25: Paris

So I went to Paris last weekend. That comes off cavalier sounding, but I really don't have the adequate adjectives to describe how FREAKING AMAZING PARIS IS.

My mom essentially said to me countless times that I wasn't allowed to come home unless I went to Paris, which wasn't really on my list before I left. I called her, or rather she called me, while I was in the city waiting to meet up with a friend from high school by Notre-Dame. "Aren't you glad you took my advice and went?" She asked.

Yes, mom. I am glad I took your advice (Mom-1, Peter-0).

In the way that London felt so globally-connected, Paris did too. But what London lacked in a sense of culture, Paris had. This is, Paris feels like a cosmopolitan metropolis that is distinctively French. I ate crepes and drank a dark and tangy Bordeaux red. I walked through the city without hesitation by the little French I know. I ate macaroons...well I devoured them. Haesung took me to the best falafel place in the city. I spent a solid 6 hours at the Louvre (Dear Mona Lisa, you are not that great...). Haesung and I went to the touristy places, Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysee, etc.

Then I went to Versailles. Despite the crowds of people in the chateau, I got some excellent views of all the royal and incredibly lavish bits from French history. I walked all around the gardens. My favorite place, though, was Le Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's escape from the court. The style is more French countryside and there is more consideration to motifs of natural elements like flowers and leaves. The farm area is very cool to be in, although I thought I was in a mini-golf course for a hot-second. I also fed a goat...and then was yelled at in French by someone who works there.

And all the while in my head I was playing scenes from Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, which kind of lessens the historical significance of one of the most important political locations in Europe, but entertained me immensely.

Paris, I will definitely come back.