Day 5: The Day We Got Lost on Purpose

Today was the first day of classes, my teacher is the epitome of a French teacher. Energetic, loud, and curly orange hair with a pink tint. She started the class with asking me to ring a fake gong and with every passing moment everyone became more comfortable with her.
3 hours later, after the longest consecutive lecture since elementary school, we got lunch at La Croissanterie and took off to l'Hotel de Ville where there was a free Paris Haute Couture exhibit. There are two pictures of this, one I stole from my friend Taryn who is much better at PicStitch than me. It was AMAZING, you could watch videos of the clothes being made and see original sketches from designers like givenchy, dior, chanel, and balenciaga. You could also see these amazing haute couture gowns which were beautiful. All I kept thinking is that if I could have found these dresses (and a million dollars) before prom I would have been in heaven.
We then decided to hop on the metro and get off wherever we thought sounded the coolest because we wanted to try to get lost on purpose. I was pretty skeptical and I thought I would end up in some sketchy back alley of Paris and never find my way out. However, I knew that the city was safe and we were headed toward the swanky end so it couldn't be that bad. What I didn't expect was to get out of the metro and find myself on the Champs-Elysees right on the non-touristy side of the Arc de Triomphe. That's where we had brough ourselves though so we ventured on and wandered around the 16th arrondisement, where all of the richest of the rich live.
We then stopped for dinner at a little cafe in the heart of the 16th arrondisement at a cafe called Cafe de Victor Hugo on the side of a rotary with a giant fountain in it. I ordered a Croque Madame which is a croque monsier (grilled ham and cheese) with a fried egg on top and jus de pamplemousse (grapefruit juice). IT. WAS. AMAZING. I ate until I couldn't anymore and then we sat and did some people-watching until our waiter finally brought our check. We have learned that the waiters not only expect but want you to sit and wait at the cafes. They are offended if you do not take some time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere while sipping or smoking whatever you have with you.
After dinner we took the metro to the 5th arrondisement, the Latin Quarter, to St. Michel where there was so much to see. Since most universities are in this area there is a large student population which means lively cafes, bookstores, and boutiques. This area was the most Parisian that I have seen aside from the 4th arrondisement. We stopped in a boutique and I bought an adorable dress, which any of my family members can agree I don't need. But, when in Paris... Anyways, once we had our fill of shopping we discovered that our feet were aching again which is always a good time to stop. We headed back to our hotel room for a nice bowl of gelato and a glass of wine and decided to call it a night. A demain Paris.