever.)

This is me trying to take a selfie to include the writing on the shopping bag that says Longchamp.
Long story short, I failed. The bag itself is fushia and has an Eiffel Tower on it and the address of the Longchamp store. It's all wrapped up nice and pretty but I'll try to take a picture and post it.  

I then walked up the Champs-Elycees and stopped for lunch at my favorite fast food joint called Quick. You're probably all thinking, "You are in Paris and eating fast food?!?" And the answer is, uhh, yes, I am. But it's because they have these AMAZING fries that are more like potato wedges. They are called frites rustiques. Well, at least they did when I lived here 10 years ago. Much to my dismay, they didn't have them today and I wanted to cry. But it was too late to say "forget it" and truth be told, I was so hungry I was ready to eat anything. It was pretty damn tasty and not as gross as American fast food usually is. I mean, it's Paris - they don't have gross food here!
      Once fed, I finished my haul up the loooong street to L'Arc de Triumph and hoofed it up a million stairs all the way to the top. 

Chicken sandwich and Coca-Light at Quick!

Almost there!

Ugh, holy vertigo Batman. I wanted to vomit! Wheezing, dizzy mess!

But I finally made it to the top! 

For a selfie, this is pretty close! 

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies right beneath the Arc de Triumph. 

The last stop on my EPIC tour was Trocadero, one of my all time favorite places in the city because it has the best view of the Eiffel Tower. (You'll see more of this later.)

So after an exhausting day, I went back to my flat, threw my things down, and researched a place to get fondue for dinner. AND I FOUND THE BEST PLACE EVER. Seriously. I wanted to drink the cheese straight out of the blazing pot. I ate bread and cheese. I drank WAAAAY too much wine. And shamelessly oggled my GORGEOUS waiter. (No joke, one of the most attractive men I've ever seen in my whole life, including movie stars. It was a little ridiculous. Forget all the proficient French I was so proud to be remembering and using. I was reduced to giggles and grunts. I wish I would have thought to bust out some Lady Marmalade... that coulda been useful. (JUST KIDDING DAD!) 

     I really wish I could have taken a picture of him, just so you all could see why I lost my freakin mind and my ability to speak. But once again, there is no non-creepy way to take a picture of a stranger. It just can't happen. Which sucks. 

The place is literally called "Bread, Wine and Cheese",  does it get any better than this!?!

Last thing on my agenda was to get somewhere where I could see the Eiffel Tower twinkle when the clock struck the hour. Though it was a bit inconvenient, I went ALLLL the way back to Trocadero (this time by metro because I'm not crazy!) to see the Tower lit at night and then twinkle, as it does at the top of each hour. It is truly and honestly one of my all time favorite things on the planet. I can't explain why, it just is. 

Watch the video above to get a little taste of how cool it is when it twinkles. 

It doesn't show up perfectly on camera, but it's as close as we're gonna get! 

A crepe for the ride back to my flat. Had to have at least one today! 

Now, I just showered. I just finished bloggin. And I AM GOING TO BED. Tomorrow I plan on chilling in the Latin Quarter. Or maybe the Louvre? Or maybe Montmartre? I don't know, depends on the weather. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and report back!

But for now, Bonne Nuit!