Expensive tea, the Sacred Heart, and Greek food en France

Tuesday/Mardi/Martes I woke up late because I was too lazy to dig out my alarm clock and set it the previous night. I managed to still grab breakfast, but I missed the optional morning excursions. It turned out for the better though probably, because I bought an internet card and went online for a bit, then explored the area outside my hotel with a few people. We hit up a Starbucks (apparently there aren’t any in Rennes, but Paris definitely had a few. Nothing like New York City though, or even Pittsburgh).

Starbucks in France is so. incredibly. expensive. I thought that I was being a smart frugal girl when I ordered tea (also… I hate coffee), but the tea was 3,10€. That’s $4.02, for all of you not following along at home. Yeah. Whatever Starbucks.

We got lunch again at the hostel, and went out afterwards for a tour of l’Hôtel de Ville. It’s this really pretty building in Paris that’s home to a lot of offices, as well as hosting tons of parties and stuff throughout the year. This is another thing that I’m not sure if I saw or not the last time I was in Paris… whoops.

Afterwards a small group of us headed out with one of the moniteurs to Montmartre. We saw the Sacre Coeur, as well as some amazing views of Paris. Then everyone went out for coffee… and I got a crêpe. MmMmm…

FYI: The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city. Just in case you didn't know. I didn't, until I few days ago. Thanks Wikipedia.


View from the Sacre Coeur


Le Sacre Coeur. I didn't take this photo. Mine were terrible quality, plus it was a really really grey day.

We had dinner free, so a group of us walked around with the moniteurs and settled on a Greek restaurant. One of the moniteurs did a bit of negotiating, and managed to get us a discount if we all ordered the same meal. We ended up paying 6€ each... otherwise, it would’ve been more like 11 or 12. I don’t think you can play that game in the US, but I had no problem with it here. We had gyros with French fries. I tried to remember some of my Greek, but that was a complete fail…