Wow. I don't even know where to start. The past few days gave been amazing. On sunday I arrived in Paris after finishing 5 and a half months in Israel. As my sheirut (shared taxi) left Jerusalem on the way to the airport I couold not help but feel emotional. Even though I will be coming back to Jerusalem soon enough, I still felt the tears welling up as I saw the exit sign of the city.
On a more exciting note my eurotrip has officially started. Paris is a spectacular city, even in the winter. Day was a travel day. By the time I got to my hotel and checked in it was about 2:30 in the afternoon. That evening, after my friend arrived, we went out looking for a kosher restaurant in the area. Turns out there is actually quite a few within a 15 min walk of our hotel - great for me :)
Day 2 we walked to the Marais and got breakfast on Rue de Rosiers and got to see a little bit of the Jewish neighbourhood. After breakfast we walked over to the Louvre and had a fantastic day there. This is noy my first time at the Louvre but it was definately a more enjoyable experiene the second time around. Since it is winter there are a lot less people in the museum which made it easier to get closer to the things I wanted to see like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Mesha stele and Hammurabi`s law code. I was in museum heaven. After the museum we found a nice restaurant called Gaspard where I tried carpaccio for first time, too bad the plate had broken and my friend had a piece of plate in her food. Aside from that though we enjoyed the meal and the ambiance of the restaurant.
Day 3 we went to the Musee D`orsay which was amazing. I have never been before and I was just in awe of the collection of talent under one roof. Two paintings which stuck out in mind were Degas` La Class de Dance which I have framed in my room at home, Van Gogh`s Starry Night. After the museum we went to the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately the very top was closed that day, but we went up as high as we could and got to see the spectacular views of the city. I was worried that since it was a cloudy day that we would`t be able to see anything, but it just added a bit more mystique to the city. Once we finished with the Eiffel Tower we went to see the Arc de Triumph. We got another great view of the city from the top and we go to see the memorial for the unnamed soldiers. That night we had reserved tickets for Moulin Rouge which words cannot describe how amazing it was. I do not know exactly what I was expecting, but I don`t think I was expecting the nudity. Aside from that though the show was like nothing I had ever seen before. The costumes were spectacular and the show was extremely entertaining. There is a reason this place has been famous for a long time.
Day 4 we spent at Versaille. I have waited a long time to finally make it there. I have never been in Paris long enough to make the trip out there, but I am so glad I finally got there. Versaille is linked with absolute power, decadence, and the French Revolution. It was amazing to be able to bring the revolution to life by understanding the context in which it took place. Also, the place is just spectacular. I loved the coloured brocade walls, the gilded mouldings and all the ceiling paintings. The gardens literally took my breath away and I cannot wait to come back when it is summer time and I can have a picnic outside in the gardens.
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