So Amanda Nicole Lustig has officially taken on Paris! It was absolutely gorgeous, and surpassed all expectations I had! It's truly a unique city. Much like New York it's fun to visit, but I feel like I could never live there! It is just so big, and very spread out. Thank goodness for the metro for sure!

Our journey began Thursday night when we left Sevilla for the airport. We knew it probably wasn't going tobe easy due to the strike that the air traffic controllers were holding in France. Of course this would happen when I plan on travelling there! Upon checking in, we found out that indeed our flight had been cancelled—BUT there was another flight two hours later we could all get on. What's two more hours in the Madrid airport anyways? We flew from Sevilla to Madrid where we had to spend the night. Luckily, we found some cushions and set up camp. At around 6am, we were woken up by other travelers bustling around. Well, we were also woken up several times during the night by announcements over the PA, a cleaning woman banging trashcans for no apparent reason, and other various airport noises. At 11, we were finally able to begin our boarding process for our Paris flight. Landing in Paris was surreal. Once I saw the Eiffel Tower from the plane, it became real. I was actually in PARIS!

We took a train from the airport to our hostel. The place was about a 20 minute ride to the center of the city, but it was in a very nice suburb that had a grocery store nearby, and everyone seemed very nice. After getting settled into our seven person apartment, we went grocery shopping. This might not sound too difficult, but when everything is in French, it's always an adventure. We went back "home" and cooked ourselves a pretty darn good pasta dinner. After dinner we ran into the city to take advantage of the Lourve being free on Friday nights for students! It was truly astonishing! When my mom said one could spend days in the Lourve, she wasn't kidding!!! It was so much bigger than I ever imagined, and we only got to look at one wing! But we got to see Miss Mona Lisa so I was content! After the Lourve, we walked around looking for some crepes. We weren't messing around! We found a café and we all ate dessert crepes which were fantastic! Then, like a pack of zombies, we meandered our way back to our hostel where we finally got a good night's sleep.

Saturday was a complete blur! We woke up at a half-way decent hour, had some breakfast, and made our way to the Notre Dame. Another absolutely gorgeous sight. Only pictures can do it justice. We then walked along the Siene to the Bastille where we took some pictures, and continued on to Champs Elysees. It was so fun window shopping along all of the amazing French designer labels. We finally came upon the Arc du Triomphe which was WAY bigger than I thought! It literally took my breath away once we got up close. Next we took the metro to the highlight of the day—the Eiffel Tower. We got out of the metro stop, and I looked up and gasped. Much like the Arc du Triomphe, it was also much bigger than I ever imagined! My friends thought it would be a great idea to save 3 euro, and WALK UP! I'm glad I did it, but oy I'm never doing it again! From the top there was an absolutely amazing view of Paris (and I'm sure on a clear day a few other countries too!). We probably spent at least an hour just walking around and around trying to really take in the view. It was so unreal. After our epic hike up the Eiffel Tower, we had our "splurge" dinner in Paris. We found a great restaurant that specialized in all things duck. As it would turn out, boy, doI love duck! For an appetizer I had duck fois gras that came in second place in all of France! I'm no duck liver expert, but it certainly tasted like first place fois gras if you ask me! For my main dish I had grilled duck breast in a honey glaze. Equally astounding! And for dessert, I couldn't resist chocolate mousse. A 100% Parisian meal that I'll be talking about for years. We then ventured back home and went to sleep with very happy tummies.

On Sunday, we woke up and went to Rue Mouffetard (suggested by my roommate at Pitt, Lisa—good recommendation girl!). It was full of amazing shops—chocolate, fruit, clothing, crepes, wine, cheese—everything! We spent all morning and a good portion of the afternoon there, then we were off to Musee D'Orsay! I thought it was much more enjoyable than the Lourve only because it wasn't so overwhelming. Only two floors, and much easier to navigate. All of the art was fantastic, and I got really excited when I saw something I recognized from class. After the museum, we went to Monmarte where we had QUITE an adventure near Moulin Rouge! We took some pictures of the famous windmill on top of the building, and then walked across the street where we found the Erotic Museum of Paris—not for the faint of heart! We didn't dare go inside, but looking in from the windows was more than an eyeful!!! The Parisians really hold nothing back! That was enough for one night so we once again meandered back to our hostel for the night. Upon returning to the hostel, I found myself a little itchy. I had a small rash developing on my legs, but I thought nothing of it. My friend luckily had some Benadryl cream, so I applied some, went to bed, and hoped it would be gone by morning. This story will be continued later at the Madrid airport part deux.

Monday was our last day in Paris and three of my friends and I went to Le Marais—the Jewish quarter of Paris. It was gorgeous, and delicious! Real potato latkes, challah, knishes, hamentashen, and even bagels and lox! It was truly a sight for sore eyes! I was in HEAVEN! My friends were shocked at my uncanny ability to find a bagel shop with only my nose. At one point, I turned my nose to the air and said, "There are bagels here somewhere." Sure enough, we turned the next corner and there they were. I'm a pro; what can I say. Sadly, after some delicious French pastries, it was time to depart for the airport. Our flight was severely delayed, so instead they put us on one that was an hour earlier! Good news for once from the French airports! Upon landing in Madrid (part deux) I noticed I was pretty darn itchy. I went to the bathroom to change into sweatpants for the night and quickly noticed I was COVERED from hips to toes in a lovely patchy scarlet rash. It was painfully itchy, and I knew I couldn't spend any more time like this. I went to the information desk and asked (without sounding TOO alarmed) if there was a doctor in the airport. They said they would have to bring one in, and that I would have to wait for someone to come get me. Upon hearing this, I requested my friend Mica to come with me—I think I've mentioned before that she is from Argentina, and completely fluent. Although I'm confident in my Spanish skills, when it comes to medical jargon, I'm just not quite up to snuff. An airport employee came to get me (with a friggen wheelchair) and I was carted off(with Mica in tow) to some distant area of the Madrid airport where the doctor would meet us. Upon meeting the doctor in the clinic, he said well what seems to be the problem. I rolled up my sweatpants and he said, "Well, what have you eaten?!" I know I don't have food allergies so it became less of a question of HOW I got it, and more of a question of how to treat it. The doctor and nurse began talking too fast for me to understand and by the time I decided to ask Mica what they were saying, they nurse took out an IV tray. Perfect. As much as I love IV's, I could think of a few other ways I would have liked to spend my time in Madrid. They pumped me full of antihystamines and corticosteroids and I was soon much less itchy, and much more tired! Mica was a great help and after getting my prescription for more antihystamines filled at the 24 hour pharmacy, it was finally bedtime in the Madrid airport. Never a dull moment for Amanda Nicole!

And so ends my adventures in Paris. Tomorrow I'm off to Cork, Ireland to visit Kate and explore the Irish countryside!

Mucho amor y besitos!