Paris Day 1: April 15th 2014

My first full day here in Paris was a full one! I ended up with an excellent itinerary this whole trip which was easily adjusted according to the weather and didn't involve and back tracking or hoping on and off the metro all across Paris. I made sure what I did for a day was relatively accessible to eachother an it really worked out well for me. Being Vegan I thought it may be best to look up places to eat ahead of time and so I coordinated dinner locations that were convenient for my daily itinerary. I ate very well as a result and most definatley over indulged. The first thing I did my first morning was to hop on the metro and head down towards Museé d'Orsay with a quick stop at the love lock bridge. 

Not being in love at the moment I did not leave a lock. FYI.

The Museé d'Orsay was brilliant although it quickly taught me the importance of getting up before anything opens to beat the line ups. An hour and a half later I finally got in and it was worth the wait! I can't possibly pick a favorite, Cezanne always holds a special place in my heart, and I found a new love in the works of Pissaro. I also saw the first of many waterlillies by Monet which I would later complete the pilgrimage to giverny to make it all come together.

After my museum adventures with the Impressionists I utilized the worlds greatest iPhone app Happy Cow to find a vegitarian resturaunt called Veggie just around the corner from the museum and had a delicious veggie sauté with quinoa at the time I thought it was amazing but I would later discover that dish had nothing on the resturaunts I had lined up to come. 

After lunch I did the touristy neighbourhood walks of St. Germain and the Latin Quarter. Must do's if your a tourist but the locals stay clear. The good thing is if French speaking doesn't come easily to you have no fear here, they all speak English. This walk ended up taking me to many designer stored where I immediatly began unloading my wallet. The sites were good to including many major tourist stop offs and my personal favorite The Shakespeare and Company Bopkstore. 

I ended up buying two books, I mean how could you not. I chose Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame the novel which famously prevented the distruction of on of Paris' most iconic buildings, and Earnest Hemmingway's Immovable Feast. Both seemed very fitting considering where I was. True literary lovers will understand and those that don't do not deserve to. I chose not to buy and Shakespeare based on the fact that at home I have two complete sets of his plays and sonnets. 

For supper I headed around the corner to  Notre Dame du Garnier another small vegetarian resturaunt with plenty of clearly labelled vegan options. 

I had a Cassoullette which is basically a casserole and an apple tarte both to die for but still not the best meal I had. 

After my nice warm dinner I heade out to the chilled evening air for my long wait to get up to te top of the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing, but also freezing and I had to buy an overly priced Paris touristy sweater to survive. 

And with frozen bones and tired feet that concluded my first full day in Paris!