Pinky in Paris (with Anastasia) - January 2020

DAY 1
 
We went to Paris with our friend whom we'd met a long time ago because our dogs are the same rather rare in Russia breed (whippets). She's very nice and funny!
Our first flight was to Riga, Latvia but we didn't stay there, only wandered about the airport for 4 hours and bought A LOT of local souvenirs, haha... Then we finally were on the way to Paris.
Our hotel was very small but cozy. Though our room was placed right ON the stairs. At first, we walked up to the second floor but didn't find it. We were confused when we noticed a door in the middle of the stairway. It was our room! During the whole trip we were filled with adrenaline trying to get inside it!
Our first day was chill. Our friend forgot her laptop charger and since she went there without getting leave she really needed to buy one. The shop turned out to be very far from us and we decided to make our first day a walk to the needed place. We spent 7 hours on that! Well, we weren't in a hurry and enjoyed the city views as well.
On our way we visited one of the parks of Paris: Jardin des plantes. It was decorated with sea life figures. The garden wasn't colorful in January but there was one blooming tree - we think it was an almond tree. I wonder what this place looks like in summer!
In one of the pictures you can see the embankment of Seine. Its sides are covered with green boxes - little local shops with French books and souvenirs.
Then, feeling tired after the walk to the shop, we went home by underground. The metro in Paris isn't beautiful but maybe I'm just used to gorgeous Moscow stations!
And the best part of the day (at least to me but I think Pinky was excited too!!) was trying crêpes for the first time! We have thin pancakes in Russia which we call блины (blini) but the whole atmosphere of crêpes that you buy in France is magical! Pinky chose pancakes with salted caramel and I was surprised: I love caramel just like she does! We loved the crêpes and visited this café near our hotel almost every day!
It was such a great start of the trip!










DAY 2
 
It was another day when we just went for a long walk.
Right next to our hotel was a wonderful place - Jardin du Luxembourg! It was filled with people, especially joggers. And there were many beautiful monuments! Pinky wanted to take photos with ever monument but here are some of the best pictures! Pinky looks gorgeous in them, as always :)
Then we just walked in the unknown direction to see whatever appears in front of us and got to the Louvre! We had a planned excursion to this museum in a few day so we just enjoyed the pyramids from outside. The line to the Louvre was GIGANTIC and it terrified us a bit. How long will we stay in it when we go there?..
Also, we found a church (I don't know its name) and went inside. It was very quiet there. The atmosphere was so calming!

It's a very short letter but I'm also sending you some pictures without Pinky, I think they'll help you feel the life of Paris!












DAY 3
 
On day 3 of our adventures in Paris we visited the greatest tourist attraction of the city - the Eiffel Tower! Did you know that nobody loved it when it had just been built? In fact, a French writer Guy de Maupassant would have lunch in the tower's restaurant because it was the only place from where you can't see this ugly construction! Although, for me it's not "ugly", it has something beautiful about it.
Unfortunately, it had been raining the whole day... The line to the tower was long but we moved fast. To get to the highest observation deck you need to get inside quite a scary elevator. Pinky didn't like the sound of it... But the view was worth it!
After we enjoyed the sights, we went inside and found ourselves in a shop and a little café! My mom is obsessed with souvenirs so she bought Eiffel Tower shaped pasta and sweets and I forced her NOT to buy an Eiffel Tower shaped toothbrush! I mean, I love souvenirs too but the line was crossed. But then Pinky saw... an Eiffel Tower shaped lollipops! And of course we bought some! :) The lemon one was mine and Pinky's and we loved it a lot!
Then the funny part happened. We were in the elevator again going down from the tower when the man who is responsible for the lift's work began talking about how amazing the lowest floor was and that it had a glass floor. A glass floor! How exciting, we thought! We pushed people to get through the crowd inside the elevator because we craved to see the glass floor!! Pinky was especially excited. But the floor was a disappointment. You could see only trashcans from it and it was all blurry. Also, it was raining cats and dogs. We had to wait for the next elevator under the rain and then it didn't have enough space for us! Luckily, we got down anyway. Never trust a person who promises you a glass floor - that's what we've learnt.
To see the Eiffel Tower from a distance we went to another observation deck. (in this picture the focus is on the tower oops...)
It was a day full of emotions, for sure!








DAY 4
 
Palace of Versailles time!
It's placed in the region so we took a two-floor train to get there! Pinky and I were listening to music during this little trip.
To get inside the palace, we had spent almost 2 hours in a line. Maybe if we had gone there in the morning and not in the afternoon we would have spent less time on that!.. During our staying in the line we got some coffee from the local café. It wasn't the best but we needed something warm to drink! Also, we weren't the only one with a cup of coffee. We even saw a man who was eating instant noodles in the line!
In the palace we found an audioguide in Russian, but honestly, I don't remember anything. Maybe because I was focused on the beauty of this place and missed all the words?.. Pinky loved it too, especially its ceilings decorated with paintings and golden elements!
We also planned to see the exhibition of French carriages but it had been closed by the time we finished exploring the palace.
And we were too tired to walk in the gardens... Maybe next time if we ever visit Paris again!







(It turns out I don't have any pictures from the Louvre! I'm so sorry :( ... )
 

DAY 5 - LAST DAY IN PARIS!
 
Our last day in Paris was spent in a hurry: we needed to see everything!
It started with an excursion to the Louvre. The guide told us that it took 2 weeks to see every painting in the gallery without looking at it for a long time! We had only 2 hours so we haven't seen much. What about the famous Mona Lisa? We stayed in yet another line to see it close and were allowed to examine it only for a few minutes. It wasn't exciting for some reason though Pinky couldn't believe she had seen this great painting in real life!
What we visited on the same day:
~ Arc de Triomphe;
~ Moulin Rouge;
~ Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris. (+ you can see the view from the elevator that got us up there!)
 
This trip was one of the best ones. I've always been told that Paris is an awful and ugly place but I loved it and I think Pinky did too!
It was our last adventure together with her and I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity to meet such a sweet troll and spend so much good time together! :)

Take care,
Anastasia






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