Last week I did something I've been meaning to do for a long time; I went up the Montparnasse Tower! A bit of background info before I start gushing about the view; from what I've heard, Parisians consider this tower to be the Eiffel Tower's ugly stepsister. There's a joke that the view from the top is the best, because you see everything except the tower itself!
However, I actually quite like it. It may not be pretty, but it serves as a friendly marker to me of where my beloved quartier is, and at night it lights up, which the child in me loves. And of course, the view is beautiful!
I would recommend going up at night. When the city is lit up (bar the Montparnasse cemetery, which is a little creepy), you honestly feel as if you are on top of the world. I have no idea as to how many miles you can see, but as the region is quite flat, everything is spread out at your feet. Plus, the Eiffel Tower sparkles for 5 minutes on the hour, every hour until midnight I believe. Go, and take a friend so you can marvel together about how impossibly beautiful everything is. (My friend Josh was very patient with all my ramblings about how amazing the view was!)
Another great experience was the super thick hot chocolate from one of the cafés in the Place Des Vosges (I can't remember the name, but it's to your left when you're facing Victor Hugo's house).
Unfortunately I have yet to find the perfect coffee shop, but the Café Guynemer (rue Guyenmer, by the Jardin du Luxembourg) came pretty close! I went there for a catch up with a girl I knew at college and her friend. They were only in Paris for a couple of days so it was great to meet with them, and explore Montmartre a bit together. It was nice to hear stories about home, but also a little surreal, as it feels as if light years have passed since I was living at home and going to college.
Whoever said that French people don't do Halloween certainly hasn't been in Paris at this time of year! I rushed out to buy a Venetian mask the day of a Halloween party, and ended up queuing for 15 minutes outside a small shop that was stuffed full of people trying to find costumes and decorations. Once inside, claustrophobic was not the word. I'm surprised I even managed to get to the till.
I then had to pick up some ingredients for dinner with my friend, which was also a struggle because out of the three shops I went to, none had bacon! Has bacon not caught on over here, or am I just looking in the wrong places?! Armed with a Venetian mask, a leek and bacon fillets (the only thing I could find), I got on the métro and received some very odd looks. The evening then went as follows; my first experience of Lizzie's legendary bacon, leeks and pasta, then onto a bar on rue Oberkampf to meet up with tipsy British students covered in fake blood. All in all, a pretty good night!
On Saturday, I was faced with a choice; do research for my next essay, or grab a vélib and go on a bike ride all around Paris. Of course, I chose the latter, and spent a couple of hours discovering boulevards and squares that I never knew existed! The 2nd/3rd arrondissement is great for this because there's lots of little side streets to explore. I cycled along in no particular direction, thinking about how I should visit the Porte St Denis, when I turned a corner and there it was in front of me! It's actually pretty impressive, and in an area that isn't necessarily on the tourist radar (please correct me if I'm wrong!), so I would definitely recommend a visit, accompanied by a ramble around the quartier.
Although it's Reading Week this week, I'm staying put in Paris with babysitting duties and a large pile of work to get through.
Bisous,
K x
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