Guide de Paris

Like all good travel guides, this post will start off with an obscure analogy: Paris is just like a Kinder Surprise Ball. It has a sweet, chocolate-y exterior, but, when you least expect it, you accidentally bite into a rubber bouncy ball that you may or may not choke on. But somehow you figure out how to get to the candy inside, and it is SO good.

Oscar Wilde's grave, Père Lachaise, Paris

I hope that made sense to someone other than me...In any case, Paris is really an amazing and vibrant city once you get past the holier-than-thou nature of a lot of its inhabitants and the *unfortunate* anti-American sentiment that I've encountered from time to time. After all, there are both kind and inconsiderate people everywhere, and Paris is no exception. After accepting this fact, I had a great stay there with a lot of wonderful friends, both old and new. And for those planning a trip in the future or just curious as to my findings, here are some of my favorite places in Paris.

Art Galleries:

L'oeil Ouvert, St. Paul, Paris

photo by Valérie Archeno

Gallerie Christian Berst, St. Paul, Paris

photo by Loïc Lucas

Galerie Nomade, République, Paris

photo courtesy of artsfactory.net

Shopping:

Senou, St. Paul, Paris

The perfect place to find decently-priced gifts and housewares (including a tapestry of Obama with a green teeth?)

Depot Vente Createurs, Monmartre, Paris

Great selection of well-priced vintage and handmade clothing and jewelry

L'art de Rien, Monmartre, Paris

Very creepy, slightly morbid. The display window features doll heads in jars with formaldehyde and vampire children...so cool! You can find French comic books and freaky gifts of all sorts here.

Favorite Bar:

La Belle Hortence, 10 rue de Trésor, Paris

Laid-back atmosphere with mostly young professionals, a reasonably priced drink/food menu, exceptionally nice wait staff (at least by Parisian standards...) They also sell French children's books!

Favorite Hostel:

The Regent Hostel, Monmartre, Paris

To be fair, I've only ever stayed at two hostels in Paris, but I loved this one. The staff is extremely nice and willing to speak either English or French (even with clearly non-native speakers). The rooms were clean, quiet, comfortable, and traditionally French without being outdated. Monmartre is kind of far away from the center of the city, but the neighborhood itself is nice, relatively cheap, safe, and this hostel is located just across the street from the metro. I HIGHLY recommend the Regent.

Favorite Rainy Day Activity:

Window shopping the pet stores in Châtelet

Heartbreakingly adorable purebred puppies and kittens...no further explanation needed.

What I Bought: European Edition

I got home last night from my adventure abroad and wanted to share a few goodies I got during my trip. I visited Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Madrid, and I picked up souvenirs in each place. Here are my favorites:

Broach from Depot Vente Creatures, Monmartre, Paris

I tried on three dresses in this store, and when none of them worked quite right, I felt badly for wasting the shopkeeper's time. Luckily, I spotted this on the way out. It's made almost entirely of zippers!

Shoes from Jonak, Galleries de Lafayette, Paris

I got these at the beginning of my trip, and wore them nonstop for the rest of the two weeks I was away. Parisians seems to love wearing low-rise sneakers, but I never really feel like myself in them. This combination boot/sandal/sneaker is a good compromise, I think.

Cotton scarf from a flea market in Amsterdam, Rabbit fur scarf from duty-free shop in Reykjavik

One of the highlights of my trip (apart from Amsterdam) was my layover in Iceland. I'm really interested in Iceland for some reason; it's so strange and foreign that it's intriguing. And after the two quick stops I made at the Reykjavik airport and flying Icelandair, I'm even more interested in going back for a vacation. Maybe next year!

Wool sweater, Duty-free, Reykjavik

Since wool is one of Iceland's main exports, I had to buy this. I'm already ready for it to be winter so I can wear it.

I'd like to post a kind of travel guide/diary for each of the cities I visited, and I'm planning to write about Paris first and in the very near future. Thanks for reading and expect more to come!