I met my parents for breakfast at their hotel and we headed out to walk to the Eiffel Tower. As we were walking there, we noticed that three people found these rings on the street. My Mom thought it might have been a parade so we kept looking for them. All of a sudden, a man right by us found a ring and showed it to us asking if it was ours. We explained to him that we saw other people who found rings as well and that he was lucky. He said we could have it for good luck and gave it to my Dad. Right after, he said he was hungry and wanted some money...how stupid are we?! Of course it was a scam. My dad felt bad, so he took out his wallet and everything falls on the ground. I scurry to pick up al the money before this guy steals it all. He said he wouldn't rob us and just wanted some money for a sandwich. My Dad wanted to give him 10 euro but I said no way. We ended up giving him 2.70 euro and my Dad purchased his only souvenir of Paris....
We finally got to the Eiffel Tower and had to wait about 30 minutes for tickets. We climbed all the way up to the 2nd floor and then took the lift up to the top. It was a beautiful view! The last time I climbed, the top was closed so it was so nice to finally get up there. We all had a good time.
After getting down from the tower, we stopped to get crepes for lunch and sit on a bench right in front of the tower. What a view. We've been having wonderful weather as well. Barely even need a jacket! It's great!
We walked over to the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Élysées. We stopped at LaDuree and got some macaroons! We also stopped at Monoprix to buy a few things for happy hour. We got back to the hotel and ate the macaroons and had some wine. Then we found a cute little Italian resturant called Gambino's. It was delicious and so crowded for a Monday night. My Dad had linguini incre (ink) with scallops, Mom had pasta with pesto and mushrooms and I just had pasta with tomatoes and basil. It was all great. Dad got a picture outside since his uncle is a Gambino!
Tuesday, my parents went missing. Well not exactly. Our plan was to meet at 12:45pm at the Musee d'Orsay. When I got there, the line was long. I decided to wait outside, figuring they'd come check the exit if they didn't find me inside. An hour goes by, so I decided to get into the line since it died down. I got in a bit after 1 and couldn't find them anywhere. I felt bad, but had to run to go teach at the school. I was a bit upset, but it was my fault for not making more specific plans.
Teaching at the school went well like always. The kids are great. After that, I came back to the hotel and my parents still weren't here. Oops. They did come back about 15 minutes later! I found out that they weren't allowed to come out of the exit :(
We had a little happy hour and headed off to my host family's house for dinner! I had to bring my big suitcase over there since my other one ripped on the way here. As I am walking them through my neighborhood, I tell both of them that this one baker in the bakery loves me. He is always so smiley. With this, my dad looks in the window and starts waving! Does he not understand that you aren't supposed to even make eye contact, let alone WAVE!? Oh boy...
My host family was so excited to meet my parents! It was such a nice night. My host Dad gave my parents a tour of the house and luckily speaks English very well. My host Mom tried to speak English a few times, but would mainly tell me something in French to tell my parents. My Mom practiced a French line to tell my host Mom "thank you" for taking care of me. It was so cute. She made a delicious meal. We first had an Italian salad since she studied Art History in Florence. We had green beans, mini potatoes called "Rattes" in French, and beef, like london broil. Everything was delicious! My host Dad kept pouring wine from my host Mom's brother's vineyard. It was really good wine, as well! After the dinner, 5 different cheeses came out for dessert. And still more to come...a fruit salad. It was such a nice night. I had to go upstairs to pack a few things for my parents to bring back to the states, and when I came back down my host Mom was making us Infusion. It was already getting late! We didn't get home until 11:45pm.
Today was a very sophisticated day. It started off with a trip to Versailles. The line was really long to get into the chateau, so we started with the gardens. It was breathtaking. I couldn't believe how much property was there. We walked through the gardens and then had lunch on the lawn :) Nice picnic!
Then, we went back into the chateau. The line was super short and we walked right in. It was magnificent! I could never go in the summer, though. It was so crowded in there and the tour groups were very annoying...It was also very very hot inside the chateau. We were dying. We probably stayed there about 4-5 hours in total. It was enough for us and a wonderful day.
When we got back to Paris, we went to Angelina's. My Mom and I ordered the hot chocolate, of course, and my Dad ordered a glass of wine. When my Mom let my Dad try the hot chocolate, he traded with her! That was the first time in HISTORY that my Father gave up his wine! We all enjoyed it! I finally brought back a Mont Blanc as well. This is Angelina's speciality. It is a meringue and a chestnut paste. Not really sure what else. It was pretty good. I didn't eat the bottom since it tasted like pure sugar...
We stopped at Franprix and another outdoor market. My Mom bought a really nice silk scarf! We headed back to the hotel to have some snacks. And we had big plans for the night: A ballet at the Opera Garnier! Now here's a story for you...
We get to our seats on the first floor. It was kind of hard to see, but we worked it out. The ballet was "Dances at a Gathering" by Jerome Robbins. It was very classical. It is amazing how wonderful these people can dance. I get so jealous! They bowed for about 20 minutes, and then it was time to leave! My mom was wondering the lady behind us didn't take her coat, but I knew her friend was upstairs so she probably just went to get her. We start walking out of the Opera and the lady at the exit asked me if I was coming back. I didn't know what she meant, so I just said "Oh, No." She said that the second part was better than the first. What second part!? We didn't even know there was a second part. Well, back to our seats now. "You can bring the culture to the people but you can't bring the people to the culture." That's US! So now, for the second act; This was called "Apartment." Each scene took place in a different room of the apartment. To be honest, I had NO idea what was going on. Everyone kept dropping dead and they popped a dead baby out of the oven. This was a more modern dance with more up beat music. Both the dancing and music were great! Just the story was a bit insane....
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