Picnic in the park featuring the Eiffel Tower

It is almost two weeks into my semester abroad, and I have finally seen the Eiffel Tower in person. I kept putting it off when people would spontaneously decide to go after class because this was the moment I've been waiting for my entire life. Paris has always been the number one travel spot on my bucket list and the Eiffel Tower is the iconic representation of the city of light. I wanted my first sighting to be parfait (is it tacky to sprinkle in French words if you actually speak French?).

My friend Sophie and I decided to stop at the daily market at noon to pick up picnic vittles like figs, goat cheese, snow peas, and bread, and we hopped on the metro (which I'm kind of used to now... kind of) that would take us to the Eiffel Tower. Turning the corner and seeing it against the sky was like being on a movie set: it looked real but it didn't seem real. It was somehow so much larger than I imagined and overall it looked magical. Somewhat less magical were the multitude of creepy men selling souvenirs and those tiny, barking toy dogs. Those must be very popular here because I see them everywhere. I did enjoy one souvenir guy who called out to me, "Hey lady! Hey Lady Gaga! Rihanna!" I'm not sure what he was implying, but I think I liked it. Despite the touristy aspects, I loved finally being able to say I saw the Eiffel Tower and had my own Parisian picnic. It was delicious by the way - if you've never had fresh figs and goat cheese, you should go to the store right now and get some. Although mine were fresh from the local open market, but you know, we can't all win at life.

After our picnic and obligatory tourist pictures, Sophie suggested we go to a nearby garden: le jardin des tuilerie. She said there was an Amorino there, aka the best gelato ever, so of course I said yes. It was a nice little spot with some flowers, fountains (which were off today - is there a drought in Paris as well?), and ponds for us to sit by and enjoy the quiet.

We meandered through the garden and got to the best part, obviously, the gelato stand. In case anyone was wondering, speculoos (aka the stuff cookie butter is made of) gelato is the best thing to touch my tongue. Fig sorbet, not so much. There was an American group behind us attempting to order (in English) but they didn't seem to understand that you order the size and pay, then pick your flavors later. Sophie helped them out, and we felt pretty cool that we seem like regulars here instead of just tourists. Although, I think maybe we just go to Amorino way too often. We ate gelato by a large pond with plenty of chairs around it and tried not to fall asleep. Something about the mixture of Parisian humidity and bright sunshine creates a need for afternoon naps. At least we weren't alone - everyone seemed to be relaxing in the strange green lawn chairs set out around the pond. Maybe this is the Parisian version of lounging by the pool.


One of my favorite things about Paris is that every detail is interesting, ornate, and beautiful. Every building has character, random statues line the streets, and even streetlights look fancy. I see something new and interesting every day and so far I have not gotten tired of exploring, although I can't say the same for my feet.