Another Awesome (Touristy) Weekend

Yesterday, on Saturday, we got to sleep in for the first time.  Then Brittany, Sonia, Allie and I met up at the Rive Gauche (Left Bank) train station, which is the fastest way to get into Paris.  We got off at the Musée d'Orsay stop and crossed the river so we could explore the Right Bank for the first time.  The Right Bank is famous for being the ritzier, fancier side of Paris, with all of the best shopping and the lovely Champs-Elysées street.  We started off at Place de la Concorde, which hosts a giant Egyptian obelisk at the center of a big traffic circle.  That's where Marie Antoinette and thousands of other people got their heads chopped off during the French Revolution... pretty cool! (Haha.)

Down the street we could see the Madeleine Church, which basically looks like a Greek Temple.  THAT was when I could tell we were in a ritzy shopping area: within two blocks, all I could see was Dior, Cartier, Gucci, Prada -- too many pricey stores to name!  There were pastry shops with delicately arranged desserts, cute cafés, and lots of fashionable Parisians toting puppies in their purses.  Seriously.  We stopped at a "chocolatier" and splurged on some really expensive but really delicious chocolate.  That was the best piece of chocolate I've ever eaten.... mmm.

Look at the desserts in the window!

After walking a few more blocks, we stumbled across the Opera Garnier.  It's so big and so ornate... and best of all is that the Phantom of the Opera story originated there!  (There's even a lake underneath the building.)  We tried to go in but were too late, so I'll have to go back again if I want to see the grand entry and the big chandelier inside.

Behind the opera is a huge shopping district, much more crowded than the little boutiques throughout the rest of Paris.  The Galeries Lafayette and Printemps seemed to be the most popular department stores; we were stuck in a non-moving crowd, but it was fun!  The inside of the Galeries Lafayette was absolutely insane.  I love the ornate Art Nouveau style.

Click to enlarge the photo... this place is so pretty inside.  It's supposed to be even cooler at Christmas time.

We walked around a cool furniture store and then tried to escape the crowds.  We found this cool church called St. Augustin that we were allowed to walk into.  It was very quiet, dark, and serene, so we just rested on the pews for a few minutes before walking down Boulevard Haussman.  That street is one of 12 that leads into the Place de L'Etoile (Place of the Star), where the Arc de Triompe sits in the middle of a huge traffic circle.

When we finally arrived at the Arc de Triompe, it was really touristy, but we couldn't help crossing through the tunnel beneath the street to see the arch up-close.  There was some kind of ceremony going on, because a lot of soldiers were standing beneath the arch and the French national anthem was being played by a band.  It's great being a student in France, because we got tickets to go up the arch for FREE.  Little did we know, there was no elevator... so basically, my legs were shaking by the time we got to the top of the stairs, and they're still really sore today.  However, the view was totally worth it:  we could see down the Champs Elysées, we could see the Eiffel Tower as if it was a stone's throw away, and the Basilica of Sacré Coeur loomed on the hill of Montmartre in the distance.  It was nice to just stand there for a while and take in the views.

We ended the afternoon by walking down the Champs Elysées and admiring all of the fancy theaters, restaurants, and stores.  We passed by the gorgeous Grand Palais and the Hotel des Invalides, so I can't wait to go inside those buildings later.  Once we got home, it was too late to come back to go out in Paris, so we met up with some friends at a café/bar near our house.  I think my legs would have protested any further walking, anyway.