Today we had a bit of a slow start. Last night was a bit rough for some of the people in our group. We ended up sleeping in, getting a late lunch, then getting ready to head out for the day. Originally our plan was to go and do a TON of shopping at Au Printemps then walk to one of Paris' most famous chocolate shops: La Maison du Chocolat.
So we got on the metro and rode over to the Right Bank. As soon as we left the metro station it started to pour. We've been getting a fair amount of rain over the past few days and today was no different. Fortunately, Au Printemps was right in front of the station so we were able to run in quickly.
To explain a bit about where we were shopping: Paris has two huge department stores. The first one is the Galeries Lafayette. It's the original department store in Paris and is very popular and well-known. The second is Au Printemps. If the Galeries Lafayette is considered glamorous and huge, then Au Printemps is by far its much more fabulous and other the top cousin. Au Printemps has three massive stores on the corners of the Boulevard Haussman and another street. One is for men's apparel, one's for beauty and home goods, and the third is for women's clothing and accessories. The one for women's things is eight stories.
As soon as we walked in we realized we had not come prepared. It was more crowded than a New York City black friday in there. There were lines to see designer purses at Louis Vuitton, Longchamp, Prada, and dozens of other high end brands. I think the cheapest thing I saw in all eight levels was a pair of shoes that were 75% off and still going to set me back a solid 100 euros. It was unfortunately out of my price range. Despite this we still had a great time wandering through and looking at some of the most high end, designer clothing, shoes, and accessories in Paris.
When we left we stopped into a massive two-level H&M that was located just a little ways down the block. After a little more hectic shopping there we left and went to look for the chocolate store. Unfortunately we got very turned around and ended up quite lost. The good news is that we asked for directions from a very nice woman who told us exactly where to get on the metro and which trains and stops we needed to use to get home.
Four stops and three train transfers later and we were successfully back in the much less designer and much quieter Latin Quarter. I've been here an entire week and the metro and RER underground transportation systems are FINALLY starting to make sense to me. All this adding on Paris has done over the years has made it ridiculously complicated.
For a late dinner tonight we ran out and got chinese from a restaurant down the street. I got a delicious chicken and noodles entree then split eggrolls with Laura. I don't really know what they do to their food but it's distinctly more asian than chinese is at home. We were also extremely confused as to why they gave us a small head of lettuce and these little sesame seed peanut jelly cubes. They tasted good, but the texture was just far too odd. They were way too asian for us. We're used to fortune cookies and deep fried chicken smothered and soy sauce and MSG.
Tonight it's been raining again so I'm taking it easy and staying in. I'm planning on getting up early tomorrow for breakfast and a walk in Luxembourg Gardens. I also need to do some homework eventually so I might do that tomorrow too. Might being the operative word.
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