Becca in Paris!

This time around I have been very blessed with many visitors coming over to France.  It has made for a lot of fun adventures throughout the year.  My friend, Becca, from student teaching came over to Paris for a week during her spring break.  I unfortunately had to work while she was here but we still had a great time running around Paris.  She has never been to Europe before so what better place to start than Paris?  We rented an apartment in the 8th that was just a 10 minute (not even) walk to the Arc de Triomphe.

Sunday, March 23rd:
Got up early and saw the sunrise from the apartment.  Checked the flight status and her flight was getting in an hour and twenty minutes late!

Sunrise over Parisian rooftops

Our view

I got to the airport and had to wait for a bit before Becca came out but it was great getting to see her!  I guess her flight was delayed by 2 hours because the pilot was at home taking a nap and forgot to wake up!  We got into Paris, dropped off her bags and headed over to the Arc de Triomphe.  It of course started raining like crazy and was really windy so we popped into a café.

Becca & I at the Arc de Triomphe

We kept it pretty chill and just hung out at the apartment for the rest of the day.

Monday, March 24th:

Today I didn't have school so that was exciting!  It was also my birthday so we celebrated by going out to one of my favorite little restaurants in the 11th.  Later in the day we did the typical touristy things like visiting the Louvre, Musée de l'Orangerie and Place de la Concorde.

Becca & I heading over to the Louvre

Le Louvre

Le Louvre

Becca & I in front of the Pyramide

Looking outside

Chilling in the Louvre

Checking out the less crowded areas

Views from the Louvre

Rooms that are a lot less crowded

The upside down pyramid

Les Jardins des Tuileries

Fountain at les Jardins des Tuileries

Flowers in the gardens

Place de la Concorde

View of the Eiffel Tower from la Place de la Concorde

We had such beautiful weather which was great for a busy day out and about in Paris!

Tuesday, March 25th:

Today I had school in the morning and my students didn't show up so that was frustrating.  Anyways, afterwards I met up with Becca at the apartment and we then went out to lunch at a café in the 11th.  We had a late lunch but it was good.  We then went over to the chocolate shop to buy some much needed chocolate.  Later in the day we headed over to fnac (the equivalent of Barnes&Noble and Best Buy combined) so Becca could pick up a book since she had finished the only book she brought with her.  I of course picked up a book too and am now reading, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.  I couldn't resist even though it is in English and I told myself I'd only read in French.

Wednesday, March 26th:

I had classes in the morning and for lunch met up with Becca over by Notre Dame.  We picked up sandwiches at a little bakery on Ile St. Louis and ate them in a park at the tip of the island.

Behind Notre Dame

The locks on the bridge

The little park we ate our lunch in

We of course had to stop and get some Berthillon's ice cream; it was delicious as usual.  I got blood orange and vanilla.  It was so good as usual.

Excited to start eating our ice cream

Walking over towards Ile de la Cité

Becca enjoying her ice cream

I then had to go back to school for my afternoon classes and when I got back to the apartment we headed on over to the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe.  The Champs-Élysées was actually blocked off because the Chinese president was in town.  The traffic around that area looked absolutely horrible! I'm so glad I don't have to drive in this city.  We were able to walk up and down the sidewalk a bit on the Champs-Élysées and then we made the climb up the Arc de Triomphe.

French & Chinese flags on the Champs-Élysées

Because the Chinese president was in town they put the French flag under the Arc de Triomphe

Becca & I before we climbed to the top

View from the top

The city all lit up at night

Not too bad of a view

View of the city

Surprise! You actually can still see the Eiffel Tower from the top you just have to stand at the right angle/distance from the scaffolding

The Eiffel Tower sparkling

The French flag

Becca & I back on the ground

Thursday, March 27th:

Today I didn't have any classes so that was really nice.  We had a super chill morning and then went over to Tartes Chez Moi for lunch, where we went on Monday (Becca really liked it there too).  In the afternoon we headed over to Galeries Lafayette to pick up some Pierre Hermé macaroons and then we made our way over to Notre Dame to go up the bell towers.  Sadly, we didn't get to see the actual bells; I'm not really sure why but they might have been doing restoration work.

Gargoyles

View from the top

Becca & I at the top of Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower in the background

Gargoyle's viewpoint of the city

The Left Bank

Notre Dame

Becca & I at Notre Dame

We then made our way over to the crêpe stand by the Luxembourg gardens.  I got a cinnamon & sugar crêpe that was really good.  We hung out in the gardens before making our way over to the Musée D'Orsay where we checked out the art.

Les Jardins de Luxembourg

Sailing boats in the fountain

Enjoying the sun in the gardens

Friday, March 28th:

Today I had classes as usual.  During my huge break I ran out to the apartment to grab my duffel bag so that I could take it back out to the suburbs which means it would be just one less thing I'd have to carry on Saturday.  After my afternoon classes were done I met up with Becca at Trocadero so we could check out the Eiffel Tower and then make our way up via the elevator.

Becca & I at Trocadero

View of the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero

View from the top

View from the top

The city

Becca & I at the top

View of le Champs de Mars

The city at night

Saturday, March 29th:

Today we got up decently early so I could help Becca get to the airport.  We didn't get to do anything touristy but that's alright.  It was sad to see her leave but I'm so glad that she decided to spend her spring break in Paris with me.  I had such a great time despite the fact that I had to work and she got a taste of Paris.  We made it work with my schedule and had lots of fun adventures along the way.