We'll Always Have Paris

Ok, so maybe this happened a couple weeks ago...but Paris is too big and important to be forgotten. After all, we'll always have Paris, right?

Here is the view from Pont Des Arts, where lovers put locks on the bridge and throw the key into the Seine as a token of their undying love for each other. And then, every couple of months, the police come and cut them off. Clearly too many people are in love in Paris.

On our first night in Paris, a bunch of us bought two bottles of wine and rode the metro to this very spot. Apparently in the summer that's what everyone does, and they sit out on the bridge drinking wine and being french. However, when we did this there was only a sketchy group of men clumped together smoking cigarettes and drinking beer. To be fair, it was a cold winter's night. We hadn't thought to buy a bottle opener, so one of us used a marker to pop in the cork. Success! We were officially french.

The next three are views from outside the Louvre. If you look closely, there is a seagull sitting atop the rider's head.

Below is the Arc de Triomphe with Laura. It was that enjoyable, even in the freezing cold.

How romantic: a couple walking through a park, the ferriswheel in the background, birds flying overhead... can't you just feel the love? Only in Paris.

Eiffel Tower. Believe it. As viewed from the bottom on a cold misty night. This was taken just after our failed cruise on the Seine. A cruise isn't that great when its raining and you are stuck inside and can't see anything because of the fog. However, post-cruise was really fun. Laura and I stopped to buy chocolate crépes, got separated from the group, and continued walking only to realize we were hopelessly lost. Just then we ran into Brent, Rosh and Katie, and discovered we were standing outside the metro station. Our gratitude was immense.

Pressure points (inside the Louvre).

This is Antonio Canova's statue of 'Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss', as seen from within the Louvre. It was pretty much my favourite thing in the entire museum. 

Notre Dame de Paris, trans: Our Lady of Paris. She's a beaut, oui?

Our tour guide told us that during the French Revolution, the people cut off all of the heads of the bottom statues because they believed them to be past kings of France. These heads were saved by a school teacher who somehow found them and buried them in his backyard. The heads were eventually found and replaced (post-revolution). However, one man is still without a head. He is St. Denis, the first bishop of Paris. The pagans had him be-headed for converting people to Christianity, therefore he is always depicted holding his own head.

 Street art around Montmartre. He looks so french!

 How interesting, some english graffiti. Too bad it's so depressing...

So there we go, Paris in twelve pictures. Unfortunately I was sick the entire time with a cold and the weather was miserable, so it wasn't the best impression. If you ever go to Paris, go in Spring. Apparently that's prime love-season. And everyone boobs (i didn't write the b-word, it was Matt the bartender. I'm writing this in the pub and he asked to write one word...go figure). And everyone knows that you go to Paris either to fall in love, or because you're already in love. Otherwise, colours turn grey and treasures erode before you.