Eating Enough Crêpes To Feed A Small Army (And Other Musings)

25 Jul Eating Enough Crêpes To Feed A Small Army (And Other Musings)

Cheerio London! Bonjour Paris! At the grey hour of 5.30 am we hustled to Kings Cross station droopy-eyed and sleep-deprived, buzzing with excitement, set for the very beautiful ville d’amour. Bienvenue à Paris, home to frog’s legs, berets and Quasimodo. First step: get into the French frame of mind by eating un pain au chocolat on the Eurostar. Second Step: brush up on some basic French; “Merci beaucoup”. Step three: devise the perfect to-do-list on how to best maximise my long weekend in Paris.

TO DO LIST:

1) EAT (if you’ve read my other blog entries that comes as no surprise…)

If you’re going to splurge on food anywhere in the world, then France is your ideal food getaway. Indulge in desserts all day/night (because gymming can wait and yolo). As soon as we arrived and checked into a super cool hostel, we headed to a quaint little restaurant to eat some traditional French food. A two-course meal with a glassof winehit the spot nicely. Later that night we headed to ‘the best crêpes in Paris’ right near Notre Dame. My belly was definitely satisfied. I’ve had snails before but surprisingly could not find any frog’s legs on the menu (probably for the best). Throughout the rest of the weekend I enjoyed enough crêpes to feed a small army, the best mango sorbets I have ever tasted (yes EVER) and an array of croissants and pastries. YUM.

2) Find Quasimodo

You’ve all seen that Disney classic, you know who I’m talking about.

First tourist stop of the trip was the Sacre Couer, a beautiful church overlooking most of Paris, situated beside Montmarte, a charming set of winding streets filled with buskers, street artists, pretty paintings, cafes and crêpe stalls galore. Next stop, Moulin Rouge! Even though we didn’t see a show it was cool to have a peek inside and do a little can-can jig for ourselves. I tried my best to find my mate Quasi, but I guess he was busy ringing the bells or something. Nevertheless the Notre Dame Cathedral was amazing and I couldn’t stop gaping at the attention to detail of the stained glass windows, altars and even the bricks! Each brick looked like it had been carefully sculpted and measured precisely into place – so this is how people spent their time before Facebook…

3) Selfies with the Eiffel Tower

You will most definitely see a lot of people battling it out to get that perfect shot of La Tour Eiffel. Pictures do not do it justice – there’s something about being right there, walking underneath and seeing just how big it is for yourself. We were lucky enough to have lunch sponsored by the program and enjoyed a cute picnic in the park right beside the famous monument. The sun was shining (a whopping 36 degrees), birds were chirping and the sound of an accordion floated in the distance. It was surreal, I felt like a movie star.

4) Catch up with Mona

It was our last day in Paris and after an hour and a half of waiting in line we finally passed through the glass pyramid into the main floor of the Louvre. I don’t think I’ve seen so many people in one space in my life. We were on a mission and dodged people left and right, focused on one thing; the Mona Lisa. She’s smaller than you’d think and sits on her own wall facing the most ginormous painting imaginable. Mona is the type of girl that doesn’t say much, just sits there watching. I am still taken aback by the skill of Leonardo Da Vinci in painting her eyes. They say you need two days to see the Louvre in its entirety and I think they’re right – the amount of culture and history that sits under one roof is just incredible.

Back in London other fun activities so far have included a delightful afternoon tea at the Hilton, a day trip to Brighton (finally found the English sun!), lots of shopping, a night out at the Ministry of Sound and this weekend we will watch the changing of the guards, picnic in Hyde Park and get around to most of the museums. Ahhh it’s always busy busy busy here in London! The Absolute Internship program ensures to keep you on your toes at all times. Our schedule keeps our minds open as well, with the career speaker evenings designed to inspire and give you a taste for the ‘real-world’. My boss Stefano conducted the last evening and gave the best advice on interviews, being yourself, what it’s like to be your own boss and starting your own company, all said in a way that skipped over the cheese and got straight down to business. A perfect speech to get me psyched for the upcoming second semester at University… hmmm