Bonjour!

Today was the second day exploring Paris :) It was especially my favorite day because Austin came to visit me today. Erin and I woke up around 7:30am and went for a little run before going to the metro station to wait for Austin to come off the metro. It was a little nervewracking...okay it was VERY nervewracking because there was no possible way to get a hold of Austin after he started his journey on the metro to the school. So, we just sat and waited for about an hour and a half and hoped that he would eventually come around the corner. As soon as he got here, he dropped off his bags and Erin, Austin, and I headed back to the metro to go to Paris. We decided to get off at a different stop than before in order to check out a completely different part of Paris we had not seen. We ended up in a completely non-touristy section in Little Italy (or what seemed to be Little Italy). It was so cool! There was not one toursit in sight and just the usual Parisians going about their days. We were starving so we went straight to the first restaurant we thought looked cool and authentic. The waiter spoke very little English and the menu was completely in French, so I had to order for Austin and Erin since I knew the most French out of us. It was funny though because I could not understand most of the menu either so we all basically ordered blindly and picked something random whatever it may be. I ended up getting a type of thin meat called "cappacio" with parmesan cheese and olive oil on top. It was delicious and like nothing I had ever had before. I ordered for Austin and he just wanted anything with meat so I ordered him the first thing on the menu I could find that said "viande" which means meat in French. He ended up getting what seemed like a fresh, thick cut of roast beef. His was really good too. Erin ended up having a ham and cheese sandiwch with a fried egg. It was fun not knowing what we were going to get. One thing we did know we would end up enjoying for sure was the Red Bourdeaux wine. It was sooooo amazing! I felt so Parisian sitting on a corner cafe outside in Little Italy sipping on red wine. :) It was a great start to the day.

Then, we headed to the Eiffel Tower (which was a LOT further away than we anticipated!) It was a fun walk though because we saw a bunch of pretty historic buildings like the Hotel Invalides and this cool bridge that had locks all over it with personalizations. I hope I get to leave a lock on that bridge too before I leave. :) We finally got to the Eiffel Tower after walking through so many adorable side streets and, of course, stopping at a chocolatier and each getting one little piece of chocolate. I had a milk chocolate with an orange filling. Yum! We then hung out at the Eiffel Tower and took tons of pictures of us in front of it. Soon enough, it was dinner time and we decided to walk toward the Champs d'Elysees to see what restaurants were over there. We ended up at "Le Grand Corona". It was absolutely delicious and the wine was to die for. It was another red wine and was the perfect amount of hot and dry and sweet and everything. Austin ordered an entire bottle for our table so we felt special and definitely looked like we fit right in sipping wine outside in Paris (It was entertaining to watch the crazy French drivers as we ate too.) For dinner, we decided to get a little crazy and Austin ordered us an appetizer of escargot...but not only was it escargot, it was Wild Escargot! So classy. Surprisingly we all ate it, I was definitely hesitant at first but I ended up really liking it so I was so proud of myself for finally man-ing up and trying it. It tasted a lot like pesto and the texture was not slimy at all like I had thought it would be. After our triumph with the escargot, and as we continued to sip our wine, our food came. I got ravioli with zucchini and "sea soup" which ended up being the most delicious crab in this brothy deliciousness. It was an amazing day overall. After dinner we headed to the Arc de Triomphe to check it out before hitting the metro and took lots of pictures!

Then, we headed to the metro. After three hours of connecting trains, hour delays for a train we were waiting for and that particular train breaking down after we finally got on it and having to take a bus thirty more minutes back to the school, we finally made it home. :) It was okay because Autsin was with us so we knew we were safe no matter what. It was another great adventure in Paris and I cannot wait to do it again!! I always find someting new every time I turn a corner and something beautiful to take a picture of!

And..tomorrow, classes start so I cannot wait to see how that goes!! I will talk all about classes tomorrow :)

Au Revoir!!

Tori