Paris #1 Paris, baby

I didn't realize how much I had actually missed writing these entries. I have longed for it, and I have also longed for a hiatus from thesis writing and Denmark. So I decided on a trip to Paris because I really want to see the city and I very much needed to go see a friend too.

Besides a morning full of excitement, expectation and fluffy feeling of bubbly happiness, the flights were without incidents and rather short. I didn't have a long layover in Amsterdam, and it was actually long enough to get to the new gate without engaging in an Olympic discipline of gate-running, while still being short enough to not wait too long.

 

The real trick came in Charles de Gaulle, an airport I've never been to before. I came down in terminal 2F, and I followed the signs to baggage claim. I waited 20 minutes while bitching about the forever-long wait, and the baggage track number still didn't show on the bloody screen.That's when I decided to take a stroll down the tracks, and there was my suitcase. I picked it up and left.

Finding Cécile was easy, she was right outside. Fending off a couple of taxi drivers we made our way into Paris, accompanied by a couple of Danish people talking loudly. The funny thing was when Cécile asked what language they were speaking and I giggling told Danish.

The first impression that hit me when I really entered Paris was New York. There was this smell when I entered the subway platform that reminds me of New York. However, Paris is nothing like New York.
Walking back to Cécile's place we walked through this lovely street full of fruits and legumes (vegetables) which was so romantic and so strange.

It's become apparent to me that while I have traveled a lot, I travel with the mindset of the country I live in, which means I didn't fail to be surprised when I saw a KFC and several other, bigger stories.
Everything is just bigger than Denmark.
After having dropped my things off we went shopping. After having dropped groceries off, we ventured onto Avenue des Champs-Élysées and I was yet again awestruck by the many different expensive stores. The Disney store is saved for another day.

After walking there we turned onto a street with exclusive shops. Spotting something golden in the horizon we aimed for that. However, that lead us next to the Seine and consequently the bridges. From here I could spot the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Grand Palais and much more.
We walked from that bridge to Pont Neuf, and from there to the subway.

 

The weather has been rainy and along the way we both managed to get soggy socks and wet feet. We've been eating dinner and right now the table is filled with cookies and crème brûlée chocolate.
Tomorrow we're planning for a tea shop and the Jungle Book in the afternoon. What other plans we have are still unknown.

Also, I got Cécile tea and a LEGO key chain because it doesn't really get more Danish than that. I got myself a gingerbread man and Yoda for keychains.