A novel by Kasia Kraszewska. Part two.

Ok... first I have to finish telling you all about Paris... and then I'll recount more recent happenings. (Basically, it's a bittersweet time here in Ghent: school's done but people have gone or are leaving quite soon!)

So after the Place de la Concorde, my Mom and I were quite tired, and of course, I was wearing my new shoes, but they were giving me a little bit of discomfort... so we decided to pause for a coffee. First, we crossed the beautiful Pont Alexandre III, which was built between 1896 and 1900, and is considered to be one of the prettiest bridges in Paris. Once we crossed, Les Invalides were just on the other side. So we took some nice pictures. The story behind Les Invalides is quite interesting... Louis XIV ordered the construction of this giant compound in 1670, to house sick and elderly veteran soldiers, who would have otherwise probably ended up on the street. Today, it is also a burial site for France's war heroes.





Finally, we sat down in a typical Parisian cafe and ordered some drinks. Sipping and planning our evening, we decided to stay in this area of the city until night fall, since the Eiffel Tower Quarter was just a short walk away. Of course we needed to see the tower with all the lights. So, in order to kill some time, and since our stomachs were quite empty... we decided to head from coffee straight to dinner. Ah, life is hard!

We didn't have any specific dinner destination in mind, but we wanted something authentic and less touristy... I think we really lucked out with a little place called L'Auberge Bressane. When we entered, they asked us if we had a reservation, which we didn't, but they squeezed us in anyway... and by the end of our meal, the place was packed, and all we could hear was French French French. We ordered a bottle of the 2002 Chablis... to tell you the truth we were a little intimidated when the wine expert approached our table, but we ordered white anyway! And of course, to start off with, we ordered the escargots... which came with those special tongs, which we had no idea how to use. But we managed! We always do :) For the main course, my Mom had this amazing chicken and truffle dumpling... and I had tuna fish, half-cooked, half-raw... as you can tell by my detailed description of our dinner experience, it was a meal I will never forget!




After dinner, we walked a short distance and were already at the Champs de Mars, with the beautiful Eiffel Tower in view. I can't express how amazing it is to see it for the first time, all lit up. See for yourself:







After the Eiffel Tower, we walked north to see the Arc de Triomphe, also lit up and beautiful:



After midnight drinks on Champs Elysees, we continued along this legendary street, observing the nightlife until we couldn't manage anymore (exhausted, full of food, with achy feet). So we took the metro the rest of the way back to our hotel, where we passed out immediately!

The next morning, we started off with a delicious breakfast in a cafe... baguette, chocolate croissants, eggs, jam... coffee. And we briefly visited St. Suplice, but most of it was under heavy construction. And then we entered Jardin du Luxembourg, where so much was happening... People doing Tai Chi and other meditation exercises, martial arts, running, biking. Others were reading, listening to music, suntanning, out with their kids, playing with miniature sailboats in the pond, walking their dogs. There was even a group of people doing laugh therapy, not caring who saw them or heard them. What an interesting and wonderful place. We could have stayed there indefinitely, but we still had more to see!









After the gardens, we headed east to Place de Pantheon, which was originally a church, but also a burial place of famous people including Voltaire and Rousseau! Then we headed north to Ile de la Cite, but first passed through St. Germain, a wonderful district with many narrow streets and great eateries. Typical Paris, the way I had always imagined it. Finally we arrived at the Notre Dame... what an amazing cathedral, it literally takes your breath away!











After Notre Dame, we located Picasso's museum and did a quick tour of both the permanent collection and new exhibition, the latter entitled Carmen, an amazing group of works inspired by the fictional Gypsy temptress, Spain, and matadors. Our final destination was Centre Pompidou, a place which houses a public library, an art museum and music centre in one, and is really an unusual piece of architecture. Just outside the building, there's the Stravinsky fountain, with some pretty fun art.









Well, we were exhausted again! We headed to a cafe for some drinks and a late lunch and then it was time to go... back to Ghent.

After our return to Belgium, my Mom spent one more day with me and then headed to Poland. And I was left with a final project and a little bit of studying. Now it's all done, and like I said before... it's very bittersweet. I will tell you all about our end of the semester celebrations and my plans for the summer.. but next time!

Lots and lots of kusjes!