Notre Dame

started at hôtel de ville, then walked to Notre Dame

Exploring

le graffiti always amazes me.
here we are in the 10th

Macaron Class

papy bio and me!

Madeleines

they make the best madeleines, but I think that I forgot to get a picture
of the famous treats at blé sucré! Oh well, I guess I will have to just return.
Again. And again.
I love to eat a treat or two in this parc right across from the bakery.
so do the pigeons.

Out with A Friend: Katie

emerging from the métro for a spot of tea at
Mariage Frères

Montmartre Adventure

 You so rarely get a feeling of Paris' size;
all of the small, winding streets and not too tall buildings.
I love to go up to the butte de Montmartre and just take in the size.

Coutume/Random

my orchids, before I killed them.
I have an orange thumb.
Of death.

Metro: Abbesses

from wikipedia:

"Abbesses (French pronunciation: [abɛs], literally Abbesses) is a station on Paris Métro Line 12, in the Montmartre district and the 18th arrondissement. Abbesses is one of the few deep stations of Paris métro, at 36 metres (118 feet)^[1] below ground, as it is located on western side of the butte (hill) of Montmartre. Access to the platforms is usually by elevators, but they can be accessed by decorated stairs."

Fish Pedicure

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Have you made a new year's resolution?

If it happened to be to "try new things",

I highly recommend a fish pedicure!!

I bought it through groupon

(which I normally don't support because 

I do not believe that the business model

benefits smaller enterprises, but 

a) I am in Paris

b) Paris is expensive

c) I am a student

d) with the euro-to-dollar rate, I have no guilt)

ANYWAY,

go try it! It was so fun and

definitely an experience.

I giggled non-stop for the first 30 seconds, 

but after that it was great!

If you do not want to see pictures of feet, don't continue!!

Rest in Peace Buddy

 bye bye rescue kitty, my first friend.

he was over 21 when he passed.

it still hasn't hit me.

it probably will when I go home and don't hear him 

meowwwwl

Out with a friend: Barbie (II)

le bal cafe

my cappuccino

Galeries Lafayette

lunch, metro parmentier

salad!
fresh, local

super decked out!!
I actually kind of hate it there.
TOO STRESSFUL

the famous ceiling

from the balcony/bridge

opera!

such cuties!!
all in their art smocks :)

Angelina

after all of that museum-ing, 

I had to take a little break!!

so I waltzed over to Angelina!
The famous teahouse with hot chocolate :)
website here

such a perfect experience after the fog and cold

a croissant and their famous hot chocolate!

with whipped cream? yesh please

not outstanding, but not bad.
The hot chocolate was good, but then again how could you
mess up cream and chocolate??

In the end it was a little too crowded and tourist-y for me to
make it one of my hot spots.


love,
alexandra

Louvre (encore x 2)

such a beautiful staircase!
yes, it does look like a vagina though

a door for staff only-
everyone could see it through a glass window
 but you couldn't pass into the world behind it.
It reminded me of a story I read about a museum curator in Paris
that was basically begged to take a "disaster" off the louvre's hands-
it had been in the basement in storage.
It ended up being worth as much as $5 million!
Here is the article

another staircase

arches

shadow

an exhibition in progress-
still top secret!!

view from the louvre

my favorite little alcove

another exhibition in process

loving the contrast

the more modern section with native american art and african
and asian art. Not as much as the other wings, but a sizable amount.

please excuse the myspace shot-
have to keep it classy in Paris!
I can't be taking pictures of myself in an obvious fashion!!

a nice little resting area,
a peaceful place in a sometimes stressful museum.

love, alex

Louvre (encore)

on one of the first biting cold winter days of the season.
I am sure that they were happy with their choice of outfits.

Cluny-La Sorbonne

early morning, just a I am about to turn the corner to go to class

I am rarely early, but when I was, I found out that
the doors don't open until about 10 minutes before class.
until then, I just took pictures

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
as always, click on
"read more"
to see more pictures
:)

the advent calendar I decided not to buy
(the box)

can you see me?

the maison du chocolat right by my house
all dolled up

even McDo gets into the swing of things!

what it looked like after I had set it up

I bought eiffel tower keychains as ornaments

I went along with the snowflake from last year
and taped gold and gold-patterned napkins
cut into snowflakes onto my wall in a type of pyramid
that would mimic the tree's angles
(wait, when did I turn into martha stewart?!?)

the tree in the building

my christmas tree

i love my sisters!!
thank you for sending me a care package DG

some pictures from my care package and holiday decorations

sisters!

in case you were wondering what the currency here
looks like (and how I am buying all of this)

these delicious chocolate-covered-candied-hazelnuts
were supposed to be a gift.
heh hehe.
quality checking is a rather consuming job...

I'll be looking out this window, wishing I was with you all!

love (and miss you!),
alex