Laure and Quarup

With one friend working in Europe for the Fall and two others traveling around Europe, we decided to all come together in the City of Light. We met in Paris for a weekend of food and aimless walks down beautiful streets. Being only four hours away by a direct high speed train from Zürich, Paris was an easy meeting point for us.

Our ride awaits. Three stops until Paris!

We woke up early Saturday for a baking class (at an actual bakery) making croissants and baguettes. The instructor was a really good baker but he was over booked with classes. We felt the course was a little rushed and over priced but we had a fun morning and walked away with stomachs full of croissants and baguettes - with some left over.

Shaping baguettes. Photo by Peter

Rolled and ready for the freezer and then to be baked tomorrow.

Peter sneaking more chocolate into his Pain au chocolat.

With our instructor and the fruits of our labor. Photo by Peter

Maybe we snagged more bread than we could eat but at least it was put to good use.

During the majority of the weekend we strolled around streets lined with chic boutique shops, browsed the Marché des Enfants Rouges, and ate.That's right, no museums or Eiffel tower.

On Sunday, three of us escaped from the rain into the underground Catacombs of Paris. It is an ossuary holding the remains of approximately six million people. Visitors can walk two kilometers of the renovated caverns and tunnels filled with neatly stacked human bones.

Photo by Peter

Who knew bones could be so beautiful.

Originally these tunnels were stone quarries dating back to before the 18th Century.

Blending in with the rest of the Parisians five stories underground.

We underestimated Paris traffic during the rain and didn't make our evening train back to Switzerland. We were stuck in Paris for an additional night. Since this train requires seat reservations, we had to pay an additional cost for a new train ticket - ouch. On the bright side, we got to enjoy one last delicious dinner and morning croissants in Paris.