Bonjour Paris!

Mandy:


We arrived in Paris hopeful that the city will be more exciting than Amsterdam. We were not disappointed. Although the smell of body odor and the amount of people on the trains were not a very good first impression of the city. However, we made our way to our home which is a two story apartment in the Marais neighborhood. We rented it from a local Parisian off of the website airbnb.com. So far the apartment has been amazing and the streets nearby are always bustling with locals having dinner or buying groceries. I definitely recommend using airbnb to experience a city more like a local rather than a tourist.

Our home in Paris

After dropping off our bags and freshening up we had dinner at a nearby restaurant called Bianco. The food was MUCH better than the food we ha in Amsterdam and it was comparable in price. The only unenjoyable part of dinner was that Parisians love to smoke and eat dinner. Thus, I was breathing secondhand smoke the entire time :(

Jambon and fromage pizza and charcuterie 

It was still bright out after dinner so we decided to wander the streets and stumbled to the Louvre! Although it was 10pm there were still a lot of people there taking pictures. Imagine how many people are there during the day.... We walked a bit more and saw a carnival. We stopped for some cotton candy and to enjoy the atmosphere. I don't think Parisians go on roller coasters much because locals were going crazy over one ride that would not be a big attraction at Wonderland. (Note: We ended up walking to the Louvre and to the carnival almost every night we were in Paris, hahah. Don't know why)

In the Louvre courtyard

In front of the Louvre Pyramid entrance

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel

Unflattering photo of Mandy eating the cotton candy at the carnival

We decided to sleep with the windows open because it was quite warm out. BAD IDEA! The locals stay up late and wake up very early and sound travels far in our little cluster of homes.