Iron Craft #14 - Vive La Iron Craft

Bastille day was on July 14 so this weeks Iron Craft challenge was all about France! It reminded me of our trip to Paris last year. I can't believe its been a year! It was truly amazing, the sights, the sounds and the smells! Oh so lovely. 

One thing that stood out were the street signs there. They are a brilliant blue with white letters so I was a little inspired by that to make a welcome (as the French say, Bienvenue) sign. It fits perfectly in our guest room which has an unintentional Parisian theme. Here is how it came out, what do you think?

Sarina's Parisian Adventure Days 6, 7 & 8

Day 6

We woke up to another day of rain. And it was a Tuesday, the day almost every museum is closed! That is except the Muse D'orsay! So when we approached there was a big long line..in the rain. There were these guys selling umbrella and they kept Tim and I entertained because they just kept saying "umbrella-umbrella" really fast they sounded like the bad guys in Temple of Doom.
After we got in, the wait was certainly worth it. For those unfamiliar with the museum it is a converted train station and the building itself is just as magnificent as the art work it houses. We were very excited to take tons of pictures and then we were told no photography... boo! We did sneak in some picture taking while museum.

Cool eh? You can just picture a train going right down the center of instead of art work. There was amazing stuff here including Vincent Van Gogh's self portrait. The museum also houses one of the most impressive collections of impressionism.

When we made to the top of the museum it had some of the most amazing views of the city, framed within a clock.

After the museum we took our afternoon break. Afterwards we decided to check out a mall. Yeah Paris mall was a dumb idea, I felt so poor. It was ridiculously lush and we were so out of place. I was afraid to just touch anything! The trip to the mall wasn't a total bust because then we went to a super market and got some dinner. There was a lot of weird stuff there but we got some decent food.

This was our second to last day and we were pretty burnt out so we called it an early night and passed out.  


Day 7

This was our last full day in Paris! So we had to make it count! We got up fairly early and we headed toward the Notre Dame. Even though we had seen the outside we haven't gone in so this was our chance. The inside of the Notre Dame is just as amazing and impressive as the outside. It was amazing and so massive. It was quite musty inside but then again this thing is around 800 years old. It certainly was amazing to think of all of the lives to walk in and out of this place the last few centuries, who else has gazed upon the amazing rose windows, who else has lit a candle by Joan of Arc's statue?

Afterwards we went to check out the bell tower situation. You can walk up and take a gander of the city from the same spot at Quasimoto. However it was quite a trek up stairs and we had already decided to do the catacombs that day so the tower was out.

The catacombs had quite a long wait but worth it. After getting in we took steps down and down and down underneath the city. I was starting to get freaked out. When we first entered there was some information about how the catacombs were originally a rock quarry. It had been abandoned for a certain number of years until it was seen as a solution to an overcrowding problem in the cities cemeteries.

We walked through the quarry section first. Even though there were no bones here I was freaked out! The pathways o the old quarry were closed off by gates. On the other side of the gate was just complete darkness and that scared the crap out of me! So when ever we came across one of those gates I made Tim walk in front of me. We saw some other neato things that reminded me of Indiana Jones big time. Feeling like a bad ass Indie ended quickly as soon as we came across some bones. That crap was so damn freaky because at some points it is so cramped and you are surrounded by bones on either side of you. There are signs that say don't touch remains but it was a hard not to graze and skull. At one point Tim touched one intentionally and it freaked me out! One thing that was also really weird about it are the people that work there. Every museum usually has some one sitting around making sure people aren't screwing around with items in the museum. The Catacombs had its own set of people that just sit there and hang out with these piles of bones...weird. I guess you are desensitized to it after a while.

After climbing up from the Catacombs we went over to Monmartre. We decided to meet up with another Discovery Walks tour and our guide ended up being Phillipe again! The tour met in front of the Moulin Rouge then proceeded up to one of the highest points in the city.

This neighborhood was the hangouts of Toulouse Lautrec, Picaso and Van Gogh. I was glad to see that the spirit of art is still alive in that street art is present every where and is embraced.

Momartre is on a hill so through out the tour we were making our way up the hill. At the end of the tour we ended up at the La Basilique du Sacre Coeur. Which I gotta say was pretty meh. Phillipe expressed is ultimate hate for that place also he pointed out that is very touristy. However across the street from the Basilica is some of the most amazing views of the city.

