i thought i would make a list of all my favorite places to go/eat at for anyone who might be interested in going, and if anything i KNOW that you all want to know everything that i like (LOL), so here goes.
ST. MALO|| st. malo is a little port city in brittany, which is in northwestern france. it is uh-mazing. there literally are no words to describe how beautiful it is. we visited in early september, and the weather was perfect. the old city is surrounded by walls, and it used to be a merchant town which basically means at one time there were pirates. pirates! also, watch the sun rise over the ocean when you go for me, okay? stay at a hotel inside the walls, find out when sunrise is, and all you have to do is find the closest stairs to the surrounding wall, and literally anywhere will do for the most beautiful view. also, there is a book called all the light we cannot see which is based in st. malo, and i'm not quite done with it yet, but so far it's spectacular.
you can see the blogpost i did on my visit to st. malo here
THE NORMANDY D-DAY BEACHES AND CEMETERY|| visiting this site was an incredible and spiritual experience. being able to have a piece of america in france also meant a great deal to me when being in france was still such a novice and somewhat frightening notion. also, it's ridiculously beautiful, too.
you can see the blogpost i did on my visit to normandy and the d-day beaches here
THE LUXEMBOURG GARDENS|| i love love love the luxembourg gardens. they are in paris (which all the rest of these things are), and they are just so beautiful. i'm a broken record, i know. somehow my friends and i always found our way to these beautiful gardens. it's walking distance from amorino and the best macarons (more on these later), and an outlet for some of the best conversations with the best of friends. if you just want to walk through, you can see old men playing chess, the luxembourg palace, and my very favorite, you can rent a model sailboat for three euro and sail it in the fountain. it was the best three euro we ever spent!
read the blogpost on my day in the gardens here
LE MUSEE D'ORSAY|| this was my favorite museum in paris!!! (well out of the ones that i could get to, there are a million that i still haven't seen) i've spent hours and hours in this museum, but have not even scratched the surface! it's beautiful inside because it used to be an old train station, and it's home to some of the greatest pieces of art in the world. i absolutely hated impressionism when i came to paris, but i left loving it, and most of that is thanks to this museum. degas' ballerinas, van gogh's self portrait, monet's waterlilies (just to name a few). it's a smaller museum, which means it is less crowded, which is always a plus. if you go to paris, you MUST see this museum. (sidenote: the cafe at the top of the museum is spectacular as well. i am still dreaming about the chicken and mushroom pie that i had there!)
THE LOUVRE|| the louvre is a must see. it is stunning on the outside, and it is just overwhelming to think about how many works of art you can see there, but it's definitely worth seeing. when you go in to the museum, you can get a map that shows you all of the really popular things to see, but my favorite things were: madonna of the rocks by da vinci, all of the jaques-louis david paintings (neoclassicism is my favorite type of artwork, and david is THE master), go to the flanders section of the museum and see the room full of ruebens. it's a collection of twenty-something paintings of the life of marie de medici and amazing! i also love the rousseau wing of the museum and the classical sculpture. oh how i love classical sculpture! also, the winged victory is amazing as well as venus de milo. one of my favorite things to do was to sit in the louvre and write in my journal. as a student i got to go in whenever i wanted for free, and you just pick a spot, pop a squat, and hope that no asian tourists take your picture. also, you get to take a selfie with my homegirl, mona.
SACRE COEUR|| sacre coeur is on top of one of the highest hills in paris. anytime you climb to the top of something in paris, you can see the byzantine style basilica. it's so huge it's a little overwhelming. you aren't allowed to take pictures inside, but that adds to part of it's sacredness. if you go to paris, you MUST go to sacre coeur! my favorite part of the basilica is to go to the back and you look up, and i swear you can see heaven. (also you can explore the whole area of montmartre and see the moulin rouge!)
ANGELINA'S|| angelina's is a restaurant/cafe by the tuilaries. it's kind of expensive, but it's also a great thing to try at least once. their hot chocolate is world renowned. it's like drinking straight-up melted chocoloate. i personally liked their white hot chocolate better than the dark, but they are both really good. get it with the brioche!
SAINTE CHAPELLE|| i've seen a ton of churches and castles in my day and NOTHING compares to sainte chapelle. it's unlike anything that you've ever seen. it also has a very interesting history behind it because king louis thought he bought the crown of thorns that Christ once wore, and by doing so he made his people, the people of france, the new chosen people.
NOTRE DAME|| every time i see notre dame, which was a lot because i had class right by it several times a week, i could not believe it. i still can't believe it. it's so beautiful, so ornate, and so omnipotent that it just blows my mind. it is easily one of my top five favorite places in the world. also, climb to the top, it's worth it and one of my favorite views of paris (plus you get to see the gargoyles!!!)
part two coming soon!
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