An American in Paris

Since elementary school I was told that my writing was always "too wordy", and this, I assure you, will be no exception.
While it would be impossible to do justice in writing to my weekend in Paris, I'm going to try my hardest to make it work. I left for the train station right from school on Friday and, with one minor delay, got into Gare du Nord train station in Paris at 10:30 with my darling friend Blake waiting for me at the gate. We took a bus back to his flat for my initial introduction to Paris, and in true European fashion went out that night to a bar called WAGG which was having it's carwash themed night, meaning a lot of Motown - not exactly Parisian, but a lot of fun.
Saturday morning began my whirlwind adventure, not only in Paris, the place, but Paris, the food. We had (delicious) croissants and orange juice on our walk over to the Catacombs, which turned out to be a bit of failure when the line reached right around the entire perimeter of the gate. Onward to the Eiffel tower! Not only was the view from the top unbelievable, the lines to get tickets proved equally entertaining. First, we planned on walking up, only to realize once we got to the front of the line, that we had been standing in the elevator line. Then, in line for security, a woman lost control of her purple umbrella and it went flying into the crowd of innocent bystanders waiting for their tickets - thank goodness Blake was there to save the day and return the umbrella to said woman. Lastly - in line for the elevator, we were separated from the other lines by a clear-plastic wall, which a little girl (about 3 or 4) proceeded to walk up to, isnpect, kiss, lick, walk away from, and then return to lick one more time. Blake and I were in tears laughing so hard as the girl's mother continued her conversation only to look over in horror at her daughter getting to first base with a window. Then it was a beautiful trip to the top with plenty of pictures to be taken.
From the Eiffel tower we did the walk over to Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysees where we stopped at Laduree and I had my first experience with French macaroons, which are perhaps the most delicious things on the face of the earth. With treats in hand we got on the metro towards Le Marais, which quickly became my favorite place in Paris. Blake took me there with the intention of eating a kosher deli sandwich, only for us to realize once we got there that anything kosher would be closed on Shabbas... oops. But the crisis was averted when we found a lovely cafe where I got to have my first authentic French baguette and another wonderful meal with my wonderful guy.
Next stop; Notre Dame (just the outside), across the Seine and over this quaint little bridge covered in locks, left there by couples who lock them together and throw the key into the Seine. It's romantic, and a bit odd, but the bridge was pretty. We headed back towards Blake's apartment where he took me to his to major landmarks, The Pantheon, and Picard, a store that sell only frozen items (including sushi... ew). Dinner that night was another metro ride up to a fondue restaurant where they give you wine to drink out of baby bottles. Not just small bottles - but actual baby bottles. Needless to say it was very weird, but the restaurant was right by Montmarte so we walked up to the Sacre-Coeur at night and saw the entire city lit up (insert cheesy line here; "you know... it is called the 'city of lights'!"). Also - because it was nearly 9 we stayed up there and watched the Eiffel tower sparkle on the hour before walking down to see the Moulin Rouge where Blake and I proceeded to dance for long enough to have our picture taken.
The next morning we were up and eating again, this time outside (thanks to a heating lamp) at a cafe right across from Luxembourg Garden, where we walked to after finishing our cafe au lait and pain chocolat (again... delicious). Blake took me over to the neighborhood where his school is, SciencesPo, and we walked around all of the (closed) designer stores before stopping for another meal at Le Duex Magots, one of the 2 famous cafes next to each other on Boulevard Saint-Germaine. Cue the Camembert on baguette sandwich. Delicious.
To walk off some of our meal we headed towards the Saine and walked along parallel to the Louvre, stopping at Musee d'Orsay just to see that the line for the catacombs had apparently moved there for the moment, so we continued on towards the obelisk and eventually to plaza outside the Louvre with the glass pyramids... it was all very Dan Brown, but better. We opted not to go into the Louvre because we didn't have 3 weeks to get it all done, and instead enjoyed a lovely sit to people watch the tourists that flocked to the museum.
From there is was a short walk to the Opera House and Galleries Lafayette where the Christmas windows were up and Judy Garland wad blaring from the speakers allowing Blake and I to take part in a rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for a group of unsuspecting bystanders. Blake, since I had gotten there, had been telling me about "the fanciest Starbucks in the world" right by the Opera House and while he built it up quite a lot, and I did not train into Paris just to go Starbucks, we did end up going. He was right. It was the fanciest Starbucks in THE WORLD. It didn't just have tile floors and extended seating with plush couches and chairs, it had chandeliers - emphasis on the 's' for multiple chandeliers. It was absurd. But well worth the entire trip to Paris.
After leaving what is sure to become one of Paris' most sought-after attractions, I got Blake to take me back to Le Marais where we wandered around again, into furniture stores, little museums and thrift shops that all seemed to be more adorable than the last. Last stop in Le Marais was to get me an honest-to-goodness crepe from one of the guys with an outdoor stand - because that's clearly far more legitimate - and it really was. We walked back along the Seine as it got dark and passed Notre Dame again, this time lit up, and saw beautiful views from the bridge of Paris (insert cheesy line here; "no wonder it's the 'city of lights'!"). Last stop was a very hip bar right by Blake's flat for one final hoorah and then it was back to Gare du Nord and bye bye Louve, hello London.
I cannot believe how much we got done in one weekend, and just how wonderful that weekend was. My dad said that he knew it was a good trip because I didn't mention the fact that it rained the whole time until the very end - and he's right! Even with rain and overcast skies, Paris is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and I'm so glad that I now fall among the ranks of people who can legitimately say that. Now it's back to school for the last 4 weeks (gulp) of the program. It's hard to think about how quickly time passes, but now that I can say that I got to do Paris while passing the time, I think it's safe to say that I've done pretty well for myself.