The Abbotts invade Paris! Part 1

This weekend, my cousin Kristi came to visit me and WOW! did we have one crazy weekend! She arrived on Friday afternoon and we headed straight to the Louvre! The line was about 3 hours long and we decided to just take pictures and walk around the grounds instead of going inside. We walked through the Tuileries Gardens and then, I took her to Angelina's! I've been raving about it now to everyone and I couldn't wait to see her reaction to the chocolat chaud. She loved it! And agreed that it was the best she'd ever had! After Angelina's, we went to the Place de la Concorde and then to the Champs-Elysees to do some shopping. After we were all shopped out, we went to the Arc de Triomph. We figured out how to get across the street and I finally got to go to the center of the round-a-bout and stand directly underneath the magnificent Arc. From there, we walked back to my flat and relaxed for awhile and then went to dinner at a fun, cowboy-themed restaurant called Buffalo Grill, where I devoured my meal! Finally! Something edible that I really enjoyed. I will be going back very soon!

Saturday morning was the worst morning of my life! It started out like any morning. I woke up, ate, took a shower, put my pjs back on to go back upstairs to my room and get clean clothes for the day. I grabbed a few things to take up with me and as I shut the door, I realized my keys were still hanging on the other side of the door! I had locked myself out! I walk up to my room, leave my things outside my door (the key to my room is also on my keychain) and say a quick prayer for help and guidance. I head back downstairs and head to the Concierge, thinking that he MUST have keys to all the apartments right?
I knock on the door and no one answers. I begin to walk away and head to the elevator, when the door opens and I see a head pop out. I turn back and ask if he's the concierge and he says yes and in my very broken french try to explain my situation. He speaks no English at all and we had a hard time communicating. What I understood was that there was no duplicate key, he didnt have the Crubezy's cell phone numbers and that was all he could tell me. Oh, and sorry. I understood that too! I say thank you and as I walk to the elevator, I burst into tears. At this point, I am completely panicked! I dont know Matt and Flo's numbers by heart yet and my cell phone is inside. Meanwhile, Kristi is standing at the Metro stop waiting for me, wondering what is going on! I get to my floor and collapse on my stairs and just cry. I am out of ideas.
 My neighbor across the hall comes out and asks if Im okay and I tell her what happened. She looks through her phone and turns out she doesnt have Matt or Flo's numbers either!  However, she does tell me that Matt and Flo have a friend on the 4th floor who might be home! Finally, some hope in this horrendous mess! I knock on the door and she doesnt open but just talks through the door at first. I probably would too if a girl with no makeup, wet hair and pajamas was knocking on my door! I explain who I am and I tell her my dilemma. She was very sweet and immediately invites me in and gets Matthieu on the phone for me. YAY!
So, I fill Matthieu in and he says that his dad has a key and he will get ahold of him as soon as he can to send him over. YAY! But wait! My cousin is still waiting for me! How am I going to get ahold of her? I dont know her number either! Rheine, (the neighbor) lends me a pair of flip flops and off I go! Running down the streets of Paris, in flip flops that dont fit, wet hair, no makeup and in my pajamas! Im sure the people sipping their coffees at the half a dozen cafes I ran past and people out walking their dogs just thought I was some crazy American girl out for a jog! I was mortified but it was an emergency and I had to do what I had to do. I found Kristi and we headed back to my flat to wait for Jean-Claude. He comes within a half hour or so and we make it inside. WORST MORNING EVER!

Once I was able to calm down, we headed out for another day of sight-seeing! We walked around all day! We went to an area called St. Paul-lots of cute bistros and cafes and also where Victor Hugo's house is. We saw the Seine river and Notre Dame, ate some amazing sorbet and then walked to an area called St. Michel. Another area with fun shops, cafes, ect. Then, I took Kristi to The Luxembourg Gardens. We stopped at a grocery store on the way and grabbed some drinks, a big baguette, brie cheese and some strawberries. We had a lovely picnic in front of the huge chateau that's in the center of the gardens.
After our picnic, we hopped on a train to le tour eiffel. As we stood in line, almost to the ticket counter, it starts raining! Kristi and I both look at each other and just start laughing! Both of us are in dresses, ballet flats and have no way of covering ourselves. It was just the kind of day we were having! Luckily, as we started up the 700 stairs, the rain stopped and we were able to enjoy the beautiful views from the 1st, 2nd and the summit levels without being drenched.

We walked down the 700 stairs and walked to a nice grassy area and find a bench, in front of the tower to watch the sparkle. While we were enjoying the view, these three French guys come up to us and start asking our names and where we were from. We tried very hard to give them the idea that we didnt wanna talk to them, but they were very persistent. They figured out that I knew a lil French and started talking to me in French! To make a long story short, they ruined our sparkle moment by not leaving us alone and were even trying to take pictures with us and we had to literally just get up from our bench and say Au revoir! Ugh european men are so aggressive. To end our day, we got crepes at this cute lil place by my house. And in that blissful moment as I savored my nutella-banana crepe, I forgot about the tears,  the panic, the humiliation, and the jog in my pajamas.

PS I will post pics of this weekend as soon as I get them from Kristi. Her camera liked me more! Bonne semaine mes amis!