Crayola Photo Challenge- Sepia

I took this photo without thinking too much of it. But loved Amy's boots against the backdrop of black sneakers and shoes in the background. I took a million photos of Amy on the metro, but this is the only one taken of the feet. And I love that her boots are a perfect match for sepia.

I took a bunch more of sepia that I thought would could. And some of them were a good color match. But I liked this one the best.

Taken on Monday, October 24th in Paris on the metro.

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Crayola Photo Challenge- Plum

What I love about plum is that the photo selections span such totally different places (Seal Beach, Santa Monica, Valencia & Paris) and capture such totally different experiences.

I had a really hard time choosing the photo to best represent this color. Each photo in my plum photo album is meaningful and has a compelling story behind it. But ultimately I went with the one that I felt was the most artistic- the one that I worked the hardest for.

I took this picture while walking around in Paris on my second day in that beautiful city. Amy and I had just spent entirely too long looking for Shakespeare and Company bookstore and then went to check out Notre Dame. On our way in search of the best falafel stand in all of Paris, we passed this little courtyard where we saw a man making bubbles and delighting a small group of children. I stopped and snapped a bunch of pictures trying desperately to get the timing just right. And suddenly, I did:

From Crayola Photo Challenge- Plum

You'll have to search a little for the plum. And some may think I'm pushing the limits a little bit with it. But, I like it and am really happy with this photo and I hope you agree.

More plum? Here you go!

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Day 4. Paris

After walking all around this city, again, today, I've discovered that I really like it here. Much more than I had anticipated. And I'm not sure why. I mean. I get what people say about the French not being the friendliest of people. I've noticed that trying to speak English to most people will get you nowhere. And fine. Fair enough. But there is an attitude about the people that I can confirm based on my limited interactions during this short trip.

All that aside, however, it's been great. And it's even reminded me of New York City. Which makes it even more surprising that I like it here considering my love/(mostly) hate relationship with NYC.

But there's a buzz and energy here. And it's an easily walkable city with endless options of places to eat, culture to take in, bars to drink at and amazing people watching to do among the backdrop of a truly historic and beautiful city.

Today took us to check out the Arc de Triomphe up close. Before this, we had only seen it way off in the distance. So our first stop was to take the metro right there. It was beautiful and massive. (Check it Katie!)

We went back and forth on whether we should climb up it and ultimately decided to just walk down The Avenue des Champs-Élysée. Which went on forever and ever and ever. Shortly after leaving the Arc de Triomphe, I had mentioned to Amy that I read about some memorial to Princess Diana. I had wondered if we were nearby and of course couldn't find the information in the guidebook I had on hand. But I swore I had seen it in there.

I was a disaster that morning. As I started taking pictures, I realized I had forgotten my memory card and Amy was wonderful, sacrificed her own ability to take pictures, and handed hers over. Crisis averted. Phew!

Anyway, back to one of my favorite memories of the trip...

So Amy couldn't find information either but all of a sudden goes. "Come with me. I think I've figured it out. I got it. This could be really good." My response? "Amy, are you sure? You know how much I hate to backtrack." She was convinced it was right behind us, so we turned around and saw this building with what she believed was the "eternal flame" behind it:

Oh man. I laugh thinking about it, especially knowing that Amy and I will continue to laugh about it for years. Me never letting her forget that one time she thought the Qatar Embassy building was the Princess Diana tribute.

From there we continued walking towards the Musée du Louvre where we sat outside, enjoying the sunshine and taking in everything around us and waited to meet up with our friend Chelsea who we met the night before on the Fat Tire bike tour. She's a teacher (like Amy!) based out of London and is from Chicago. She was brave enough to travel to Paris (and then Bruges) by herself and her resemblance in looks and personality to our friend Dirty Rita made us like her instantly!

Once we met up with Chelsea, we went off in search of a restaurant I had read about in the only guidebook Amy & I had. Le Bouillon Chartier came highly recommended and had exactly what I wanted, but had yet to try while in Paris- steak frites! The guidebook description made it seem fun too (the waiters write out your bill on the paper table cloth). Better yet, it was a great meal and hit the spot!

We made our way back to Montmartre to take it easy for the night. The plan was to enjoy some wine, bread and cheese in the apartment. Pack. Relax. And hang out. We took a few more pictures in our 'hood before going upstairs.

