My week of vacation was awesome. I went to Paris for two days and Italy for five days. Lots of updates will come sporadically, but for now I want to talk about my little adventure of following the steps of Amélie Poulain...
I took the TGV up to Paris for the second time to meet up with Yuna. I love train rides. They are usually very scenic and the ride is smooth. I got to Gare de Lyon
right on time and went straight to Yuna's apartment. We had dinner around the Champs-Elysees area and caught up, as usual. I love the fact that one of my close friends is studying abroad in the same country as me at the same time. It makes the experience that much better for me because I have a little piece of home while still having a new culture and country to grow to love. It also helps me put everything into perspective with how I used to be, how I want to be, and if I am going in the right direction. Things like that. Close friends...chats with them are always really nice. 
Well, the next morning Yuna had to go to class so I decided I wanted to visit the Montmarte area where Amélie Poulain was in most of the movie. I wasn't really sure what kind of area it was; the only thing I knew about it was from the movie. It turned out that Yuna didn't have class, so she joined me in my little exploration. We started off at the Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro station, where Amélie leads the blind man. It looked exactly the same, but the rues were a little different. We walked around the area a little bit and thought we were getting lost, but then she recognized the area and said we were going to see the Moulin Rouge soon. One of my favorite movies, so it was 
a great detour, although I was a little disappointed with how small the windmill was. Oh well - I guess things in real life can't always live up to the movie status. After that, we also had a nice little surprise when I recognized the Café des Deux Moulins where Amélie works! We went inside and the place was definitely the same one from the movie, but it seemed different. Maybe it was the Halloween decorations, or maybe it was the set-up. but something different. Well, we got a table and ordered our things. I got the crème brûlée, of course and it was amaaaazing. The sugar crusted top was 
exactly how I like it. The place seemed full of random tourists and regular locals. A good mixture. And the fact that it was Halloween just made it a fun time to be there because the waiters were dressed up as vampires, and the place was just decked out in webs, leaves on the floor, skulls in random places, etc. If we had come back later with costumes, we could have gotten free drinks and live entertainment, but...we had to 
get up really early the next morning so we decided not to. So we kept continuing on towards the famous square area of Montmarte. It is where all the painters create pieces of art ON THE SPOT. And these painters are supposedly professional and have to receive a license before they can actually be there. There was a significant difference from "street art" in places like New York or Boston, compared to the art there in Montmarte. It was incredible. I felt so much artistic energy seeing all the artists, all the art shops, and just being in Paris. It was VERY Parisian. We could also see a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower since we were up on a high hill (Montmarte reminded me a lot of Lyon's Croix-Rousse neighborhood: lots of stairs/hills, and a very artistic area). As I was taking a picture of the view, 
the Eiffel Tower started to sparkle! It was one of my fondest memories...it was really beautiful, especially since it was right at sunset. When we turned around, we were right at the Sacre Coeur (a Roman Catholic basilica located at the highest point in the city). There was live entertainment, lots of people, and a breathtaking panoramic view of the city. It was at that moment when I fell in love with Paris - it was just so 
pretty and the whole day went so well. My previous trip to Paris was nice also, but I just didn't really do anything "Parisian." But being in Montmarte surrounded by artists and seeing pretty buildings just really got to me...It was exactly how I would have imagined Paris in my head. Except I was seeing everything in real life with my own two eyes. No words can probably describe how great that evening was for me - I loved it so 
much. After a quick dinner, we had to head back home and go to bed quickly because we had to wake up at 5 the next morning for Italy. ... And that will be for the next entry. Bisous.
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