La pluie à Paris

Paris in the rain... That was mostly what we experienced last week, but that didn't spoiled the fun! I totally agree with Audrey Hepburn when she said that Paris is always a good idea. Even in the bloody rain.

The reason why Paula and I went to Paris to end the summer wasn't only because we missed out on a great travel this summer. The main reason was a very different one. It's because our roommate, friend and fellow yoga lover Jordi is studying there for half a year. Not a bad city to study, you might think and I totally agree on that!

In Paris everything feels so much more elegant. Strolling through the streets, having a coffee and smoking a cigarette. So that were a few of the things we regularly did :) But we did more! Since Jordi's temporary apartment - studio, I should say - is located in the most wealthy arrondissement in Paris, we were able to walk to the Eiffel Tower in 10 minutes. But we didn't visit our good old friend before we had had a quick bite, cause we were quite hungry after an 8-hour bus ride. Jordi's boyfriend Simon was also in Paris for a day, and he's Israelian, so we went to a nice restaurant in Le Marais. As it happens, this was the same restaurant where Avalon and I ran into two years ago and where my love for falafel and hummus sort of began. 

So, we felt a bit like being in Tel Aviv anyway. The next morning, after Jordi and I did a morning run across the Seine and underneath the Eiffel Tower, we sought the vibe of another world city, namely: London. Where, how, what? We visited Shakespeare & Co, an awesome book store near the Notre Dame, full of cool covers and antiquarian books. Unfortunately, not that many cheap second hand novels, so I ended up not buying anything. Not that that mattered, cause I had money to spend on cocktails as well! After we spend the rest of our day in Montmartre and in the park - where we all got shitheaded by pigeons, not even at the same time (!) - we were ready for food and drinks.

The food was not that fancy - a Chinese caterer - but the cocktails made up for everything. Although... We had planned to go for drinks with a few of Paula & Jordi's friends from Amsterdam, and I had been advised to go to 1 of the 4 best cocktail bars in the world. It was a sort of secret bar, for it looked like a taco shop from the outside, but appeared to be a fancy bar in the basement. The people were damn pretty, the waiters professional and the music good. The only problem: we made the wrong cocktail choice! And that ain't good when you pay 12 euros per drink! But well, we only live once, and you don't always make the right choice. Non, je ne regrette rien!

On Wednesday, Paula and I - Jordi had to apply for a job at Disney fucking Land! - did make the right choice, by going to the Louvre. Someone else tipped me about a secret - yet official - entrance to the museum, which is near the shopping mall (don't tell anyone else!) This way, we avoided a line of at least 2 hours, and since we are also students, we could get in for free. I had never been there, so first things first: visit the Mona Lisa. A lousy tiny painting, if you ask me. I don't even find her face appealing. Despite this, it was extremely busy near that wall and the space was full of selfie stocks. Worst invention in history, if you ask me.

So we walked through different halls and eventually had enough of all the art, so we decided to do another cultural thing: go shopping! We walked to Le Marais, the vintage area, where we saw many fashionable boys and girls. We were both dying to buy a typical French 'je ne sais quoi' camel coat, but ended up not buying anything. Wise, yes. Satisfying, no. In stead of desperately buying something we didn't wanted, we decided to buy the thing we didn't have any problems with: food and wine!

That night, our last night in Paris, we drank two cheap ass bottles of wine at Jordi's home and gave him his present. Paula had come up with the great idea to make a book for Jordi with an assignment for each week. We came up with pretty awesome things, such as: hug everyone who is mean or arrogant to you. And honestly, those kind of people, you have them a lot in Paris! After this surprise, we went to Bastille, which was supposed to be the most crowded area to go out. It probably will be on Fridays or Saturdays, but Wednesdays definitely not. Everything closed at 2... But that didn't stop us from drinking mojitos and having discussions on the Paris streets in the middle of the night.

The next day we had one thing to cross of our list - better said, my list - that is: visiting Jim Morrison's grave at Pere Lachaise. I actually already had been there about 8 years ago, but in that time I had no idea who The Doors were, how much I would love Jim Morrison in the future and how mysterious graveyards were. Unfortunately, our planning wasn't perfect, so we ended up stressfully walking across the graves, looking for a grave in the giant maze that is Pere Lachaise. Eventually, we stumbled upon Mr. Mojo Risin's resting place. It was a subtle grave, yet good to see it finally.

After a few quick photos, I had to rush to go to the bus station, since my bus would leave that afternoon. Paula would stay another day, since she had more time and I had things to do on Friday. Working life started again... It may have been a short trip, but it was a busy and enjoyable one for sure. We'll be back in a couple of months, cause a friend who lives in Paris, is a perfect reason to go a bit more often than normal. Though we don't need a reason of course, for Paris is always a good idea!