Paris, France (Fall 2006)

I meant to write about my recent trip to Europe for awhile now. I'm afraid that if I don't put down my thoughts soon, the so-called recent trip would become very vague soon. My friend Ludo, who I stayed with in Paris, has also made a comment about not seeing my writing here. Thus, I am churning out at least 1/3 of the travel journal here now.

Paris is always an exciting city to visit, no doubt. This is my second visit to Paris; my first visit was 13 years ago when I was in my teens. My trip to Paris this time is totally different from the past: 1) I am traveling alone. 2) I am staying with a local. (yes, my friend is French.) 3) I have $ to spend on myself!

*MORE DETAILS TO COME...........

10 Things I remember Paris the most:

1. Subway Line14 is newest/fastest subway line in Paris.
2. Frog Brew in Bercy sells pina colada that tastes like sour milk.
3. First Sunday of every month can save you tons of money if you are a museum-goer.
4. When shopping for fabric in Paris, you got to know the unspoken rules. (I still didn't figure out how the entire thing works.)
5. Lyon Mussels & Frits is great! They use Le Creuset to server you your food, and don't forget about unlimited fries.
6. Berthillon has the best ice cream in the world! 5-start for their wild strawberry ice cream.
7. Cashier at Louvre can give you a hard time when you try to get rid of Euro coins.
8. People who work in the post office near Bel Air are very friendly. They found the cutest baby lamb stamps for my postcards.
9. Giverny, Vernon is one of the most beautiful towns I have ever been so far. Monet loved it, and me too.
10. Getting VAT in CDG is impossible. The AMEX counter has lazy clerks who purposely delay the refund process to make people late for their flight.