PARIS

What a weekend. A lot of bigs ups and big downs. 

My flight from Valladolid to Paris was easy peasy and the bus from Orly to Claire's stop was pretty cheap and fast so Claire and I had plenty of time to get settled and grab some grub. Unfortunately, I still don't really know the names of many of the neighborhoods we visited, so if you are curious, ask Claire. All I know is we took the Metro to an area of town that had about a billion restaurants. We meandered into a quirky little Italian joint with a short Italian host in a black beret who would occasionally break out into song, belting his favorite opera at the top of his lungs. We ordered the antipasti buffet, which was amazing. Little bits of zucchini, potato, proscuitto, beans, all of it was delicious. We didn't even have room for the three pasta entree. 

On Friday the weather was fantastic and we took advantage of it. After a quick breakfast in the apartment of leftover baguette and eggs, we zipped on the Metro to the Sorbonne area, heading ultimately towards Jardin du Luxembourg and the Luxemburg Musem to see an Andy Warhol/Modernist exhibit which was a bit pricey, but very cool. 

Next, we headed towards Claire's favorite Greek place. Again, not sure where I was (sorry!). All I know was my feet hurt cause I wore my tall boots, which was a mistake. But, the meal was well worth it. 8 euro for incredible tzatziki (OMG!!), mousaka and ice cream. Let me tell you.

Motivated by the sun, but ignoring out aching feet, we headed towards the Seine and the Notre Dame for a photo shoot of sorts. There were these nutty birds circling around causing havoc in the plaza next to the Notre Dame. I may have screamed a few times. Tired of posing, we slipped into The Gentlemen (An American Bar) for a pint. there we made some friends with 60 year old Irish men, who were very sweet, and bought us another pint. It was fun. 

Friday night we made a little brie, proscuitto, tomato, salad, wine situation in the apartment, then headed out to the Eiffel Tour with another 2 euro bottle. The Eiffel Tour was beautiful, especially at midnight when it sparkled. Claire and I tried not to watch all the people making out, and had our own romantic moment huddled in the cold. We also may have stopped by a McDonalds on the way home? Hm. 

Saturday was a bit of a downer cause it was snowy and I felt a little sniffly. But, we went to the Catacombs, which was cool. Basically, stacks and stacks of bones, deep underground in different patterns. The walking and the bones  and the dripping water got a bit tiresome, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Cold and tired, Claire and I met up with Meredith for some delicious French Onion Soup and a cup of tea.I also managed to pick up a scandalous bra for myself as a Paris momento. 

Saturday night, we met up with some of Claire's friends at their apartment for some wine. Since we forgot to get food, Claire and I ducked out for some quick Chinese food (This will come into play later). Then, the whole American crew went out to the Long Hop for some drinks. It was a lot of fun until we missed the last Metro at 2 am and spent an hour trying to hail a cab. That night I hardly slept because I was tossing my guts up. At the time, I thought it was a sugary drink hangover.

When I got up to leave for the airport, I felt awful. I threw up in a garbage can on the way to the bus. In Barcelona, I tired to eat some bread and water, but threw that up in the Valladolid airport. Basically, I had food poisoning and did not know it. It may have been one of the worse days of my life, because I felt nauseous the entire day and the puddle jumper planes did not help. when I finally made it home, I thought I was gonna die. But, I didn't. However, I'm still terrified to eat and my stomach is a mess. Class today has been rough, but hopefully it will all pass in a day or two. Meanwhile, I am just trying to rest, sip water, and get some of my homework done. 

All in all, an amazing trip, minus the snow and food poisoning. I already miss Paris! It very much reminded me of New York, especially the Metro and the people. Someday I will have to return for more than a weekend. 

For more pictures, check out my facebook album.