Momartre was also the neighborhood of Amelie! The dinner she worked at, Cafe 2 Moulins is right there! We went there for lunch and I was very giddy. They kept the restaurant really close to how it was in the movie, with the exception of the cigarette counter. The cafe was also cashing in on the fact that the movie took place there because pictures of Amelie are all over the place. Her face even graces the menu!

After getting some food in us we decided we went to see some more death so we headed over to one of Paris' most famous cemeteries, Pere Lachaise. We saw some interesting resting places. One of the cemeteries most famous residents, Jim Morrison was barricaded and a security guard was on standby. A tree nearby was full of graffiti with sayings like 'mojo rising' and 'the lizard king.' I thought that was pretty crazy until we came across Oscar Wilde. A glass barrier surrounds the giant flying angel statue. That barrier is covered in red lip stick kisses. A weird Frenchmen showing some people around gave my forehead a little smack and said "Kiss him!" then walked away. Yeah I didn't feel like catching some kind of gross disease from all of that lipstick built up so I did not kiss his statue.

After a crazy day of sooo much site seeing we headed back to chill out. However before leaving we had to sneak in one last belgium waffle!

Day 8: Travel (almost) nightmare

We woke up the next morning and to our surprise we saw it was 7:00 instead of 6:00 (which is when we needed to wake up) So we real quick scrambled to get ready and pack up. Tim was reassuring me that it was ok we had plenty of time and we had planned to leave early anyway. So we thought we had time. That was until we read the train schedule wrong and we really weren't sure where we were headed. We had to transfer and waited for what seemed like forever until we finally made it to the airport. Our boarding passes said "plane boards at 9:50" that was the exact time we reached the customs window. I was having serious stress and panic attacks! Luckily customs was quick. Immediately afterwards we ran so fast on one of those Jetson's conveyer belt things screaming "exusse" We made it to the gate severely out of breath when we read on the gate "Flight delayed" THANK GOD! So we caught our breathes and made our way home.

Sarina's Parisian Adventure Day 4 & 5

After a crazy few days we wanted need to chill out for a bit. It was Sunday and that is the day when all of the markets are happening. Not far from our apartment in Montparnasse there is a stretch of road that is where artists display and sell their work. We saw some art ranging from classical to avant garde. This one guy made creatures out of reclaimed materials, they were pretty neato and steampunkish. We also looked for something nice that we can put on display in our house, but was also able to travel back with us and not be too expensive. We found this little French lady who made these ink drawings of Parisian landmarks. She didn't speak any English but we were able to negotiate a sale with her. After walking around a bit more, we headed off to another market.

St. Paul is a Bohemian little neighborhood. There are little courtyards in between buildings and in those courtyards vendors set up antiques and wares. We had fun browsing the area and saw some interesting things. There was a lot of weird 80s clothes, dishes and books. What we loved most was this one little tent that had vintage posters. I bought one for my little brother Billy (so he can decorate his new Dorm room with it). Tim found old wind up toys (Tim has a weakness for toys) so he got a cool robot. I was on the search for gifts for my lady friends and came across antique postcards, some of them even had stuff written on them! The vendor came up and talked to us a bit in French and we just did the ol' smile and nod. I ended up some for my friends and an extra for me! When I got home I framed them and handed them out. Its quite the cute momento.

After our market adventure we wandered around a bit more. We saw where the bastille was. In its place is this monument and a mega opera house across from it. Then we got lost some more and ended up in a park. We sat and hung out for a bit and enjoyed the scenery. In the distance we heard a band complete with accordion playing. We also noticed the trees in the park were square.. lots of square trees in France! We also noticed that their park budget must be crazy because every park is immaculate!

We did some more wandering and got sorbet on the way. I got mango and it was scrumptious! Along the way we saw some more street performers including another accordion player and a puppeteer. Then we unbeknownst to us we ran into the Notre Dame again... geeze its like that things is the center of the city or something (please note the sarcasm) 

The rest of the day was kind of a bust because of rain :( Unfortunately for us it rained a lot on this trip. I guess I shouldn't be too mad because I did want to see Paris in the rain. Before our trip we watched Midnight in Paris and Owen Wilson's character would always say Paris is beautiful in the rain. Don't get me wrong, it certainly was but soggy shoes are not beautiful.

