summer in the city.

summertime always gets me in the mood for exploring.

and big cities? they're my favorite to explore.

today, that got me thinking of past explorations...

parisian explorations, to be exact. 

and what i wouldn't give to be back on the streets of paris,

with my camera in hand, 

with jumbled attempts at french escaping my lips,

and with a heart so full of happiness.

i can't wait to go back someday. 

un jour.

post title {via}

a day at versailles.

i've spent the past five days literally in bed with a nasty sinus infection (okay, with a bit more mobility today),

and thus i have been thinking of happier, more europe-y times. 

when will & i were in paris this past summer, 

we spent a lovely morning in versailles. 

after an early morning wake-up call, we took the two-hour metro ride from our hotel and found ourselves in the loveliest of neighborhoods. 

we treated ourselves to a morning of royalty... strolls through the never-ending gardens, baked potatoes outside marie antoinette's chateau, and a stop in louis' hall of mirrors.
and speaking of potatoes... i ate the most delicious curry-topped potato (i know, sounds weird, but you can't judge it until you try it!).
it was easily the best meal i ate while in france.
and as i was eating it, the most precious little old french woman came up to me and exclaimed,
"bon appetit!"
i'm serious.
it was perfect and sweet and candid and made all of my little parisian dreams come true.

i thought versailles was really, really cool... i did.

but i must admit, i didn't fall in love with it. 

i'm sure i was a bit biased, due to my two-in-a-row tour of the palacio real in madrid, 

but i was a bit disappointed with the lack of upkeep at versailles. 

and the fountains weren't even working! 

but alas, if you asked me to go back tomorrow... i'd go.

plus, those macaroons are just oh so pretty to look at. 

am i right?

midnight in paris.

i finally saw midnight in paris yesterday evening.

and i was really quite impressed.

loved it, in fact.

but the setting of the movie did make me miss my recent jaunt to the city of love, and i realized that i still have so many photos to share with you from that little trip!

hence...

day two in paris: notre dame, musee d'orsay (& incredible impressionist works... better than the louvre!), strolls around the city, and a trip up the eiffel tower with some newfound colombian friends.

what we learned from our experiences on our second day in paris:

1. always load a book onto your ipod when you take the train into the city. and bring a fan.

2. reserve a ticket for the eiffel tower online, to avoid the hour-and-a-half line. but don't expect the elevator to the top level to be working, even after the hour-and-a-half line.

3. van gogh and monet are much cooler in real life.

4. parisian grocery stores are multi-leveled and reside in malls. and birds fly around in them.

5. parisian grocery store workers do not understand the french word for gluten.

6. don't visit parisian museums in the summer time.

7. notre dame is a really beautiful cathedral, even after you've already visited 923840 others.

8. paris is beautiful.

post script: ten high fives to whomever can name the bit of painting (illicitly) featured in the last photo...

some things never change...

one time, i went to barcelona and ate (awesome) barca-branded chips for lunch.

this other time, i went to paris and ate popcorn and peanut m&ms for dinner.

looking forward to (thursday) when i can eat kebabs again...

and (saturday) when i can make myself allll of the mexican food i want.

i'm excited to re-introduce my body to the other 5 sections of the food pyramid.

until then, i'll keep loving my european adventures (even if my stomach isn't so pumped 100% of the time).

post script: isn't it awesome how the football team has it's own brand of chips? they make real madrid ones, too... and i may or may not have purchased some for my dad for fathers' day. ohh spain.

thanks to mpc for the (not-so candid) photo.

from paris, with love.

every time i mentioned to anyone that i was heading to paris, they told me the same things:

it's hot. the people aren't the nicest. it's expensive. there is trash everywhere. it's smelly. you'll love it.

and, they were absolutely correct.

will and i arrived in paris this afternoon, and i've already got a love/hate relationship with this city.

it is phenomenally beautiful--architecture and styling unlike any other and entirely french.

though it's an enormous city, it manages to feel fairly quaint.

i understand why it's the city of love.

that being said, we had our day's worth of mishaps... and found out paris is indeed hot, smelly, and expensive.

we've already spent more than we spent in two weeks' time in spain.

let me explain: transportation is dang expensive here, and the french waiters trick you into buying 8.50 euro cokes...

we went to a fairly decently-priced restaurant for dinner, thinking the water/soda would be the usually-over-priced amount of 3 euro. we were mortified when we received our check, and immediately found a grocery store to buy our own beverages.

at least my french omelet was good.

also, it was excruciatingly hot today.

everyone in the metro was bathing in sweat (imagine the stench), and the heat did a number on my yellow (real) leather purse. the dye melted right on to my dress!

let's hope that tomorrow brings nothing but love?

trying to continue to get myself in the french mood, i've been humming my favorite french-inspired songs to myself, alll day long.

i'd say they're worth a listen...

have you ever been to paris?

do you have any good recommendations/stories? i'd love to get another perspective or two!