paris, je t'aime. // paris, i love you.

i woke up this morning and was SUPER excited to be going to the renown "city of lights" (during the day, though, dang it...! this morning, my french father, christophe, drove camille, mathilde and i to school and then he came with us to ensure that i was being dropped off at the right place. when we got to the school, no teacher was there to guide the american students. my french father had already called the english teacher (she organized the trip) the night before because he had no idea what was going on, but when we got to the school, he was upset again because the english teacher wasn't in sight. he told a bunch of teachers that i was his responsibility and that the english teacher (who he thinks is bizarre, by the way) was horrible at organizing the excursions because neither of us had any idea where we were supposed to meet. it was nice that he cared enough to speak to the teachers like that, but it was equally amusing to watch an argument go down in french!

after that little tiff, i was finally headed to paris with my class! we took the train from enghien to paris, and then boarded the metro in paris. i loved riding the metro! we had to be quiet, but it was so cool watching normal french people, for some reason. i sound like a creeper... sorry... the dynamic was just really different. anyhow, when we got off of the metro at trocadero place, i turned the corner, and there she was. THE EIFFEL TOWER. the sun was gleaming on the metallic structure and it was shining. it finally hit me that yes, i was in paris.

after basking in my newfound realization, i went on to take about 100 pictures of just the eiffel tower (don't worry, i deleted at least half of them...). as we walked to the 'bateaux mouches,' i was able to take even more pictures of the gorgeous architecture too. while on the bateau (boat), i saw so many gorgeous monuments -- we went down the seine and back again. knowing that i am quite the fashionista, madame pointed out all of the fashion landmarks, including the 'grand palais,' 'petite palais,' 'samaritaine,' and the place where they were showing a yves saint laurent collection. she also pointed out super expensive lofts and apartments... boy, she knows me well. :)

after the bateaux mouches, we took the metro to the latin quarter, where we split up and had lunch. devon, ally, joni, raquel, niki and i went to a lovely cafe, right next to notre dame. it's crazy thinking about how close the monuments are to each other. before heading to notre dame, madame let us roam around the latin quarter (with buddies, of course) for a couple of hours to do some shopping!

so, mom and dad -- i spent money for the first time here in france. and sorry, i spent quite a bit. but fear not! i didn't spend it all on me... i bought lots of great souvenirs for my family and friends! of course, after that, i had to go look at 'san marine,' this super chic shoe store. madame was with me and kept encouraging me to buy these sandals. they were adorable, and not that expensive. however, i left my impulsive shopping habit in the states because i left the store and bought nothing else but postcards for the rest of the day. aren't you proud of me?!

okay, here comes the best part; NOTRE DAME. it was b-e-a-utiful. plain gorgeous. fantastic. the architectural design was magnificent -- the intricate designs and statues. SO PRETTY. seriously. i took lots of pictures (some are very artistic too, might i add) and was in awe of the structure the entire time. some of my friends were saying how paris isn't what they imagined and that they were disappointed, but me? no. it's splendid. mainly beacuse of the history and architectural structures... but either way, it's beautiful.

sadly, my paris trip came to an end as we headed back to enghien. i didn't want to leave! i wanted to be with my friends in paris! plus, i was freaked out that i had to meet camille's grandparents. all turned out well -- her grandparents were super nice! they made me miss mine SO MUCH. they also told me that i spoke very well in french! after talking with them and eating dinner, i showed the girls my 135 photos of the day, and headed off to bed. i even got to chat with my mom before i hit the sack! all in all, today was great. i now understand why paris is such a touristy spot -- who wouldn't want to see this?!

miss you all and love you lots!
xoxo,
jyothi