Paris in pictures, day 3

My third, and last, day in Paris was packed with walking and sightseeing. The weather was fairly nice and I decided to walk from the Latin Quarter to the Eiffel Tower. Normally it's a 5 kilometer walk, but I kind of zigzaged around, making it almost a 9 kilometer affair. Not that I'm complaining. I had to burn off some of the calories I had ingested the previous day, after all.

 What I love the best about wandering around big cities, is that you never know what awesome little (or big) view awaits for you around the corner. I literally took hundreds of pictures of random windows and doors, which are my latest obsession. Don't ask why. It's something I've devolped last summer in Greece and I just can't stop.

 I walked and walked and walked trying to avoid the largest streets and concetrating on the little allways and courts.

 ...and then, when I started to feel hungry, I dove into a little brasserie by the Musèe d'Orsay and ordered one of my favorite dishes: entrecôte with french fries. As it always is, it was delicious and very satisfying. It would have probably been even better with a glass of red wine, but I was so freaking thirsty, only beer sounded good.

 After lunch I finally reached my destination, where I took this self-portrait. One thing about traveling alone is that you can't count on someone taking pictures of you.

And that same night I was off. I went to the Gare du Nord where I boarded the Eurostar to London. I was very excited, both because I had never been in an underwater train tunnel and because I hadn't been in London since January of 1998. What adventures laid ahead?

If you want to see the whole picture album go here (and no, you don't need to be on Facebook to see it):

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150483043670186.367880.515600185&type=1&l=c383b0f5fc

Paris in pictures, day 2

My second day in Paris was a wonderful, family-oriented day. Not my family, of course. I spent the day with my friend Virginie's family, celebrating her birthday. It was really great to spend time in their Montmartre apartment, sipping wine and eating homemade food.

 We started off with some salami I brought as a gift. When I bought it in a boulangerie that morning, I was a little perplexed because it felt too hard, but decided to buy two anyway because they were all like that. I figured that showing up empty handed would be far worse than showing up with salami that is a little too hard. I picked an Italian one with black truffles and a smoked one from Corsica. They were both really good and not hard at all. Turns out they were just cold from being near the fridge in the store. I guess I could have figured that out, right? 

Then there were oysters. Many, many, delicious oysters to be eaten with a spash of lemon juice over buttered hazelnut bread. I had never eaten oysters like that before, but I have to say it beats the Tabasco and saltines.

We then had a pork roast with roasted winter vegetables and, after that, we indulged in a trey of cheeses. Hard to tell which one was the best. Wish my stupid camera would have had some battery left to pictures of it, but of course it didn't. Oh well. More to come, people! 

Paris in pictures, day 1

So I finally have loaded my pictures on a real computer, so I can actually post them. iPads are fun, but trying to update your blog from one is a pain in the ass.

Here are a few pictures of my first day in Paris.

I woke up after an exceptionally good night of sleep on my Milano to Paris sleeper train. I would have never dreamed a train would be so comfortable, especially since I was not traveling first class.

I had breakfast with my friend Virginie, who was kind enough to pick me up at the station in the morning. Loved the lamps in the cafe' where we drank coffee. Wished I could have some of those at home.

I walked aimlessly through the Latin Quarter, looking at cute little restaurants and taking in the atmosphere.

I visited Notre Dame, because for once in my life I found no line to get in. It was about time since I've been trying for years!

I rode the metro. It's funny how I used to hate taking the metro as a teenager, and now I could ride it all day. Probably because I now live ina place that has no metro at all.

And I made friends with Banti, my friend Annapaola's cat. He's adorable. Now that I left Paris and I'm in London I miss him already!