she's so lucky

lucky charms, amulets, mascot, juju, talisman... call it whatever you want, we got it. We picked up a few along the way, never on purpose. Each country has its own way of believing, and each amulet is different, but the meaning is all the same: to protect us from all evil.

macaroons in the marais

I took these on my iphone. They were photoshopped on my iphone as well. I just discovered this feature and it's so much fun. I took these on a walk around the Marais by the apartment. There is just too much fun stuff everywhere you walk in Paris, and the Marais is one of the best places to shop for unique items. I am not a fan of macaroons, but they are such fun to photograp. I bought a small hot chocolateat the chocolatierie below. It's thick, dense, and really really delicious on a cold night.

accessorize yourself in the marais

Skulls are the fad now. I see them everywhere on blogs I read. This store in the Marais sells the most awesome rings for decent prices. Too bad I never look up to read the names of the stores, but no worries, there are plenty of them around the area. Just walk around and you are bound to find some fun stores no matter what.

Boutique shops thrive in the Marais. Metro stop St Paul is the main area...but in my neighborhood, I have a few favorites. Rue de Blanc Manteaux and Francois Bourgeouis are my favorite streets. The best boutiques with the best style for both men and women. I didn't buy anything for myself [that's rare], but my Italian roomie bought stuff I picked out for her [my inner stylist coming out]. Gorgeous jackets, cashmere sweaters, and beautiful accessories...all top of the line, all unique, and all distinctly Parisian.

nike in paris

Nike came to visit me in Paris!!!! I love this girl!!! In 2006, Nike was studying abroad at UCLA and we were roomies. Four years later, she is a successful banker, and I am still in crazy debt but finished with law school. How we've grown! She hasn't been to Paris in 10 years, and we have an amazing apartment here, so we decided to met up a Paris!! Because of her, I have found the most perfect boutique in Paris with the most beautiful cape ever....but I couldn't afford anything! I consoled myself with a beautiful Zara cape that i have been eyeing for a month instead.

 

gauffre

We tried to get into some free concerts at the American Church of Paris, but were unsuccessful. On the way back, we decided to walk through the Champs Elysees, Rue St Honere, and Rue de Rivoli so that Nike could see the city in all Christmas lighting glory. The Winter Village is in full swing now, and we stopped to buy gauffres, a waffle-like pastry sold o the streets of Paris, Russia, and other European countries. We got a gauffre nutella, gauffre chantilly, and a gauffree pomme. All three were delicious.

opera garnier

I chose Metro Opera/Haussman to stop because I love the view when you emerge from the metro. Opera Garnier is magnificent at any time of year. Metro Opera/Haussman comes up right in front of the opera, across the street, and makes you all happy when you come out. Behind the opera is Galleries Lafayette, which i posted about a few days ago. The Christmas spirit is everywhere, so shoppers local and foreign flock to the streets of rue st honore and rue de rivoli. I bought my Paris cape and shoes so I'm done with my shopping...and I will post better pictures of my purchases when i return to the states. The weather here has been crazy! We were lucky to have 2 beautiful days but it's starting to rain and snow again..so the precious cape and shoes will stay indoors!

paris greeter

We went on a walking tour of Paris with a local named Das. Paris has this program called Paris Greeter, and they employ volunteers who are all locals of Paris to give tours to anyone for free. We got Das, and since he lives near Montparnasse, we asked him to show us that area instead of the touristy spots. The program focuses on off-the-beaten-path places, so we loved the walking tour. We saw Montparnasse in a completely different light, found some new parks [Montsouris], and found streets where famous artists, writers, and politicians lived.

Lots of artists and writers lived on this street. It's full of very old houses, some have been burned but remain standing like the one above, and just waiting for someone to fix it and love it! I wish I had the money to redo this house, the vines and such growing on it are fantastic!!!

Lenin lived in this building when he was in Paris, and the dark spot on the wall [near the bottom of the pic] use to be a plaque that the government put up to say that Lenin lived here. However, there was a lot of anger when the plaque was put up, in addition to a fire that erupted inside the building, so the plaque was taken off.

View of La Tour Eiffel from Montparnasse train station.

moules et frites in winter village

One of the things to do as a tourist is to go eat moules et frites. Mussels and fries. On the Champs Elysees and in Saint Michel, there are a million places to find moules et frites...but nothing is better than Leon de Bruxelles. That is their specialty, so we made the trek to the Champs to have it. Kat doesn't like mussels, so she ordered fish and chips, but it doesn't compare. If you don't like mussels, order a salad or don't come here. They serve mussels and mussels only!!! I ate this who coquette of mussels, and it was wildly delicious. 

creme brulee for dessert

After dinner, we walked along the Champs Elysees to see the winter village in the last part of it. This year, the theme is Russia en Paris. Russian pastries and vin chaud [mulled wine] donned the street, but since we have been to Russia and had mulled wine in Prague, we decided to skip it. we bought hot apple cider instead. It was tasty and kept our hands warm. Here are some of the stalls I thought were super fun...

chocolat chaud et beaucoup de chocolat!!!!

small roller coaster for kids

xmas tree of lights

père lachaise

Pere Lachaise, where many of the masters are buried. Some of them include Moliere, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Oscar Wilde. We did not find Moliere, but I will go back to look for him again as well as the Holocaust tombs. There were so many amazing sculptures and gravestones, we couldn't take enough pictures. My fingers were frozen and my toes were going to fall off, but it was an amazing experience nonetheless. 

Frederic Chopin

Jim Morrison from the Doors...come baby light my fire..

It's so hard leaving you without a video now. 

We also found some names that amused us. I found a Frenchman with the surname VIET. Kat found her long lost family, the MERLOTS.

Oscar Wilde and his lipstick kissed tomb. I'm not sure why there are so many lipstick kisses on the tomb. Some say it is from  all the admirers of the renowned rebel writer/poet. I read the Picture of Dorian Gray when I was in high school, and loved it, so seeing his tomb here is quite an amazing experience. 

a kiss for you oscar...

magnificence

me walking through the cemetary

3 bears?

palais royale

I went to the Office de Tourisme off Pyramids yesterday morning, and then walked home from there. I took the metro to Pyramids, and then walked back along Rue Saint Honore. I stopped by the Palais Royale because it was pretty empty and so peaceful. I read for a bit here until I got too cold, so I grabbed a crepe, and walked on to the H&M and Zara on Rue de Rivoli. 

montmartre

We went to Montmartre for the day. Walked around but it was INSANELY cold. So cold it started to snow...and made a significant layer on the benches and cars we walked by. My toes and fingers felt like falling off, so I stopped to buy a crepe [of course], on the street while Kat shopped. She found this image in the tourist shop by the carousel at the bottom of Sacre Coeurit. It was 15 euros!!! I took this picture so that she could see what she could have gotten.. then she talked herself out of buying it...and then she bought it. *_*

nice layer of snow in montmartre!

We took Kat's grandma Marie here SEVEN years ago!! She came to visit us in Paris, and we showed her around the city. Montmartre has a special place in our hearts because it was a gorgeous day, the flowers were blooming for spring, and the carousel was all lit up. We went back to take winter pictures this time, and it was quite different...because it was extremely COLD! However, the carousel was still lit, and it even turned on for a little girl to get a ride! We took a video when it was still, but when it turned on, and the music played, we had to redo the video to send Grandma Marie...but here it is as well!

and the redo...