01 January 2015

FRANCE FAVORITES// PART TWO

HULLO. HERE IS PART TWO.

HOTEL DE VILLE|| hotel de ville is one of my favorite places in paris. i love sitting in front of it, by the fountains, or on the chairs. it was always our meeting point when we needed to meet up in paris. also look at it. it's massive.


OPERA GARNIER|| the opera garnier is stunning. it almost (just almost) topped the hall of mirrors at versailles, but not quite. but it's that beautiful. also, it's where phantom of the opera is, which is coolio. the theater is amazing. it's exactly what you see in the movie, but it's real life so it's stunning. we just paid for entry, and toured the opera ourselves. i really liked being able to wander around and spend our time inside.


SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY|| this bookstore is like a bridge in between the latin quarter and notre dame. it's a bookstore that you can spend hours in, and each time you go back, you find something new. i once went five days in row, but spent so much money there that i had to start limiting myself to twice a week. haha. book lovers and non book lovers love this place.



CHATEAU DE VINCENNES|| chateau de vincennes was one of the last castles that we visited, and by this point you love castles but when you can't live in them you maybe get a bit tired of them. but this castle. i loved it! it has a moat, and they had a dragon! it was so cool! i also loved the chapel here. it's definitely worth a visit to see a real medieval castle, plus you can get there by riding the metro, which is super nice. 



LATIN QUARTER|| everything good is in the latin quarter. the architecture in amazing, you can see la sorbonne and it has the best food. wander around the latin quarter, and just feel the vibe of this part of paris. it's one of the oldest parts of paris, but it's definitely one of my favorite areas. i spent most of my time here. 


AMORINO GELATO|| this is THE best place. it has the best variety of gelato, and their gelato is pretty darn good. i always would get inimatable (super creamy nutella gelato with chocolate chunks in it), pistachio, and speculos. BEST COMBO. they also put the gelato in a shape of a flower in the cone for you, and also they're everywhere. gelato is always a good idea. 



KASHMIR HOUSE|| this is the best indian food restaurant. we went here so many times, the waiters started recognizing us. they are super nice, it's a smaller restaurant, and they speak better english than french. i always got the butter chicken, but tried almost all of the other chickens that they had and they were all really good. also the garlic and cheese naan is to die for. it's off the metro exit poissoniere. also, there is a grocery store right across from it, and when we would go in big groups, we would always get there a bit before it opened (6:45) so we would hit up the grocery store and stock up on candy, of course. 


CAFE MODERNE|| this is a meatball restaurant. i hate meatballs. but this place is great. you choose the type of meatball you want (veggie, fish, chicken, classic, etc.), your sauce, and then what you want it served on (noodles, potatoes, veggies, etc.). their customer service is fantastic, they always keep the water coming (which is usually a problem in france), and the food is soooo good!

BAKERY ON THE CORNER OF MALESHERBES AND RUE JEOFFREY|| this bakery was on our way home from the metro, and it had THE BEST baguette in all of paris. i know, i had a lot of baguettes. also, they're one euro (well, most are...).



ARC DE TRIOMPHE|| the arc de triumphe is amazing. it's so beautiful, huge and the view on top is so great. you get the most beautiful view of the champs élysée, and i could have spent hours and hours up there. 



CATACOMBS|| the paris catacombs are soooo cool (maybe i should have used a thesaurus because i've only used like three words to describe everything, ha). they're creepy, but also you feel kind of respectful because it is a burial ground. i suggest you don't go during a school holiday unless you want to wait in line for two and a half hours like we did, but it was still really neat. it's a whole bunch of bones!



EIFFEL TOWER|| i mean, of course, you have to visit the eiffel tower when you're in paris. i cried the first time i saw it because it was the eiffel tower! when you climb the tower, take the stairs! it's worth it. you take the stairs to the first and second floors, and when you get to the second floor, you buy a ticket to the top from a little machine. you can only take the elevator to the top. also, you MUST see the eiffel tower sparkle. it started sparkling at nine in the warmer months, and i think six in the winter. it sparkles for five minutes every hour on the hour all night. it's incredible. i was so lucky to be able to see her almost every day, and i will not and cannot ever get over the eiffel tower. 


and that's it! my list could go on and on and on, but here some things that you must see when you go to paris!


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