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St. Germain, Paris

This place was just aight – small studio on the 4th floor.  We booked this the day we arrived because we missed our Couchsurfing Host Nicolas before he left for work.  Instead of chilling with our bags all day while waiting for him to come home, we booked this for our first night.  

The host Thomas was kinda shady – his employee met us to give us the key, then said we needed to pay a 20 Euro cleaning/laundry fee in cash.  Huh?  We only got to speak with Thomas on the phone.  He said that this was stated in the policy in the AirBnb confirmation email, but it wasn’t.  They probably try to just take advantage of people who are too lazy to look it up.  I forwarded the confirmation email to him, who said he would contact AirBnb because the email should have mentioned that. We ended up not having to pay the 20 Euros.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The host Shawna was cool – the spot was a separate apartment behind her family’s house.  The place was in the Jordaan – really close to everything we wanted to do.  Safe area with stuff to eat and see nearby.  

Corte Vecchia, Venice

This place was nice – it was a true Bed & Breakfast where the owners Antonella & her Husband served us breakfast in our rooms each day.  They’re both architects and lived in the same building. The room was private, clean and romantic.  You can tell that they put in a lot of attention to detail with the furnishings and decor. 

San Lorenzo, Florence

We had a good time in Florence.  Our host Breditz rents out 2 rooms in his big apartment and calls his place “the smallest hostel in Florence”.  You definitely get that hostel vibe with the way he decorates the common areas.  The rooms feel like you’re a guest in his home, though.  It was nice because we basically had the whole place to ourselves.  He was out of town, and his Mom was our host.  She spoke 97% Italian and luckily Mel was able to communicate with her.  She was sweet and liked us.  

The place itself was right next to the leather marketplace.  It was a 1 minute walk to the Duomo and a few minute walk to some hella good steak and a Bolido sandwich that we still talk about years later.  I’ll add the details here when I find them.

Rome, Italy

Our hosts Alessia and Silvia made this place one of our favorite AirBnbs from the trip.  They gave us great food recommendations, tips on which buses to take (Tram 8 was right outside), and served us breakfast everyday. They even had Roma Passes for us to purchase. Super cool!  We referred my parents to them when they went to Rome and they enjoyed the stay too.  

LAVAPIÉS, Madrid

Lavapis is a diverse neighborood that’s always buzzing with activity.  We went to many of the suggested restaurants / areas in Iaia’s handwritten guidebook (very dope) and they were all great. 

The apartment itself was very cozy. A few times we just spent the entire day at home chillin.  This is where we each bought an iPhone 5 when they came out on apple.com.  We enjoyed the CDs that were available for us to play (the song we had on repeat was a cool spanish-vibe version of The Tide Is High)

2 memorable food spots:  A “no frills” rotisserie chicken spot with coquetas, and a counter bar that served “zapatilla” sandwiches and grilled Padron peppers (had to order a Coke because they were so hot – but good!). 

Barcelona, Spain

Nothing to write home about.

SFO > JFK > CDG

We land in Paris on a Monday morning and the Les Cars Rouges bus takes us into the city in 30 minutes.  The plan is to rendezvous with our Couchsurfing host Nicolas at his apartment before he leaves for work.  However, a delay at JFK means that we miss him by 30 minutes.  Doh.  Now we have no place to rest until he’s back at 7pm.

We find a seat and buy a juice at Gare du Montparnasse, the local train station.  It’s crowded.  My French is terrible.  It’s only 9:30am and it’s hot.  We’re fading fast and need a place to chill, so we search for nearby apartments using the AirBnb app.  One woman has an opening less than 1 kilometer away and says we can check in at 11am, so we book it for the night.  Well worth the investment as we’re able to shower, nap, and leave our bags behind.

Exploring

We’re staying in St. Germain, which turns out to be our favorite neighborhood.  Cool restaurants, cafés, shops, and very central.  The first thing we eat is a Pain au Chocolat aux Amandes.  WOW!  Our minds areblown by the flavor.  [L’atelier Boulanger; 123 Rue de Vaugirard]

On our first day, we’re so excited that we go hard body right away: Notre Dame, Champs-Élysées, Le Marais, Louis V.  Walking up a storm, taking the Metro left and right, and eating.  We notice that it’s impossible to walk around without seeing a pharmacies everywhere you go.  They’re all marked with a green cross (usually LED) in front.

