saturday may 12.
a lot of this walk was really blah, our book actually says the 16th is the most sleepy arrondissement and its true! there were hardly any people walking around and no good places to eat. halfway through we found a mall and stopped for lunch. at this point I did not want to keep going but I am so glad we did because the end of the walk was absolutely fantastic.
if this looks familar, but you don't know why, listening to this song may help:
I was so excited to see the mini Statue of Liberty. I thought it was supposed to be 1/4 size of the original but it seemed much smaller. National Treasure makes it look huge (go to 1:40). Nevertheless it was a nice patriotic moment for me :)
Next we walked past the Castel Beranger, an art nouveau style apartment building designed by architect Hector Guimard. This building made him famous-he later went on to design the iconic parisian metro entrances.
Next we went to the Marmottan Museum which is a beautiful house full of Monet paintings. So of course I absolutely loved it. They also had a Berthe Morisot exhibit which I enjoyed, it was very calming and peaceful. Oh how I would have loved to be her and paint alongside Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet...the list goes on. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the museum unfortunately but it is high on my recommendation list. Afterwards we wondered through the Bois de Boulogne, another one of my favorite places in Paris. There are several lakes, gardens, parks, and of course trees (bois means woods) all around and you can ride bikes or horses, rent canoes, or just go for a walk. You can see the Eiffel tower from the lake, yet it feels so detached from the city because its just so peaceful. Side note-I have had several people warn me not to go there at night, so be careful-but during the day its great! Canoes are $10 an hour and bikes are $8 for 2 hours.
they totally knew I was camera stalking them
That night we met up with some more friends and had dinner at a fancy little cafe. I wanted to be adventurous but was too afraid to try escargot, so I got grilled duck instead-it was incredible! Best meal I've had in Paris by far. It was fun to stay and chat for a couple hours like the French do at mealtimes. We were there long enough that I was able to enjoy a chocolate cake for dessert without feeling like I was bursting at the seams- that has never happened in the US, I usually just laugh when asked if I'd like to order a dessert. (Tip: rushing through your meals or eating while you are walking are huge faux-pas in France. If you do this, not only are you telling everyone that you are an American but you are also telling them that you could care less about their culture. Here mealtimes are practically sacred.)
grilled duck-I will never look at a duck the same.
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