"Paris Holds the Key to Her Heart"... Paris Part 1

I seem to be getting some cosmic messages here. For the past 2 or 3 days, I have been constantly reminded that I haven't yet written about my trip to Paris. First I watched on TV Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations in Paris, followed by An American in Paris the next day. I've heard about Paris on the radio, in conversation, a good friend just left for a European study trip of her own, and of course, my dad keeps reminding me that I haven't written of my trip yet.

So here goes.

At the end of May I took my first trip overseas, to Paris to be exact, for a study abroad trip with the Classics department at my university. Studying the classics, mythology, history, and art, we visited a lot of museums and churches, and all that good stuff. But the real meat of the trip (pun intended!) was the food, experiencing the culture and the cuisine.

First and foremost, I can't go any further without talking about how good the city smelled. Disregarding the bathroom-like stench of some of the metro stations, the city as a whole smelled wonderful, like clean air, fresh flowers, butter, sugar, and fresh baked bread. It is that scent that I will always associate with Paris, and one that I wish I could have bottled up and taken with me. There's no other smell like it, and no matter how many cookies or loaves of bread come out of my oven, I cannot duplicate that fresh baked smell of Paris.

During the first whole day, I experienced one of the greatest culinary aspects of Paris. Crepes. Even better, crepes prepared to order on the streets. There really was nothing better than watching the crepe batter spread across the hot skillet, with the topping spread overtop; the scent of melting cheese, or of warmed nutella wafting through the streets. Yes, this street food was so much more fulfilling, and classy than what we often have back at home.