Europe - France

We were in Paris during a heatwave! Yes it was 97 F, yes it muggy, yes there's no bloody A/C on the metro... But we still spent an entire day outside in the heat, seeing the touristy sights. But since we only had two days in Paris, we had to do it :)

We stayed with Fate's cousin who lives in Montrouge, which is well connected by the metro. On the second day, Fate's aunt came to see us from Saint Vallier near Lyon. We had awesome home cooked food and got to spend the evening with her friend, an artist of Bangladeshi decent who has been in Paris for over twenty years. Which meant the dinner had a splendid cheese course!

Here's a quick summary of what we did, some advice if you visit, fun facts, and a summary of our favorite pictures.

• Nighttime walking of Notre Dame, Louvre, Pont Des Arts bridge, and the Opera
• Trocadero for Eiffel Tower view
• La Defence
• Sacre Coeur in Monmarte
• Walking Champs-Elysees from Arc de Triomphe to the Obelisk 
• Louvre
• Le Marais

Advice if you visit

• The metro is well connected and reasonable if you buy 10-pack tickets called "carnets". Ends up being 1.40 euro per ticket. This does not include travel to Charles De Gaulle airport... That costs 10 euro one way on the RER lines :(
• Goes without saying in Paris but be super careful about your belongings in the touristy areas... which end up being basically all of Paris. The pickpockets are quite skilled...
• Beer and wine are not cheap here like the rest of Europe. Don't know why, but be prepared to shell out at-least 5 euro for a beer.
• Mohit hates to admit it but the food is really fantastic. Since Fate's cousin knows the good bakeries around, a breakfast of croissants and baguettes with butter or honey is fantastic. The espressos are great as well. Even the damn packaged food from grocery stores is much better at the same prices as the US!

Fun facts

• The stereotype of the French being unfriendly towards foreigners seems false to us. A guy on the metro chatted our ears off on the way from the airport, a random girl helped Fate sneak through the turnstiles with her since Fate's ticket got demagnetized, and even the boulangerie lady who couldn't understand Mohit's accent when he attempted to order a croissant was nice!
• The anti-smoking campaign has not hit Paris. And if it has, it needs to make another pass.
• Many younger locals hangout by the Seine river near Notre Dame, having drinks, canoodling, smoking cigarettes, and celebrating birthdays late into the night.

Summary of pictures

Night time Notre Dame! Rif rafs hanging below at Seine

Great area for a nighttime stroll

Free birthday party location - the Seine

Intense security system, the red current inside the pyramid cuts off limbs

Opera house!

It's not City of Love in July, it's City of My Skin Burns

Modern Paris!

Cool office park

Arc de Triumph mirroring the modern area

The most important meal in the Europe trip, a giant portion of Chipotle!!

Mayor's Office and a energy expo

What the courtyards look like inside the so Parisian apartments

A casual pretty park where we were all melting

Can't go to France and not experience a cheese course! Except Fate's favorite was a cheese from Holland and Mohit's was the stinky camembert.