Sunday, March 1, 2009

Spontaneous Paris

When Tracey and I re-united with our other halves, Maria and Tash, a plan was hatched for the four of us to do a weekend getaway together, but our hopes of it happening soon dwindled as we compared schedules. But we realized it was only Friday of the weekend and we had no plans for Saturday, so online we went to book our hotel and the next morning we were off to Paris! We were on the biggest high from our spontaneity and the weekend really could not have been any more perfect. We left Amsterdam rain and headed toward the French sunshine, so warm that we were able to put the top down in Tash's sleek Audi (4 girls in a high-end convertible, total guy magnet) as we navigated our way through the Parisian streets. The hotel we booked was a real score, right in the heart of the Latin Quarter and very quaint; small but classy, just like us! Our first order of business after settling in, a brasserie for some French fromage and coffee. After we were well satiated we continued to wander through the cobble stone streets of the Latin Quarter, down to the Seine and over to the Louvre. All the sites were closed by the time we got out and about, but we were quite happy to just take in the Parisian vibe and stroll about. After our dinner we went to another brassiere – Le Buci – and had the most delicious chocolate mousse ever. I hadn’t been much of a fan up until then, but anytime I see mousse on a menu I will be sure to be saving room. The next morning we woke early, eager to soak up as much of Paris as we could before leaving later that day, but sadly Paris wasn’t as interested in us and almost everything was closed! Luckily the brassiere from the previous day’s fromage stop was opened so we went and had a traditional French breakfast of baguettes, croissants, butter, jam, and coffee. Afterwards we headed on to visit Notre Dame cathedral, a very remarkable and impressive church. As it was Sunday there was a mass being celebrated, which was really a treat to see. Before leaving our fair Pari(s), we stopped for lunch at yet another brassiere in our adopted neighborhood. I decided to go authentic and had the cheeseburger with FRENCH fries, topped off with a tasty crème brulee, which was still flaming when brought to the table. The car ride back was just as fun as the one there – lots of laughing and general silliness – it was a perfect end to an incredible weekend with some very good friends.

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