Paris

It’s the City of Love because everyone who visits this wonderful city falls in love with its busy streets, sweets, and views that leave you speechless. I want to share my exploration of my self-proclaimed future home! Hope you’ll love it, too…

1. These Paris streets! I love the way they utilize every space they have. They even make use of  buildings’ corners. I think it gives their buildings a vintage look that screams, “BONJOUR!”

2. On top of Tour Eiffel, you get a 360 degree view of Paris, and then some. It is such a breathtaking place.

    

3. Le Louvre! I never realized how extensive the Louvre was! This amazing architecture requires at least 2 days for a full appreciation of the artworks held within their intricate walls. I would absolutely go back to Paris just for one chance to walk down the Louvre’s halls….and I will…sometime in the future.

  

4. Notre Dame Cathedral. I can’t stress enough how fascinating Europe’s architecture is! My whole trip up until visiting the Notre Dame was a hustle and bustle. There is a serenity within this beautiful structure that allowed me to slow down and collect myself. Needless to say, if you are ever feeling overwhelmed in this lovely city, just step into the Notre Dame. You are sure to walk out refreshed.

      

5. Ah…the famous location for a full view of Tour Eiffel. Obviously, I had to take the number one tourist picture in Paris.   

6. Dinnertime at Le Tíre Bouchon (40, rue de Berrí)!

• Appetizers: Tuna and Bread- super yummy, especially after a long day of sight seeing
• Duck Confit, and the “Real French Fries” that our waiter highly recommended- I’m not a big fan of steak fries, though these were pretty and reminded us of home. The Duck Confit was well-seasoned and delicious.
• Breaded Chicken Pasta- This might be the best out of the 3, but maybe because it’s the dish we are most familiar with. The chicken was well seasoned, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The pasta was cooked just right, and was heavenly in Europe’s fresh “farm-to-table” tomato sauce.
• Tripe Sausage with the infamous French Fries- Our waiter tried so hard, in his best broken English, to steer us away from ordering this dish.

“….Are you sure?….okay….no, really…Are you sure? This dish is very….. French….” But, hey, we wanted “authentic”….we DEFINITELY got “authentic”.

In my culture (Vietnamese), we eat tripe cooked all way…as well done as it can get (until brown), and well seasoned (super salty). This tripe, however, was pretty fresh..I’m not even sure how else to describe it. All I can say it if you want to be adventurous with your cuisine, this is the dish to order…Good luck!

  

7. Ladurée on Champs Elysees- The MOST DECADENT corner bakery EVER. There are two sides to this eye-catching vicinity: a bakery on the left, and a cafe on the right. When you walk in, you’ll clearly see the division of the store…If I remember correctly, there might have been a restaurant setting towards the back of this place, too. The staff are incredibly patient and courteous, all the pastries were calling my name, and all of the macarons were mouthwateringly tempting. I would not have minded throwing all of my converted Euros at this place… they deserve it.

• Macarons: 10/10, much better than the States’, light texture, soft consistency, not overwhelmingly sweet
• Pistachio-Chocolate Croissant: 10/10, flaky and buttery croissant, delicious pistachio (jam?) in the middle on the right, not-too-sweet chocolate in the middle left

8. One of my favorite views in the world is a city’s nightlife. This is Champs-Elysées as we were walking back to our group.

9. The impressive Arc de Triomphe– gorgeous in the day, and breathtaking at night.

10. We went back to the Eiffel Tower for the day’s grand finale. For everyone planning to visit Paris, there is a light show (I think that it happens every night) at 8 p.m.

Au’ revoir, Paris! I will see you in 5 years.