My favorite part of Paris? Probably the mashed potatoes.

What a day in Paris. And it was just that, only a day but I fell in love with the place as if I had been living there a life time. Everything about the city is beautiful.

A little view on the train ride over to Paris

After a train ride into Paris from our airport hotel we started our adventure at Notre Dame. (As much as I searched and searched for Quasimodo, he could not be found. I did however see some of Esmeralda's gypsy friends... )

Me outside of Notre Dame

And then my mom posing by one of the statues in Notre Dame

After walking throughout Notre Dame, we went for one of those hop on hop off bus tours where you go around the city and well, can "hop on and off" where ever you want for how ever long you want. We went on to the hop on/off bus and then stopped at the Champs Elysees (which is right next to the Arc de Triomph).

Now lets be real for a second and say that if ANYONE knows my mother, they would know we were not leaving Paris without doing a bit of shopping there.  We were actually pretty good and did more window shopping and people watching then anything else.

Saw these characters sitting outside our restaurant. 

Anyways, after eating a lunch that was pretty disappointing for being French food in France, we went to use the restaurant's restroom.

As I waited outside the bathroom for my mom, I watched from an upstairs window as people passed by on the street. To my surprise, the waiter who had been serving us stopped as he was running up the stairs to ask if I needed help with something. I answered no but thank you. And then he just kind of stands there looking at me, with this sheepish look on his face and just as I am about to ask if he needs something... he says to me, "You are so beautiful!"

I tell him thank you but then he pauses a second time and I give him a confused look.

Finally he blurts out "I want to kiss you!"

In total shock, I of course told him no but the incident was so curious! He seemed completely content just to have tried, like this was normal behavior.

** On this matter I have to make a short side note: Paris was filled with couples! I understood completely why it was called the city of love. Because not only were there couples everywhere you looked but all the couples seemed so IN LOVE! As if they were the only two in the world. It made me so happy to see all of them. **

After taking pictures at the Arc de Triumph, we hopped on the bus again and then hopped off at the Eiffel Tower.

While yes, the Eiffel Tower was really beautiful, I think the most interesting thing to me there was something that happened below the tower.

Out of no where a pack of young men comes charging towards the direction my mom and I were walking. As they got closer, the group seemed to grow. They shout to each other and motion frantically.

If I did not know any better, I would have thought they all had just robbed a bank.

But I did know better. Or at least I knew enough to be able to figure out what was going on as it was happening.

There are street vendors all throughout Paris, but it seems like there's a larger than usual concentration of them under and surrounding the Eiffel Tower. They sell everything from miniature Eiffel Tower key chains to toy dogs that do back flips.

In obvious response, the police routinely come to kick them out.

I had just witnessed a well practiced evasion maneuver.

Yeah I would run fast from these guys too. We saw these police ALL over Paris....

I'm going to fast forward a bit because this is turning into a very long first post
But we ended up finding the bridge with all the lover's locks.

I really couldn't believe it because I honestly had never even realized that bridge was in France.

Fast forward a bit more and after getting somewhat lost, my mom and I ate dinner at La Petite Perigourdine....

 

It's a french restaurant that had been recommended to us by a native French girl on the street.

I think it should also be mentioned that this native Parisian told us the French rarely eat French food. According to her French people prefer sushi.

Nonetheless, this was an amazing meal. Definitely the meal we had been waiting for from France.





What we had not been expecting were exceptional mashed potatoes.

I have to explain that these were no ordinary mashed potatoes. They were probably 60% cheese, 20% butter and then maybe 20% actual potatoes.

We went crazy over this magical combination-- which is where the title of this post comes from.

My mom and I joked that if someone were to ask her what her favorite part of Paris was, she would respond that it was not the Eiffel Tower, or the River Seine, or any other beautiful landmark but the mashed potatoes. I have no doubt if someone asks her this question when she gets back home, she would answer in all seriousness that her favorite part was the mashed potatoes at La Petite Perigourdine.

To finish up our time in Paris, we took a night time cruise along the river Seine.

There are few things more beautiful in the world than Paris at midnight. To get an idea of what we saw, I put in a picture from our ride.


Until next time
& to many more adventures!

xx
Gaby