After the rain let up a bit we headed to Jardin du Luxembourg. It one of the biggest public parks in Paris, and yes it is immaculate and beautiful just like every other park in Paris. It even has the same square trees! The grounds also contained yet another royal palace. There are royal palaces all over the city its ridiculous! I guess everyone who had come into power wanted their own digs. Those bastards deserved to get their heads chopped off! My guide book also told me some interesting tidbits about the garden. When times were tough for Ernest Hemingway he used to stroll through the garden with a stroller. He would then proceed to break the necks of squirrels and pigeons then stuff them in the stroller and that would be his dinner. Further proof that Hemingway was awesome.

Afterwards we went to dinner at a hip little joint just outside of our apartment. That was where we had probably the best meal of the entire trip. Here are our delicious dishes.

 

The next day we decided to make the trip back to the Eiffel tower and climb that bad boy! Went on the metro and we got some great views of the tour from the train! Then we walked on over to the tower. When we got there like last time, the line was crazy! Turns out it was so nuts because only one elevator was working. We opted to walk up the stairs (the line was shorter and a bit cheaper) So we walked up about a gabillion steps. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it and I had to stop a few times. Once we reached the first level and I saw the view the trek up the stairs was well worth it. We saw some amazing views of the city. We opted not to go to the tippy top because you can only get there via elevator (and the line was ridiculous so we skipped it) Plus you have to pay a few more bucks to go to the top! 

While admiring the view we noticed the boat tours launched off near by. We walked up and down the Sienne looking for a good tour boat. 

For that evening's entertainment we went to a jazz club. We went to the Latin Quarter for the club. We entered and were led down a few steps into the basement which was like a forgotten ruin with a stage in the middle of it. I had never actually seen a jazz band before so it was pretty interesting. The band consisted of a drummer, double bass, guitar and trumpet. The drummer was by far the most talented. He hit his drums with such precision and skill all making it look effortless. 

The crowd was a very interesting mix of young college students and older folk. I noticed that the two groups sat together and even mingled together. Then a few of them started dancing together. I had told Tim earlier "I am going to make you dance" but then I saw them dance and I immediately changed my mind because I am a horrible dancer and those French, damn they know how to dance.  At one point one dancer, dripping sweat was twirling around two ladies. Yeah I couldn't dance anything like that so I opted to enjoy the show from my seat. 

It was a very exciting night and one of my favorites of the entire trip!

Sarina's Parisian Adventure Day 2

We awoke the next morning to construction work. When we looked out the massive windows of our apartment, we saw scaffolding set up on our side of the building... awesome. I remembered something that Phillipe, our tour guide, had told us. Paris is a city that loves its history so much that a lot of buildings are registered with the historical society as artifacts and landmarks. If any work is to be done it is a strenuous process that involves hammers and chisels.


Anyway, it woke us up! So we planned out our day, check out the Eiffel Tower then head on over to the Rodin Musuem which is in the vicinity. So we were off via metro!


We got off the metro and just like with the Notre Dame, were trying to find it then we turned a corner and boom, you can't miss something like the Eiffel Tower. There is a massive park in front of it so we walked through and approached it slowly. Some one was nice enough to take our picture. The only bummer was the weather.. but I wasn't letting mother nature ruin my trip! We walked closer and I couldn't believe how big that thing actually is!

We sat on a park bench marveling on this giant engineering wonder. At that time we noticed there were tons of school field trips happening. I noticed a group of little French kids giggling and playing around. Hearing little kids speak French is just about the most adorable thing I have ever come across in my entire life.

Afterwards we were going to actually go climb the Eiffel tower but the wait was super crazy and we decided to save it for another day. We then made our way over to the Musee' Rodin. While walking Tim's stomach started rumbling and we just so happen to pass a bakery so we grabbed a few quiches and chococlate eclaire's to go. We stopped in a park and chowed down. That quiche was the best damn quiche I have ever had. Tim immediatley went for the eclair after he finished his quiche, but I saved mine for later. Although based on his reaction to the eclair it was pretty darn good as well.

