"Paris Holds the Key to My Heartttttt"

...Quite literally, it does! 

Plus, Kayla and I galavanted across Paris singing the catchy Anastasia tune so the song-inspired title of this blog post was a must!

This weekend was filled with so much cousinly love. It was like patching up my homesickness with a little band-aide, which was exactly what the doctor ordered. I think I almost tackled her to ground when I finally hopped off the bus in Paris. After waking up at 4:30 am and traveling by taxi, plane, and bus, she was definitely a pleasant sight to see!

After lugging my baggage through the metro and huffing and puffing my way across the cobble-stoned streets of Paris to her apartment, I had one request: FEED ME!

With so many adorable french restaurants available, we obviously ended up at a pizzeria. Who needs a baguette, right? It was rather odd not being able to order my own food, converse with the locals, or navigate the streets. I kept accidentally saying "gracias" too...which was awkward. I was Kayla-dependent on everything this weekend. I would have been utterly lost without her. 

We gorged ourselves on pizza and then headed straight to the Eiffel Tower. 

...And then to the Arc de Triomphe.

Later that night, we met up with some of Kayla's friends for an incredibly delicious homemade mac n' cheese dinner and wine night. I was really embracing the French culture, right? However, I did learn how to be "Parisian." You can't look people in the eye when walking down the street because it is seen as suggestive and you must avoid talking to people on the metro unless you want to fear for your life. The last part was a bit tricky for me because I'm always talking to random people here in Spain. I just love meeting new friends and practicing my Spanish! There were quite a few instances when someone would talk to me in French, I'd turn to Kayla to translate, and she'd promptly reply, "Madi, NO."

After dinner, we went to a couple different bars. It was a fun first night in Paris!

A monumental event took place the following morning: we went to Breakfast in America. We endured waiting outside in the freezing cold in order to satisfy some of our American food cravings.

Let me tell you, it was worth it! The cheeseburger was glorious and the bottomless cup of Joe was a much-missed American amenity.

After brunch, Kayla and I visited the Notre Dame. What a beautiful cathedral!

We accidentally stumbled upon the Lock Bridge, which I obviously had to contribute to. The tradition consists of writing your name and someone you love on the lock and then throwing the key into the river so that you'll always be locked together.

Kayla and I then accomplished something extremely impressive. We toured the entire Louvre in less than 3 hours. It was quite a feat that my feet did not enjoy but a worthwhile experience nonetheless. However, I really don't get the allure of the Mona Lisa. How did it get so famous??

Our walk back to Kayla's apartment was beautiful. It was miserably cold, but how can you complain when you get to witness a Paris sunset?

For dinner, Kayla and I ate crepes. Finally something French! I had a French meal the following day too, baguettes and all!

Despite the beauty of Paris, I couldn't help but miss Barcelona. Being away made me realize how much I really do love the people, the food, the culture, and most of all the language. I found myself comparing every little thing to Barcelona. Kayla is so happy in Paris, but I definitely wouldn't fit in there. The coldness of the people alone would drive me crazy.

Once I got back to Barcelona, it was so refreshing to converse in Spanish with my cab driver the entire way back to my apartment. We discussed Las Vegas and he kept asking me all these questions about the Montecito. I thought he was mispronouncing the Monte Carlo until I realized he was referring to the Montecito Casino from the SHOW Las Vegas. I had to break his heart and let him know it wasn't a real casino. It was pretty funny.