I've had a lot going on lately, so I haven't been updating the blog as I should be! Here's an update of the end of last week, my weekend trip to Paris, and the beginning of this week.
Last week
Last Tuesday night, the girls all went to see the new Twilight movie Eclipse at a nearby cinema. I must admit, I enjoyed it a lot actually. It was a lot better than the first two films. Then on Wednesday I had a program seminar and info session about Paris. The seminar was about networking - a skill I really need to work on.
Thursday was pretty exciting. Tilly and I went down the road to Proximity London, another agency in the network, for after work drinks with some new friends who work there. Proximity London is SO much more exciting than what we've seen of BBDO London - they have a bar, a softball team, and an office dog! The people I met were really nice, and being American gave me an interesting edge to talk about. After hanging out in their bar/cafe area for a while, 8 or so of us (including Tilly) went to Pizza Express, a chain of Italian restaurants, in Soho. It was nice to get out with people who also worked in the network, since our part of the office isn't the most social. Then I went home and had to pack! Katie came over for a while to help me, and then it was off to bed to prepare for my early morning.
Friday
My day started at 5am to get ready, finalize packing, and head off to catch the 7:30 Eurostar train to Paris. The trip was organized by University of Dreams, so all 50ish of us went. We were split into 2 different train groups, and luckily I was on the second group (apparently the first was super rowdy -- oh American frat boys).
When we arrived to Paris, we hopped right on the underground and went to the hotel to drop off our luggage. Then Katelyn, Nargis, Ann and myself headed out for a walk through Paris and some early sightseeing! As we walked through the area around our hotel toward the river, we stopped at a creperie for a delicious crepe lunch. I had a "crepe complete" with ham, cheese, and eggs, and I had a sweet nutella crepe. Heaven!! We continued on after lunch and came across the Notre Dame. After walking through, we went on to the Louvre. Finally, I get to see the Louvre! As a big art fan, I was ecstatic to explore the huge gallery. We saw the Mona Lisa (underwhelming as expected), but we also got to see a bunch of Spanish art, which is my favorite. The coolest part about the Louvre was seeing the lavish decorations of Napoleon's apartments. Very regal and elegant! It was really cool to see.
The Louvre is so huge that it makes you exhausted in record time, so it wasn't long before the girls were ready to head back to the hotel for a rest. I got cleaned up and then it was time to climb the Eiffel Tower at night! A long queue and hundreds of stairs were totally worth it - the tower lit up while we were on it! What a beautiful view of Paris.
After climbing the Eiffel Tower, I really wanted to meet up for dinner with Katie and Melissa who were also in Paris for the weekend, but they were staying on the opposite end of town so they had to get back before the metro closed. But I got to give Katie a I-can't-believe-we're-both-in-Paris-right-now hug before they left the cafe where they had dinner. The Dreamer group (Katelyn, Nargis, Ann, and myself) stayed and had a so-so dinner there. We walked back to our hotel and crashed for the night, but I did get to chat with Ryan for a bit before going to bed. Always a great way to end the day :)
Exploring the streets of Paris for the first time
Paris
Crepes for lunch
Ann and me at lunch on Friday
Le Notre Dame
In front of the Louvre
Napoleon's apartments
River Seine
In front of the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
Starting to climb the Eiffel Tower stairs
The Eiffel Tower
Saturday
I woke up on Saturday morning to the promise of a big breakfast - and I wasn't disappointed! The hotel definitely delivered with croissants and pastries, really good coffee, yogurt, eggs, FRUIT, bread, the works. To start the day, the Dreamer girls went with Stefan, our program director, to visit the Sacre Coeur in Montmarte. I briefly got to see Katie and Melissa there before they headed toward central Paris to do the things we did on Friday. The Sacre Coeur is beautiful, but I prefer the Notre Dame. Montmarte is a super cool area though - there was a square overflowing with artists offering to sketch passersby and tourists and to sell their paintings of the city.
From Montmarte, we walked with Stefan through north Paris. He is a native French speaker, which is always nice to have on hand when in France! On the way, we stopped in a small bakery and grabbed some bread to munch on. I shared a baguette with Ann, and I also got a macaroon - and oh my goodness my life will never be the same. It was definitely the best part of the trip! All the problems of the world could be solved with Parisian macaroons I swear.
Stefan took us through the posh area of Paris, where the high-end shopping and residences are located, as well as the Ritz (where Princess Diana used to stay of course). From there, we walked down the infamous Champs-Elysees, where we were able to do a little bit of shopping on the way toward the Arc de Triomphe. Nargis wasn't feeling to good, however, so we went back to the hotel for a rest before heading back out in our area for some more shopping.
