Lindsey in Paris: An entirely enjoyable afternoon

First off, I met a family friend (my mom's friend's husband, Jerome) for lunch today - we've got together before to talk about Paris and he's here again (good timing!) He's done basically the same thing I'm doing - four months around fall time in Paris - and is also super nice and knowledgeable. It was so interesting to hear some Parisian history (he knows a lot!) and get some insider tips. We stopped at a cafe around my apartment and had a delicious ham and cheese omelette with my first French coffee! It was a very nice introduction to the cafe scene in Paris (Thanks, Jerome!)

After lunch, I really wanted to go see the YSL exhibit, but the line was unbelievably long! I waited about 5 minutes in seriously intense heat and gave up. (Although I'm certainly not giving up on seeing it, I'm just going first thing tomorrow to avoid the line!) Instead, I went for a walk down the Champs Elysees. I went into a few stores but didn't get anything because I'm here for awhile - there's no pressure on anything I do and I'm totally appreciating it! I walked back through the Tuileries and the Louvre, took pictures of some flowers and buildings, and drank a lemonade.

... It seemed more epic at the time but it was generally just a relaxed, beautiful afternoon. Maybe it seemed that way because of the heat, or maybe I just need to start working on my walking stamina!

I came home, cooled down, had some amazing garlic pasta with butter and parmesan (to make up for my walk, obviously), and then went to read my book at a nearby garden. (Thanks for the book, Lesley! I'm loving it so far! Its called The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, and I definitely recommend it to anyone else who needs an interesting/somewhat strange/insightful read.)

Here's some pictures from today:

The Champs Elysees and Tuileries gardens