Je t'aime Paris

I fried my straightener our very first night in Europe. Boo. That's what I get for not using all the adapter/converter components. This is probably not relevant to  you, but it explains my hair throughout these and future photos. :-)

Have no fear, I have replaced my older CHI with a new one thanks to Zach and his hairdresser friend Les! I am amazed that they cost the exact same as they did 6 years ago when I got my first one.

On to the good stuff. On July 18, Zach and I took a morning train from Angers to Versailles-- the palace of French Royalty(back in the day, of course). You may have seen it in the movie Marie Antoinette.

We stopped to eat lunch in a little park area in front of Versailles. Baguettes avec thon e tomate for myself(tuna sandwich) and chicken salad for zacharoo. I did start to remember some French during our brief stint in France... enough to get around and make a little conversation. I wish I was as fluent as my friend Katie though!

I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite pics of Zach and I, one of many self-took portraits. This is the gate in front of Versailles!

Gorgeous chandelier in the Hall of Mirrors.

DAMASK! Versailles has many rooms. After wandering around the chateau for a few hours, I think I can say 90% of the rooms had damask wallpaper in some color or another. Pretty cool huh! I took photos of each room, but you get the picture. :-)

This is a new definition of "marble floors"... it looks exactly like marbled meat!

The chapel in Versailles. Isn't it incredible??

This is a random hallway and stairs but the marble was gorgeous.

Garden view from inside the Queens bedroom.

Hall of Mirrors again!

After exploring the Chateau at Versailles, but unfortunately bypassing the gardens, we boarded another train to PARIS! I have to say that I really do love France. It has a special place in my heart. I never really thought I'd ever be back to Paris, though. I remember during my study abroad time in Paris as a single girl, I wished I could return to the City of Lights with the [future]love of my life. But it was just a dream.

Surprise! I *did* go again, and I went with my love Zach. Of course, we had to see Le Tour Eiffel. She was waiting!

I have no words. :-)

Later we met up with my friend Claire for dinner. We originally met in Angers and became closer when she studied at A&M. To my delight, she suggested a place I didn't think we'd get to go because it was far from her apartment. MONTMARTE! Anddd! During Zach's 4 trips to Paris, he'd never gotten to see it! Montmarte is an area in North Paris where Bohemian artists congregated at one time to live. It's near Moulin Rouge, the famous cabaret and directly behind the Basilica of Sacre Couer(Sacred Heart). Above is a photo of Le Chat Noir I believe... if you know me, you know I have an identical poster framed on my wall.

Here's Claire with us as we climbed the many stairs up to Sacre Coeur. 

The hike is definitely worth it. Check out the view of Paris from the top!

At Sacre Coeur, people like to sit on the steps and people watch. Tres French, you know. This guy had mad basketball skillz. 

Sacre Coeur is gorgeous at night too. This is instance #1 of many that I wished I had a tripod. Also, I should have brought a shorter lens... or maybe even a fish-eye. Keep that in mind guys! I think I used my longer lens about 3 times this trip, and wished for a fish-eye multiple times.

Claire had never had escargot! Snails if you were wondering. :-) We went to dinner in Montmarte at a touristy creperie with not-French crepes, but the atmosphere was so great. We went with her sister, Marie and Marie's boyfriend. 

Claire was brave and tried snails for the first time. It's good stuff, I'm telling you!

Here we are at our wonderful dinner!

This is our spastic waiter. He had so much personality. :-) 

We headed home late to Claire's apartment she shared with Marie and Marie's boyfriend near this monument remembering the storming of the Bastille. I was so impressed with how her apartment unfolded out into living space! It was kind of like a Polly Pocket house with Ikea decorating. I loved it!

This concludes our time in France. I know you Francophiles are sad, but there's lots more European gallivanting to come so stay tuned!