Paris

Hey guys. I spent the weekend in Paris. How fancy does that sound? I had a great time with Alkali and Kameron. Before heading out to the airport on Friday, I am glad I made the impulse decision to bring my hoodie along. Paris was chilly. Felt like a Texas November (when it is cold, not hot).

Getting to Paris, we wasted no time. We arrived around 6 PM; and around 7 PM we were already snapping pictures of a pretty famous structure here that they called the Eiffel Tower. Maybe you have heard of it. Seriously though, I was kind of taken away. The Eiffel Tower has always been one of those things that I’ve heard about or seen on cool HD Wallpaper websites; but I never thought it would be something I would actually stand in front of. What a majestic sight. 

As Friday got darker, we grabbed dinner at some nice little restaurant. Once we filled our energy meters, we walked to l'Arc de Triomphe, which was another really massive structure and really pretty to look at. At this point, we decided to head back to the Eiffel Tower. Looking at the lit-up tower was so cool and felt very surreal. That is how we wrapped up our Friday. 

Saturday was a day of croissants and expensive espresso. We started our day by visiting the Catacombes. What a slightly unsettling place… but still really cool to walk through. After spending probably like an hour and a half underground, we finally surfaced again and made our way through the city, towards Notre Dame.  

The Louvre was the next cool place we walked to. It would have been nice to go in and see my buddy Mona, but the three hour wait was a bit much. Instead I snapped this sick pano in one of the courtyards.

After hitting up The Louvre, we grabbed a well-needed espresso… maybe two. We went to a coffee bar pretty close to Picasso’s art studio (Le Bateau-Lavoir). That was neat to see. I think my creative side was enlightened after that visit. 

Around 5 PM, we decided to take on one of the main events… How can you go to Paris without climbing the Eiffel? Well that is exactly what we did. Look at this view. Wow. 

That was really how we topped our day off. We took a nice little sight-seeing cruise down the river afterwards. It was fun to just wave at people and look at the sights of Paris. Finishing up our Paris adventure, we had to go out with a bang. And out with a bang we went. Food in Paris was yummy. And so expensive. But so worth it. 

Going to Paris this weekend was such an amazing time. So far, this IRES research experience has been a great engineering and cultural learning opportunity. I am excited to add all of these experiences to my professional and personal collection of memories. I feel very fortunate to be spending time on this side of the world with these guys. 

Au revoir mis amis.