“It feels like we’re in Universal Studios”

Central Paris has a look that’s one of a kind.  If I blindfolded and teleported you there, you’d know where you were (or you’d think you were in Vegas).  Drinking and dining in corner cafés is very Parisian.  Many buildings look like (and probably used to be) palaces.  Balconies with iron railings are everywhere,  as are shuttered windows and narrow streets.

It feels like you’re on a movie set.

One of the places that really wows us is the Galeries Lafayette, an upscale department store.  They carry every designer brand you can think of, and even the children’s section is very bougie.  Luckily we don’t make a fashion faux pas by wearing socks and sandals.

Sightseeing

We buy 2-day Paris Museum Passes for €39 each.  It gives you free entry to 60 museums and monuments in Paris, plus the ability to skip the lines.  It’s worth it for us as we visit the Louvre (€12), Musée d’Orsay (€9), the Palace of Versailles (€15), and the Petit Trianon (€10).

We like the Musée d’Orsay.  Masterpieces in front of your very eyes.  We spend the most time in the Impressionism and Pointillism rooms.  Maximilien Luce’s ‘La Seine a Herblay’ and Paul Signac’s ‘Femme a’lombrelle’ are some of my favorite pieces.  Respect.

The Palace of Versailles is a 30 minute train ride & walk from Paris.  This is where the royal family lived, including Louis XIII, XIV, XV and Marie Antoinette.  It’s the most extravagant estate I’ve ever seen.  The gold on the gates and rooftops is crazy bright, and the grounds are so huge that we decide to rent a golf cart to get around.

The Temple of Love (below) is located in the Petit Trianon, a private château that King Louis XVI gave it to his 19-year old Queen Marie Antoinette.  She wanted to escape from the formality of the royal court life.  Afterwards we watch Marie Antoinette which was filmed on site(and stars Kirsten Dunst / Jason Schwartzmann).

Pro tip:  Arrive early (before it opens) to beat the crowds.  If you arrive 30 minutes after opening, the wait can be 1-1.5 hours.  This happens to us, so we purchase guided tours (€7 each) to skip the line.  Well worth it.

As we purchase our tour tickets, the cashier keeps asking if we were really from SF.  Later on I comment, “Maybe he thought we were French?”.  Melissa has a really good laugh at this.  My French is terrible.  Another funny exchange happens just moments later when we meet the ticket-checker.  Our entire time in Paris, I’m greeting everyone with “ça va?” (an informal, “how are you?”), hoping to start the only conversation that I memorize.  Most people don’t respond — I think it’s kind of like saying “What’s up?”.. you don’t actually have to answer.  The ticket-checker, however, responds with “Bien, et toi?”.

I’m a bit caught off guard, but am happy to hear it.  I smile wide and respond with my best “TRE BIEN, MERCI!!”

Nicolas

“My friends would say i am a very good friend (i hope). But they would also say that i am an out of time and an absent-minded man (i am sure).”

Nicolas is nice enough to let us stay with him for our entire stay in Paris.  We meet him on the 1st night and talk for about 15 minutes.  Since we already booked the place through AirBnb, we tell him that we’ll be back tomorrow.  He gives us a set of keys and we meet him the next night.

We share nice evenings with Nicolas, talking about cars, Obama, French/English words, our families, and more.  He cooks us a fantastic dinner on our last night.  After some Kir (crème de cassis [blackcurrant liqueur] topped up with white wine), he serves us stuffed veal and potatoes.  Bon appétit.

We teach Nicolas some English words: Cray Cray, Grill, Hella, Mad, Like, Bougie, Baller, Hater.  He shares some good phrases with us too.

Bib Gourmand = Someone who likes food, “Greedy” De beaux rêves = Sweet dreams Bougie = Candle Ble (wheat) = Money Ratish = Money C’est la balle bébé = It’s the ball, baby (i.e. That’s cool) Lou Lou / Delinquents (“naughty boys in hot areas”) = Gangsters (“They like gold.” “They wear big jackets and big trousers.”) Gourmet = Someone who has good taste (“So I wouldn’t say it is gourmet, but you are a gourmet?”  ”I hope so.”)