With our belly's full we went to get some culture at Musee' Rodin. The garden of the musuem is a big feature, so we were very excited that the weather got really nice just when we got there! The first thing we saw when we got there was what is perhaps Rodin's most famous work, the Thinker. Rodin's Thinker seems as if he has all of the world's problems on his mind all at once. Tim mentioned that Rodin seemed to capture him thinking with every single muscle in his body. That was after we looked at it from behind and I mentioned he looks like he could use a massage. The rest of the museum was simply stunning featuring a fountain and of course more sculptures! Even if you are not an art lover, the Musee' Rodin is a Paris attraction I highly recommend.

After that we need to take a break so we went back to the apartment and took a little cat nap

Break up the day! I went on this trip wanted to see as much as humanly possible! Your body can only take so much so we had a nice little routine going, we'd do something in the morning, take a break at the apartment then do another round of things. It was good because it helped prevent us from getting burnt out.


So we had our little refresher nap then we decided to head out to the Lourve for the second half of our day. The day we chose to do the Louvre turned out to be ideal because it was Friday! I know what you are thinking, but everyone likes to get down on Friday, but our tour guide Phillipe gave us a good tip. He said that the Louvre closes late on Fridays so going there later in the day is beneficial because all those pesky tourists are gone by then. Also just F.Y.I. this place also huge, impressive and amazing like everything else we had seen in France up to that point. We entered through the iconic Pyramid entrance which was interesting modern architecture that clashed with the classical look of the palace. Once we got in there, there was little to no wait. We got tickets right away. The ticket guy asked if any of us were under 26 (which I still am) and I got in for free! Wooo!

We did some exploring in one of the galleries and we learned it is very easy to get lost for days in this place! One thing that kind of got annoying, was that the layout of the building. Once we reached the end of a gallery the only exit was to walk right back through everything we had just seen. We still saw some cool stuff like the Napoleon apartments and for a small guy he was certainly living large (hehe). We also looked at some sculptures which are probably my favorite things to look at. I love the ties to Greek myths and the symbolism hidden in each piece. Also this one statue looks like my friend Joe Lentini.

 After getting lost for a bit we entered the wing housing all of the famous art, Denon. Walking there we came to a stair case where I saw a beautiful work called Winged Victory. I remember studying it when I took an art history class, I always thought it was striking. Although missing a head and limbs the presence of a victorious Nike is still present and you get to behold her and all of her glory! Moving on we went into another gallery and saw good ol' Mona Lisa herself. It was tiny and to be honest not all that impressive, but hey I can say that I have seen it in person. Across from Mona, is a gigantic epic painting that is way more interesting but no museum patrons are noticing (which sadly I forgot to take a picture of!) Maybe that's what Mona is smiling about, she just like, "you idiots I'm just a woman sitting here behind two inches of bullet proof glass." We saw some more classical works (pictured below) including the Venus de Milo.

After the Louvre our stomachs were ready for some serious dinner and we needed it fast! We found a cafe not too far from the Museum and we ate as the sun was going down. It really through us off because it was really late! We had no idea that it doesn't get dark until like 10:30. Anyway, we had an amazing meal and finished it off with creme brulee and espresso. The creme bruelee was really good but the espresso was really bitter. I originally wondered why the waiter gave me so much sugar, I learned that the hard way. With the creme brule eaten, my bitter espresso drunk we walked around a bit and got lost on the Paris streets.

Let me just clarify that we didn't really get lost, I meant in a romantic kind of way. We walked the streets. We ended up back over by the river Siene and Ponte Neuf. As beautiful as these landmarks are in the day time, they are even more intriguing while lit up. We got some great views and we even noticed the Eiffel Tower in the background. Then it started raining again so we grabbed the metro back to the apartment. 

Sarina's Parisian Adventure Day 1 continued

Not sure to count this as the first day or not because the flight during the night kind of screwed everything up. Anywho here is what we did next!

After about an hour of nap time I woke up. Tim kept right on snoozing but I couldn't help it.. I was thrilled to be where I was! So I looked up something that we could do. I came across these walking tours that were free. Discover Walks Paris provides free tours of several Parisian neighborhoods and your guide is native! So I poked Tim awake and told him that we could make one of the evening tours on Île de la Cité. So we got our butts in gear and set out for the metro.

