From the last post, I left you all with tentative trips to Paris at the end of May and a trip to the Southern France in June. Well, those trips did happen and I spent some amazing times in Paris and in the South. Not sure where I'm off to next, but maybe another trip to the countryside in July would be expected.
Paris - I think the only touristy thing my friend and I actually went to was Sacré coeur and Moulin Rouge. Having slept for the 2 hour train ride, I met my friend at the metro stop of Sacré Coeur. We went there only because I haven't seen it before. Otherwise, we spent most of the weekend walking around Paris, getting a haircut (highly needed) and eating. Yes, because eating Peking duck and pastries is one of the best ways to spend time in Paris? Perhaps.
Seeing Sacré Coeur for the first time
MMMMM, Peking Duck
Classy moments at Ladurée
Make sure you go to this restaurant when you're in the Marais. The food was delicious, the people were friendly and it was not expensive. For our meal (entree + plat) we only paid 14 euros each.
Des Gars dans la Cuisine
72 Rue Vieille du Temple
75003 Paris
Delicious soup!
We were in the Marais because I wanted to go to the Musée de la SHOAH again, but it was closed. There were 2 security guards who stood there and look visibly relieved when we spoke to them in French. He pretty much said, "you guys speak French? Thank God. We've been getting tourists all day and it's all been in ENGLISH." Kind of looked like he wanted to throw up his hands and say, "ARRGH."
Sunday was spent at the market in the morning and then in La Defense, since that's like the only mall which is opened on Sundays. I know, shocking for France.
PASTRIES. Lots and lots of PASTRIES (I had the green one)
First time at La Defense!
After this short weekend trip to Paris, I decided to go South. We had a three-day weekend so why not?
I did three cities in three days; Avignon, Nîmes and Arles. Not bad, I would say and I like to travel by myself.
The train to Avignon took only an hour and I was lucky to get a really cheap ticket on Ouigo (only 10 euros!). Having gotten there super early in the morning, I, of course, opted to get pastries and coffee. I had been to Avignon already almost about 4 years ago, but in November. It was great to be back there. Instead of going to the Palais des Papes since I've already went to it, I checked out the other museums in Avignon.
Palais des Papes
Sur le Pont d'Avignon
Beautiful afternoon
After spending the night in Avignon, next stop Nîmes! A charming southern French city that was a part of the Roman Empire since the 28 BC. It was hot! I survived outside from about 8am to about 3pm before calling it a day.
Amphitheatre
Maison Carré
The Contemporary Art Museum: Contemporary Art scares me
So, there was a huge 5 day festival in Nîmes called Feria. I walked through some of it. The only inconvenient thing about this festival is that the buses don't really run. I had to take the taxi the following morning to get to the train station. The train ride to Arles took just 20 minutes and by 8am, I was happily wandering around in this little city. Van Gogh spent some time in this charming place.
The scene of Van Gogh's paining Starry Night Over the Rhône
Cafe Van Gogh
The Amphitheatre in Arles
Finally finding someone to take a picture (Apparently, my arms are too short to take a picture of myself)
The halls of the Amphitheatre
Et voilà, my two trips to wonderful places. If I am going to the countryside in July, that should be a great time to relax and chill. I've been toying with the idea of going to Vienna or Germany in August, but we'll see. Who knows what's going to happen next. Then again, I have everything I need here in Lyon, so I plan on staying here for the next few weekends. You know summer has started when your day begins with half an hour of rain and thunder because it's so hot.
À bientôt!
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