...just kidding. Wouldn't trade this next month for the world. I can't believe I've only been in Paris for 3 days... it feels more like 3 months! Maybe it's all the ground we've covered in such a short period of time.
Today was an interesting day. There were definitely many struggles with the French language and today was the first day I really got to experience how difficult the language barrier would prove to be. There were various occasions where I had to use my broken french to try to ask people for something or even to pay the bill at a restaurant. Guess my french speaking skills are a little more below par than I thought. However this makes me all the more excited to take French classes throughout this coming semester to improve my french and hopefully become a little more fluent by the end of it all. I've started to begin saying "merci" instead of "thank you", "pardon" instead of "sorry", and "excusez-moi" instead of "excuse me"; all a pretty tough habit to break.
Yesterday we went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the stairs to the top (super tiring might I add) which provided us with a breathtaking view over Paris, and after got to see a little bit of some sort of ceremony going on under the Arc.
Today, we got ourselves French bank accounts and tried getting phone plans for our Blackberries but that didn't exactly work out, so it's going to be a while until I will have a working phone. Surprisingly, I don't mind not being connected to the outside world 24/7. We then went to Printemps where we had lunch at their terrace restaurant. It also had the most amazing view of Paris! At this time the weather began to really warm up so that was an added bonus.
We browsed the 8 floors of the department store and later went to the Galeries Lafayette where we saw Camille Lacourt (the French Olympic swimmer) doing a signing for his new modelling gig for HOM.
On a side note, earlier we had gone into a McDonald's to use their bathrooms as we could only find "Luxury Bathrooms" in Le Printemps which required you to pay to use their facilities... completely absurd if you ask me. Anyway, in the McDonald's, we noticed there were self-service machines where you could punch in your order yourself and pay without having to wait in line to order at the counter. They should definitely adopt these in Canada!
I'm really starting to love Paris... especially all the well-dressed people (ahem a myriad of men in suits... need I say more?) and the gorgeous architecture of the old buildings, but minus the fact that everyone does indeed smoke, and the fact that french women have proven to be rude (well to me at least).
Today was an interesting day. There were definitely many struggles with the French language and today was the first day I really got to experience how difficult the language barrier would prove to be. There were various occasions where I had to use my broken french to try to ask people for something or even to pay the bill at a restaurant. Guess my french speaking skills are a little more below par than I thought. However this makes me all the more excited to take French classes throughout this coming semester to improve my french and hopefully become a little more fluent by the end of it all. I've started to begin saying "merci" instead of "thank you", "pardon" instead of "sorry", and "excusez-moi" instead of "excuse me"; all a pretty tough habit to break.
Yesterday we went to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed the stairs to the top (super tiring might I add) which provided us with a breathtaking view over Paris, and after got to see a little bit of some sort of ceremony going on under the Arc.
Standing in the middle of traffic like the rebel I am
One of the views from the top of the Arc de Triomphe
We then went to Ladurée in Champs Élysées and got some much awaited macarons! They are 10x better than the ones in Toronto. Will definitely be making many many more trips to the store.
So many delicious goodies
Salted caramel is my favourite!
View from the Printemps rooftop terrace café
Inside the Galeries Lafayette
Camille Lacourt signing in the Men's Department
After, we did Happy Hour at a little seafood bar (yuck) in the department store. We then went to see the exterior of the Palais Garnier which houses the Paris Opera.
Oysters, shrimps, and a glass of wine for 10 euros (2 orders pictured here)
Outside of the Opera House
For dinner, we went to an Italian restaurant called Il Naturale where they had a delicious smoked salmon pizza!On a side note, earlier we had gone into a McDonald's to use their bathrooms as we could only find "Luxury Bathrooms" in Le Printemps which required you to pay to use their facilities... completely absurd if you ask me. Anyway, in the McDonald's, we noticed there were self-service machines where you could punch in your order yourself and pay without having to wait in line to order at the counter. They should definitely adopt these in Canada!
No comments:
Post a Comment