My last week in Paris was by far my best week in Paris. It was exciting, yet hard thinking "this is the last time..." for everything that I did. I knew I had to take advantage of the short time I had left. It is hard to believe that five weeks have already flown by. I was having so much fun learning and exploring, that I did not have time to be sad or upset. Yes, I left home kicking and screaming, but once I arrived in Paris, I knew this would be the experience of a lifetime.
Wednesday was our last day of class and our final exam, and we were all very anxious to spend our last day in Paris the right way. To us, of course, spending our last day the right way meant stuffing our faces with food from French restaurants. We had lunch at the coolest, hippest place I have ever been to in my life- Le Water Bar Colette. I am not sure if it was because Couture Fashion Week was happening in Paris, but everyone at Colette was beautiful and beautifully dressed. I have really never seen or experienced anything like it. I'm sure the food was great, but I don't remember eating because I was too busy people watching. Typical!
Surprisingly, we made it to O Chateau in time for our amazing wine tasting and dinner. I am so glad that my mom got to experience this! We met the people who did the tasting with us and enjoyed a champagne, three different wines, and a three course meal. This was probably the highlight of our time together, and a perfect last night in Paris.
Monday was our last day with Cara's family before they went back to Tennessee. Cara, her mom and I had a nice time walking from their hotel to Champs Élysées area to do a little shopping and site seeing along the way. After parting ways with them, I walked a few more miles around the Concord area in search of something to pick up for lunch. I found the quinoa salad that I had been craving, and went back to the dorm to get some things done. Later Monday night, we were invited back to the family from Memphis' Parisian home for appetizers and happy hour. They invited a few other friends over, so we all sat, ate, drank and talked for a few hours. The food was lovely, yet again... and there were even more desserts from Gerard Mulot!
After class presentations on Tuesday morning, we had a farewell lunch provided by the school at ESCP. We spent the rest of our afternoon exploring and walking around Paris, trying to find gifts for our trip liaisons. This (exploring) has come to be one of our favorite things to do, as there is always something new to see and something new to learn. I could be in Paris for a year and still not see and do everything. Oh well, looks like I will just have to come back to Paris sometime soon!
Wednesday was our last day of class and our final exam, and we were all very anxious to spend our last day in Paris the right way. To us, of course, spending our last day the right way meant stuffing our faces with food from French restaurants. We had lunch at the coolest, hippest place I have ever been to in my life- Le Water Bar Colette. I am not sure if it was because Couture Fashion Week was happening in Paris, but everyone at Colette was beautiful and beautifully dressed. I have really never seen or experienced anything like it. I'm sure the food was great, but I don't remember eating because I was too busy people watching. Typical!
Thursday was the most exciting day because my mom finally arrived in Paris! After checking into the Grand Hotel Saint Michel (cutest boutique hotel ever, we were very happy), we ate and shopped and ate some more. Lunch was at Le Village, snacks at Ladurée, dinner at L'Avenue and dessert at a cafe near the Eiffel Tower. Friday morning my mom and I met Cara for breakfast at bread & roses (clearly we liked it enough to go back a second time) before she left for the airport. After saying goodbye, I took my mom to Le Bon Marché and La Grande Epicerie, where we picked up some cherries to eat in the park. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Saint Germain and Saint Michel, and even went to visit Notre Dame. After being in Paris for five weeks, it was fun showing off the city as if it was "my city." Since I am so Parisian now.
On the way back to the hotel we picked up a bottle of wine from a wine shop, and cheese, olives and nuts from the local grocery store. After a full day of walking, it was nice to relax and have happy hour in bed. Dinner was at Le Georges (the restaurant on top of the Pompidou Centre) because I wanted to take my mom to a restaurant with a view. We sat next to a sweet Australian couple and ended up talking their ears off for the next four hours...oops.
We woke up early Saturday morning to explore the flea market at Porte de Clignancourt, also known as the Les Puces de Saint-Ouen. The market is known for their antiques, but also has clothes and food as well. We spent a few hours wandering around, shopping for a few souvenirs, and taking it all in. We headed back into the city to have a snack at Le Water Bar Colette so that mom could see how cool this place was. After chowing down on a veggie platter and bruschetta, we did more city exploring. We did a terrible job at managing our time, and before we knew it we had to rush back to the hotel to get ready for our wine tasting dinner.
Surprisingly, we made it to O Chateau in time for our amazing wine tasting and dinner. I am so glad that my mom got to experience this! We met the people who did the tasting with us and enjoyed a champagne, three different wines, and a three course meal. This was probably the highlight of our time together, and a perfect last night in Paris.
Sunday morning we had a little picnic in Luxembourg Gardens for one last hoorah. We then had to say goodbye to Paris and head to the airport for our flight to Manchester! It was sad leaving such an amazing place, but I will always look back on this experience and remember what a phenomenal summer I had.
Au revoir Paris!
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