That's PARIS outside my window!

Wow, I didn’t even realize that I had forgotten just how magical and wonderful Paris really is. There is no city like it. I landed at eleven, got to the hotel at noon.

Oh wait, I am forgetting some crucial detail. I was running late off very little sleep and a long night the night before with friends and half way to the metro when I realized I didn’t know which of the four terminals in the Madrid airport I had to go to. This is a big deal because they’re different stops on the metro and you can’t simply walk between them. Anyways, I was reading my ticket when I read the sentence, “passengers must provide special documentation for this flight” and I think, “yeah, duh, my passpo… oh no…” and I had a mental image spring to mind of my passport on my bookshelf. I knew I didn’t have it, I didn’t have MY PASSPORT. I didn’t even do a panicked search. I have to get off the metro, ride the metro back to my stop and was literally RUNNING with my Vera Bradley bag until I found a taxi to take me the other four blocks, wait for me to get it and then he drove me to the airport. I told him, “I AM IN A SERIOUSLY HUGE HURRY!” and even the doorman for the apartment looked at me shocked since he had seen me LEAVE for the airport 45 minutes before, when I told him I forgot my passport, he was like, “oh no!!” wishing me good luck and trying to soothe my frantic state. By the time I got to the airport and sat at the gate for 30 minutes before take-off, I felt a little stupid for having such a huge panic attack, but SERIOUSLY, how was I so stupid?? ROOKIE MISTAKE. I have never been so happy to hear the words, “Hello and welcome to Iberia flight 2342 to Paris Orly” because I really did not think I was going to make it for about an hour. That’s what I get for not drinking coffee before I left.

I’ll provide you with the itinerary of my three day trip to Paris. I think I deserve a pat on the back for all my energy and let me tell you, my feet STILL hurt from walking all OVER the place. It really was amazing though. So, so amazing.

With a few pictures. The rest to follow on Facebook!

Thursday: got to the hotel, Dad came over from the convention center.

            -We headed to Musee Rodin, the famous sculptor who did the Thinker and one of my favorite artists of all time.

           -Next was Musee Orsay, the world’s best collection of impressionism, my  favorite genre of art and Dad’s too.        

           We grabbed lunch and a coffee  there and made our way to all our favorite artists. Infamous canvases  you can’t even really believe you are actually standing 2 feet away from filled my mind and are still swirling in my dreams.

I wasn’t suppose to take any of those pictures, and even a random woman looked at me judgingly and said, “you know you’re not suppose to take photos right?” and I was like, “uh, you don’t work here and I am sneaky. You wish you were this sneaky.” It bothered me the rest of the day. I have AWESOME photos so it was worth it. One kid CHUCKED his pacifier at a Rodin statue. I wonder what Mrs.Twisted-Panties would have said to that kid's parents. This is the foggy view of the Eiffel Tower on our way to the hotel.

          -Dad had a meeting, I shopped around then joined Dad in his next meeting.
          -Dad, two guys Dad is doing business with and I headed to Dad’s favorite  restaurant in Paris by the Bastille for amazing seafood and typical Parisian style. We said what we were thankful for and had a nice time.   

          -I got a banana-nutela crepe after dinner. The crepe is worth the cost of any flight to Paris. There IS nothing     better in the world than that. Seriously.

           

Friday: Dad woke me up for a kiss goodbye. We were together I think like 15 hours,  but it was amazing just to see him and to be together on Thanksgiving. In Paris, much less.
I let myself sleep in until 9:15. I have been going non-stop and needed 7 hours of sleep. I checked out of the hotel, went over to the convention  for about an hour, had a cappuccino and found a hotel close to the                                     Eiffel Tower to stay in that night. Went to that hotel, checked in and headed out for my jam-packed day.

1.     Musee Mormattan- Monet: fabulous collection of Monet, including his palette and some letters he wrote to friends asking for money when he was super poor. I stayed here in awe for hours. There was also a Cross exhibition, my new favorite neo-impressionist.

2.     Musee L’Orangerie: Monet’s infamous Lillies are installed here. The most impressive art I have ever seen. This room of paintings sucked the air out of my breathe and totally blew me away. I was enthralled. Monet is my favorite artist of all time and it was wonderful to see these works in real life.

3.     Exploring of the gardens and Plaza Concorde. Had a beignet for lunch just because I could.

4.   Sainte- Chappelle: the stunning cathedral that tells the Bible story from Genesis until the Apocalypse in stained glass, 6, 500 square feet to be exact with 1,100 different scenes. So incredible.

 5.   Notre Dame- I was trying to find my way there, just walking around and sort of guessing about the direction. I turned the corner and there it was. After it had already took my breathe away by its proud glory, I walked toward the huge cathedral and saw this sign pointing literally straight at it. I was like, "wow, so helpful. thanks, sign." The Christmas tree at Point Zero- literally the center of France and where everything got started, was a really nice touch and made me excited for everything December has to offer.  The stained glass there isn't too shabby either...

6.    Shopping- this was a MUST. It was Black Friday after all. I got my first Christmas gifts this trip! Whoo! 

7.     THE LOUVRE I had to push myself to do this. My feet hurt and all I wanted was a nice relaxing dinner with a glass of Bourdeaux and a bed. Realizing I HAD to c'set la vie, I grabbed a hot hot and cheese sandwhich, very yummy and typical from a nice little cart and pressed onto the ridiculous collection of the most famous painting in the world.

8.     Beyond exhausted, a little rest at my hotel then I climbed the Eiffel Tower.  I was standing in front of a really great family who made the lines go by faster and the entire experience much more enjoyable since I had been alone all day long.

Saturday: Armed with six hours of sleep, I got up, had about 4 croissants because they’re so amazing and a drop of coffee (not nearly enough) I headed to take a tour of the Versailles Palace.

Because it was the best weather yet, I braved the 289 steps of the Arc de Triomphe and got some great pictures some Chinese/Korean people wanted pictures with me, I think they thought I was a celebrity or             something. Anyways, it was definitely worth the calf burning. I wish it had been a clearer day, but it was the best weather by far so no complaining came out of my mouth!

Determined to have a less busy day, to relax and enjoy Paris, I walked along the Champs-Elysees and shopped, then enjoyed a wonderful meal.
There's so much I didn't get a chance to do, but I feel like I got quite a bit accomplished with the time I had. I think I deserve a pat on the back. 

I went over to the convention to help with taking down the booth and somehow Pedro, Werner and I got stranded in the basement of the convention center with all the loading people and I really thought we might get murdered down there. Over an hour later, we finally figured out where we needed to go, loaded the van. Leaving Werner to finish up on his own, Pedro and I jetted to the airport for our flight.

I caught myself feeling ready to come HOME. One the way to the airport, I was thinking, “I can’t wait to be home.” That’s why there is the quote above and the title of the blog from that same song. Atlanta is home, LA feels like home, Tuscaloosa is home, York is home and now, Madrid is home.

And it really does feel good to be home.