We lucked out with our apartment because it was right in front of a Metro station,
Montparnasse – Bienvenüe, which proved to be centrally located. Paris metro system is super easy to figure out and navigate. The MTA can take a lesson from them.. I've lived in New York all of my life and have taken frequent trips into the city and I still do not understand the NYC subway system, but after a week in Paris we were pros at on the Metro. Also my guide book featured a subway map so we were able to plan out our day while out and on the go. We learned a lot from the Metro so here are some tips:

 

You will save money if you buy ten tickets at once. We did this and we only had to buy tickets a few times. The tickets are teenie tiny, so make sure you have a safe place to put them so they won't get lost. I used my little headphone pouch and it worked perfectly. Enough about the metro onto the rest of our day!

We took the Metro to Île de la Cité. There is small island in the middle of Paris and this was originally the city which obviously expanded. The tiny island also houses one of the most famous landmarks ever... the Notre Dame Cathedral. After getting off the Metro I knew the tour met in front of the Cathedral so we were trying to find it. We turned one corner and there was no missing it. The pictures do not do it justice, it is amazing, massive and beautiful. I've spent my life going to theme parks like Disney and Universal and all of the landmarks there are fake and strive to give the illusion of something big and massive and they use optical tricks to achieve it. It was amazing to see the Notre Dame and know that this was real! 

Separating the island from the rest of the city is the River Siene. It was beautiful seeing the river bank and river boats making their way through. We noticed a lot of locals we some drinks sitting on the river bank just hanging out. Turns out this is pretty common and legal as long as you are sitting and drinking. 

On the other side of the river Siene is the Latin Quarter. We had read and heard that this is a pretty neat place known for being a college hang out and ethnic neighborhood. There is a giant epic fountain of st. Michel as well as tons of cafes and interesting side streets. However we also noticed it be very touristy, but whatever we were tourists! 

We headed back to the Notre Dame for the start of our tour! It met infront of a giant statue of Chalemange. While waiting we again just marveled at the massive beauty of the Notre Dame when we noticed a guy wearing a pink vest, it was our tour guide. His name was Phillipe and he was great. He was funny, sassy and quite the snazzy dresser, but what else would you expect from a hip gay frenchman. He was very against the Latin Quarter, he said it was full of bo-bos. When Phillipe noticed a tour of confused people he explained that a bo-bo is a bohemian bourgeoisie, rich people who dress poor (a.k.a. hipsters) Phillipe explained that he identifies as a sub-bo, subversive bourgeoise. 

As the tour went on he explained some history of the Notre Dame (because it was right in front of us) and he took us right in front of us and showed us how the foot print of the medieval village is outlined in stone. Some small narrow streets back then I must say. He then showed us around the island some more which included the Palace of Justice, more of the River Sienne and Pont Neuf. The last one is a bridge, the New bridge which is ironic because it is actually the oldest bridge in France. There is a big statue of Henry IV who stopped religious persecution in France. There is a small island at the bottom of the bridge which provides some excellent views of the city. It was there that our tour ended. 


Which was good because we were starving. So we ran back to the Latin Quarter and had a nice meal of Mussels and frites! After dinner it was getting late so we went back to the apartment and passed out at around 11. I make it a point to mention that it was 11 because it meant to beat the jet lag, allow me to explain. 

Jet lag can ruin your trip. Especially when you have to adjust going eight hours into the future. I read a bunch of different articles on how to best avoid jet lag and I developed my own routine. First off, no alcohol on the plane, you'll just feel like crap later. Then sleep as much as you can on the plane. We did technically loose a night of sleep, so catch up as much as you can. Then when you get to your destination if you feel that you need sleep, set an alarm and force yourself to get up after an hour! Otherwise you will wake up to find out you've lost three days! Don't let that happen to you so get up and do something and just say up till 11. That's what time I usually go to bed at home so I wanted to get my body to adjust to this time zone. It worked pretty well and were were refreshed the next day to explore more of the city!

