LEFTBANKED.

2.26.2014

378. Paris | Jardin Des Tuileries

The Tuileries Garden is one of my favourite places in Paris. it's a beautiful place to just walk around and relax, especially with delicious Amorino gelato. I can spend hours sitting beside the fountain.

On one end is Place de la Concorde, on the other is the Louvre.

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377. Desserts

We seem to eat a lot of desserts. Especially at hotel lounges.

Deq at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Library Bar at the Royal York Hotel.

Consort Bar at the King Edward Hotel

& if it's the middle of the night with everything closed, there's always the 24-hr 7 West Cafe

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376. Paris | Père Lachaise Cemetery

The Pere Lachaise Cemetery is a large and beautiful cemetery in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. I didn't have time to visit it when I was in Paris a few months ago, but I went in 2012. Here are some photos I took. I met a man named Luc when I was there. He randomly came up to me and asked if we could walk together. He lived nearby and always takes walks around the cemetery. He didn't speak much English so we spent most of the time just walking around in silence. It was kind of annoying and a bit awkward. I would've preferred to explore a cemetery by myself since it would be much more peaceful. Since he was following me around I didn't stay that long, and only visited a few of the graves I wanted to see. I definitely need to go back again and spend more time there. The Edith Piaf one took us awhile to find (in the photo above). I'm sure most of you know her famous song La Vie En Rose (one of my favourite French songs!). There's other famous people buried here such as Max Ernst, Jim Morrison, Eugene Delacroix, Chopin, Gertrude Stein, and many others. The main one I wanted to see of course was Oscar Wilde's tomb:

The glass around it is full of kisses and messages written in lipstick.

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375. Prague | Memories

I can't believe I still have photos left to post from my 2012 Europe trip! Next time I go on vacation I definitely won't procrastinate with my travel posts again (I think I say this every time). In case you're bored with all the London and Paris photos I've been posting lately, here's one of my favourite cities - Prague. The few days I spent in Prague that summer were some of the most fun I've had in Europe (so far). I enjoyed the city so much, I must go back again someday..preferably in the winter. I'm sure it would be a lot more magical and picturesque with snow-covered rooftops.

That trip to Europe was the first time I ever travelled alone (I prefer it over travelling with someone/people now). I was so happy and excited whenever I met the locals, I talked to everyone who made conversation with me. It was extremely easy in Prague. On my first walk around the area, in the span of an hour I probably met about 20 people with more dinner/drinks/club invitations than I had time for. The most fun was with these guys, and the worst was probably this experience I had sitting across this absinthe shop. Well, when I think back it seemed a bit dangerous. Now that I have more experience travelling alone, I am no longer as trusting of random strangers.
I don't remember if I wrote about this before already. I was trying to find my way to Charles Bridge and took a wrong turn. I ended up sitting on a bench here to look at the map. A guy came up and sat beside me. The first thing he said to me was "do you want a sip?" as he offered his bottle of water. I said no. He asked me where I was from, what I was doing in Prague, etc. He was from Russia but went back and forth quite often. Then he showed me a piece of paper and a whip. I asked what the whip was for and he said it was decoration for a house, as he was an interior designer. Hmmmm....
Then he said he was going to put up the piece of paper/sign in his shop and will be back to bring me to Charles Bridge. He told me to wait for him. So he left and I just stayed at the bench..I didn't really care about waiting for him, but I was so tired (remember not to wear heels in the cobblestone streets of Prague) so I needed the rest. He came back in about 20min and was surprised I was still there. We chatted some more and he asked if I wanted to wait for him to get his car, so he could drive me around and to Charles Bridge. I said sure. I have no idea what I was thinking but for some reason I was actually considering getting in the car. So he left again to get his car..and suddenly I started thinking of different scenarios like him driving me to an unknown place and not letting me get out. I knew Charles Bridge was a couple minutes' walk from where I was, so I knew he wasn't planning on driving me there. After a few more horrific possible scenarios passed through my mind..I immediately got up and walked away as fast as I could. I made it safely to Charles Bridge. I ended up meeting someone else (who wasn't as weird) who brought me out for drinks and around the city. Fun night!