Then we prepared our dinner and got in bed. Yes, honestly.

When all was said and done, I felt- no feel!- so fortunate for our time in Paris. Amy and I did and saw so much in such a short period of time, and we stayed in such a fun and beautiful part of Paris. It was like a dream. Really.

As I've already mentioned, I had no expectations of Paris and due to the craziness and unexpected cruelty in my life before leaving, I had no time to plan anything. If not for Lindsay, I wouldn't have even had a guidebook! But Amy and I continued to travel very well and easily together and we had a wonderful time. I'm so happy for the new memories we created and the countless things that will run randomly through my head and make me laugh out loud.

And while saying goodbye to Amy is never easy, I'm grateful that I still have a week and a half of vacation in Ireland to look forward to tomorrow!

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Day 3. Paris

I got in a good night of sleep- around 10 hours worth- and felt great upon waking. Amy and I had a full day planned of continuining our exploration of the city. But we also knew we had to attempt to pace ourselves because we had a nighttime adventure that would put us home well past our bed time. Courtesy of Kara, we were going on a nighttime bike tour of Paris! One that started at 7pm and lasted for four hours! More on that later.

We started our day off in search of one of the best bakeries in Paris- a recommendation from my cousin Susannah (she'd know), Poilane. It did not disappoint! The women who worked inside were friendly (bonus!) and the baked goods and breads looked- and tasted- heavenly!

Next, our bellies took us to Ladurée, a Parisian tea salon, which housed the best macarons in all of Paris. Susannah's instructions were perfect (and so Corridan), "Eat a raspberry macaron at Ladurée. The big size. It is my favorite cookie in the world, and I don't think any other macaron in the world can compare to it."

Not that I'd ever think Susannah would lead us in the wrong direction...but holy cow were those cookies amazing. And inside Ladurée is unbelievably beautiful. I'm glad I snapped the pictures I did because after I got a few good ones, I was told (much to my astonishment) that no photos were allowed inside.

Next up, was a crazy search for Shakespeare and Co. a well-known bookstore in Paris and recently featured in the movie Midnight in Paris (which is great!). For some reason it took us forever to find this, but we took some great photographs while wandering around aimlessly

These are some of my favorite photos of Paris. Really beautiful and simple shots of completely unsuspecting people. Well...some of 'em!

Amy reached her breaking point before I did and finally asked directions (thanks Aim!) to Shakespeare and Company. We really were circling it for an hour. I'm glad we checked it out because it was a beautiful bookstore (which reminded me of City Lights bookstore in San Francisco).

And I took another one of my favorite photos

From there we walked around some more, this time in search of the best falafel place (thanks for the hint Erf!). But before getting there, I took a few more pictures

And then I had the yummiest falafel, happily!

We headed back to Montmartre to try and catch our breath before heading out for a long and fun night.

After not enough rest, we went out in search of the south leg of the Eiffel Tower where we were to meet the Fat Tire night bike tour of Paris. (THANK YOU KARA!)

Before meeting up with everyone, we managed to snap some of the most beautiful shots of the Eiffel Tower at night. Which is absolutely stunning

The night time bike tour was super cool. It was one of the only things Amy and I had any time to anticipate actually doing. Thanks again to a wonderful recommendation (thanks Erf!). And it was made even more special because it was a birthday present from Kara.

Here we are getting ready to take off!

On the move!

Notre-Dame de Paris at night

Another food-related suggestion from Susannah was crossed off our list as a mandatory stop on the bike tour. Berthillon! I opted for raspberry sorbet and chocolate ice cream. Delish!

The Musée du Louvre at night!

I didn't know this existed and was pleasantly surprised when we took our bikes across a bridge which featured locks of love

And then we got on a boat for the last hour. Where they filled us with cheap red wine and Amy fell asleep. And we got to see really beautiful views of the Eiffel Tower. It started raining just before we got on the boat, it started raining. Which was a bit of a bummer because it meant we couldn't really venture out on the deck

Amy and I were disappointed to learn we'd have to bike back to the office to drop off the boats and talked more than once about ditching the bikes on the boat. Alas, we did not. But we did one last mini ride in the city and then took a few more photos before heading back home and crashing for the night!

Bon Soir Paris!

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