While Nargis rested, Katelyn, Ann, and I wandered back out to the streets of Paris. Ann was on a Longchamp mission for the afternoon - a French accessory brand. Longchamp bags are big in the States but even bigger in Europe - everyone has them in London! She was super excited to get her 2 new Longchamp bags from the actual Longchamp store in Paris. It was quite fun!
Before we knew it, stores began closing up and it was time to find a restaurant for dinner. We found an amazing looking menu that featured an eye-catching salmon dish, so we quickly grabbed a table (and I grabbed Nargis) for an exceptional French meal! I started with a traditional French Onion Soup (when in France...), and I did get the salmon dish, as did Katelyn and Ann. We were blown away by the sweet potatoes au gratin that accompanied it - amazing!! We all shared a bottle of French wine and a creme brulee to finish the meal. It was by far my favorite dinner of this entire trip! Katelyn and Ann were too tired to go on, unfortunately, and I was really bummed when they went back to the hotel to go to bed before 10 o'clock. I couldn't bring myself to retiring that early on a Saturday night in Paris - my last night - so Nargis and I went to a nearby Jazz club. Kind of random, and we were definitely the youngest people there,
but it was a chill atmosphere with live music, so I wasn't complaining. We did go back after a while though, and Ryan called the hotel when I got back so we could chat again :)
The Sacre Coeur
Lifelong friends meeting up in Paris
"Dreamers" outside the Sacre Coeur
Highlight of my trip - this chocolate macaroon!
I found heaven in Paris in Macaroon form
The Arc de Triomphe
Katelyn and Ann with the amazing salmon and sweet potatoes au gratin dish
La Marquise, where we had dinner
Sunday
My last day in Paris. Katelyn and Ann were bit by the retail bug this weekend, and they wanted to continue shopping. Unfortunately, we found that everything is closed on Sundays in Paris, so that wasn't a reality. But we did come across a great market that was really fun to explore! Then Nargis had to get some souvenirs to bring home, so we walked to the touristy areas by the Notre Dame.
The weather was superb all weekend, but especially on Sunday - a perfect day for a picnic in Luxemberg Gardens! We picked up some food at the store by the hotel and went with some staffers to the beautiful garden for lunch. I picked up some brie and a nectarine at the store and grabbed a baguette on the way to the garden. I felt very French :) After lunch, I split off from the Dreamer group and went with Katie and Melissa to go on a cruise down the River Seine. What a lovely way to end my weekend in Paris. It was a really relaxing cruise, and we got to take in all the beautiful sights of the city one last time before heading back to London.
Paris is crazily accessible from London - 2 hours on a train and you're there! I got to catch up on some reading on the train ride home, and before I knew it we were back in London preparing for another work week. I enjoyed my last bits of Parisian food on the way home - I grabbed a final baguette, a small quiche, and 3 mini macaroons for dinner. It was perfect.
I really enjoyed Paris a lot, and I'm really grateful that I had the opportunity to go. It was a little strange to be there without people I was really close to, though - being in the most romantic city in the world with girlfriends was quite fun, but didn't always feel right, haha. And European travel always reminds me of Rink family European trips that I miss and appreciate so much. I definitely want to go back to France in the future, but I want to speak French when I go! I learned as much of the language as I could while I was there, and I promised myself that I would learn it before going back.
Exploring the Sunday market
Picnic lunch in Luxemberg Gardens with Ann, Katelyn, Nargis, and 2 of our program staff members
Katie and Melissa boarding the river cruise boat
This bridge was covered with padlocks where people wrote their names and wedding dates - so sweet.
Monday
I had my big presentation at work. It went very smoothly. It wasn't for many people, there were oly about 20 at the meeting. But the network head of Europe (who, ironically, is also American) was there, as were people from several departments. And at the end of the meeting, I found out that I was nominated for "European of the Month", someone who is recognized from that group. I didn't win (the guy who did was doing 10 weeks placement at BBDO Germany), but it was nice to be recognized! The meeting rocked because there was chocolate amaretto mousse. After work, I got to skype with the rents, and then I went for a run.
Tuesday
After a normal day at work, I met up with Nargis and Katelyn to see the movie Inception on Britain's largest screen. It was really good. And intense. Lots of gun shots. But it was really well done. Then I rushed off to Soho to meet up with Katie and Emmalilly for an NDP reunion. Unfortunately, we couldn't find Emmalilly, but Katie and I had a nice time grabbing a drink (and dinner for me) and talking about life, feminism, friends, home, and leaving London :(