Sarina's Parisian Adventure

Ever since I was a teenager I had always yearned to travel. I have gone on a few cruises and been to Canada a few times, but for as long as I can remember I have had my heart set on Europe. When Tim and I were planning our wedding and we discussed honeymoon I campaigned for some where in Europe. However because a lack of funds, we postponed our honeymoon. When we started looking for houses we thought, maybe we should do this now before the opportunity to travel gets away from us, because if we don't do it now, it may never happen. So we decided to take our dream vacation and booked a flight for Paris!

Without further ado I present to you a series of posts detailed all of our Parisian adventures! Spread through out are some travel tips that I hope you can use if you plan to do your own European adventure.

The big day finally came and I was super nervous and it was quite the day of travel. Our friend Greg gave us a life to the train station, which we then had to take to Jamaica queens to take the sir train to JFK airport. Well some dingus decided it was a great time to schedule track work, we had to take a bus to the next train station. ARG! I was a stressy mess! Luckily we made to Jamaica then JFK without a problem.

We had the fun part of going through customs, the line was super long but it moved pretty quickly. I was nervous going through customs because I had recently chopped all of my hair off and my passport has the ol' long hair do, but I was fine. We made it to our terminal and soon after boarded the plane.

We searched around for flight, Tim got email reminders about the latest deals. We scored and got two tickets for under $2,000. The air line we went with was Aer Lingus. Its an Irish airline and was so excited to get on the plane and hear their Irish accents. The captain also had a really awesome name, Balldrick. We enjoyed these stupid details because it was my first little sliver of Europe!

The plane itself was pretty snazzy, everyone got a blanket and a pillow and each seat got its own little TV screen. I thought they would have shows from the U.K. but to my surprise it was all American stuff, so I watched 21 Jump Street. Also on the meal we got a meal! I can't remember the last time I got a meal on a plane. To make it even weirder the food was actually really good!

Oh hey that's Ireland!

Soon after I ate I fell asleep as the sun was going down. A few hours later I woke up as a flight attendant handed me a cup of orange juice and said good morning. I peeked outside the window and saw the sun was rising. It was definitely a head trip because about few short hours had passed between seeing the sun set then rise. At that time we were also making our decent (we had a stop over in Dublin). We looked out the window and Tim said nonchalantly, " Oh hey that's Ireland."

We had a short layover, so walked around the Terminal for a bit. We got a kick out of looking at European snacks.. not sure why we found this so amusing but we did. We did some people watching and I was even very tempted to have a Guinness, but that probably was not best for my jet lagged body.

Soon after we boarded our second plane that was Paris bound! On that plane I noticed a lot of Irish and British children. I kept wondering why they were going to Paris, then I heard someone mention Disney... of course Euro Disney is just outside of Paris! Its funny to think but a flight like this must seem like a domestic flight to some one back in the U.S. Instead of trekking down to Florida for Disney trips, they just go to Paris. Weird.

It was exciting to make our decent into Paris because we were able to get our first glimpses of the city. The moment when it felt real was when I saw the Eiffel Tower. I thought, " Holy crap I am actually here." 

We landed, got our bags and set out for the city. We were a little disorientated, most everything was in French and we weren't exactly sure where to go. We figured out that we had to take a train into the city then try to locate our apartment. After some confusion as to what train to get on we finally found it and were able to chill out for about a half an hour. Tim was dozing off but I was observing everything outside as we passed Parisian suburbs. After we got off the train we were walking up and down the street in which our apartment was located, Montparnasse. We were a little freaked out because we weren't sure where to go. Despite this little stress I took some time to look around. I noticed some interesting things about Paris, for one thing a lot of the rumors are true: Yes, people do walk around with baguettes under their arms. Yes, every street corner is an adorable cobble stoned street with outdoor cafes. Yes, everyone smokes ... a lot! I also noticed the tiny cars they drive, the funny sound the ambulance siren makes and the air that is so sweet. I'd like to think it is from all of the wine they drink.

We eventually made it to the apartment and met the owner, Jacques. He showed us in and put us in the perhaps the tiniest elevator I have ever been in. He showed us the room which was great! It had a living space then a little lofty upstairs with the kitchen bathroom and bed. We also had wifi, which Jacques pronounced 'whiffy' lol. Soon after he left and me and Tim took a much needed nap.