Just do it #20: Pretend to be a Parisian

Dan and I got back from France last weekend!  What a great trip! We're now five pounds heavier, many Euros poorer, and perma-smiling while pouring over our photos.

We've been planning this bad boy for months. Before going on our trip to France last week, I tried to prepare as much as possible. 

French language book with oddly skeezy chapter?  Check.  

A different scarf for every day of the week?  Check. 

A print-out of tips reminding me not to don sneakers or a fanny pack?  Check. 

Granted, all I know about Paris comes from the last season of Sex and the City when Carrie goes there with that pretentious Alexander Petrovsky, but I was so excited to visit... and a maybe a tiny bit nervous about the Parisian attitude that I had heard rumors about.  Look, Dan and I could be considered the typical "sloppy Americans".  He's loud and likes taking ridiculous novelty photos wherever we travel.  I had my camera permanently around my neck and once said "si" instead of "oui" to a waiter's question.  Damn you, high school Spanish, for coming back to haunt me.

So, no we didn't quite fit in and despite leaving my Adidas in the hotel room, the hostesses knew we were American before we even had time to say, "Une table pour deux, s'il vous plait."   For the record, we found almost all of the French people to be exceedingly formal, polite, and helpful.  It probably helped the we peppered our responses with tons of "merci's" and apologies for not speaking the languge.  I can understand some of the frustration with touristy morons (tourons?) like ourselves. 

Anyway, we had an incredible time!   Here's the Paris leg of our journey, in list form, of course:

Ten Things I Loved about Paris:

10.  Quality time with this guy-  What else can make the airport wait go faster than a round of Travel Scrabble?

9.  Being able to fall comotose from jet lag in this room!

 It had ornate pattern everywhere, like the inside of a jewelry box.  I also loved the view of Napolean's tomb from our window:

I never got tired of the night view:

8. Taking in everyday Paris, from gorgeous flower shops and fromage stands:

To how green they are there (electric car chargers on the street!):

To the flowers everywhere:

7.  Seeing incredible works of art

(while Dan kept referencing the creepy opening to The Da Vince Code).

6.  Novelty photos.  It wouldn't be a "Dancation" without one.

5.  Too many amazing structures to mention (Notre Dame, The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower...)

4.  Going along with number 5... amazing views

3 AND 2.  THE FOOD.  This is so big it deserves a separate blog post coming soon.  Until then, I'll just leave you with one treat I ate:

A closer view is from this wonderful website:

  

That is a croissant covered in candied rose petals and stuffed with raspberry cream, my friends.  HolyHellSoDelicious!   More food in a later post.

And lastly, number one...

1.  Paris at night.  They call it the City of Light for a reason.

More on the rest of our trip coming soon!