Montmarte

Lucky for us, or me, at least, Michael lives within walking distance of the Montmarte neighborhood. Montmarte just might be my favorite area of Paris. It's further north than most of the big attractions. It has a alternative, colorful, artsy feel to it and I was excited to be back close to my old stomping grounds (my hostel a couple of summers ago was in this neighborhood).

Hopefully I'm not a super annoying 'guide' to Laura. I get so excited when I know where I am, and what things are, and where they are in relation to others. I love translating, and helping to order, and recommending delicious things to eat. It's all great fun.

Michael recommended a cafe for us to grab some breakfast at. We successfully found tartes aux fraises (one of my all time favorite things to eat) and I ordered a little miniature Parisian cafe au lait to accompany it. Something about being in Europe (or France) makes me drink coffee... Something I found interesting were that to-go prices were ridiculously cheaper than prices paid for sitting at their cafe. Naturally, we got our goodies to go and sat on a park bench just a few meters away. Laura fell in love with my tartes and I was proud :)

One of the things I remember most about two summers ago was walking to the Sacre Coeur. A bunch of us from the hostel would go up to the steps there and drink wine every night. We took a different path every time, but all that was important was that we were going up. At the top of the hill, that's where the Sacre Coeur is. So we started taking random paths here and there, climbing stairs and walking up hills. Finally we got to a super touristy area that's kind of at the base of the Sacre Coeur. There are of course many souvenir shops but also many art shops with Parisian posters and metal placards, as well as French cookie shops and other yummy things. My memory proved correct and we turned a corner to gaze up at the Sacre Coeur. I think it is such a fantastically pretty building. The hill it's on is the highest lookout point in Paris so you also have an incredible view of the huge city. I could sit on those steps for hours. It's one of my happy places in the world where I just feel very much at peace, very content with where I am, very settled to live in that one moment. There are so many interesting people out, the view is so great, and there is almost always live music going on. Today was no different. The steps were swarmed and we took a seat front and center. It's kind of like watching a show up there. Soon, we started to see real shows. There was this guy juggling a soccer ball who was REALLY good and did so many crazy tricks I didn't know were possible it kind of blew my mind. His grand finale was climbing a street light pole while balancing the ball on his head or something, getting to the top, then hanging from his arms and continuing to juggle. It was INSANE. He did this show, with slight variations, every 20 or 30 minutes or so. The crowd loved him. There was also this guy playing guitar who was trying really hard to compete with Awesome Juggler. The crowd wasn't feeling him so much but he invited other people to come up and sing with him. Some of the other people were great and very entertaining and it was kind of sad/funny how much more the crowd reacted to the guest singers.

Eventually we peeled ourselves off those cozy steps and walked down the hill that sprawls in front of the Sacre Coeur. I knew we were close to the Moulin Rouge, so I led us through the red light district next. We stopped for crepes, naturally, and soon I was staring up at that beautiful old red windmill again. I feel so incredibly jaded that I'm seeing all these things for the 3rd or 4th time. But, still, every time, the sights still take my breath away. That probably has something to do with why I'm so madly in love with this city.

After spending a lazy day meandering some of my favorite streets, we headed back to Michael's where he told us to meet him around 6 or 7. He was going to give us the key so we could go out for the evening and come back when we liked. We arrived just after 6 to find that Michael was not home and thus, we were locked out. Micheal didn't show up for another 45 minutes, and found us waiting on his doorstep like lost puppies. Once inside though, we took care of some little details and then headed out soon after.

And we were headed to....watch the US/England World Cup game!!! I wish the States was as into soccer/football at Europe is. Watching football games in Europe in bars and/or pubs is such a fun experience, but the vibe just isn't the same in the States. So I am REALLY excited that we're here during the World Cup games, especially the opening games! We went back to Rich's pub, the Frog, to find it more or less packed. The game didn't start for another half an hour so we were hoping we'd find a place to sit by then. I asked Rich how we were supposed to find a table and he told us to go wait at the bar and he'd find us one. Ten minutes before the game started, we were seated close to a TV with delicious microbrews in hand. We were sharing a table with a group of other people also watching the game - it was kind of a beer hall feeling. Then exciting things happened: 1) A CouchSurfer that offered to host us that I'd invited to the game showed up with his friend, and 2) Karly came!!!!! My cousin Karly is studying abroad in Paris so we were of course planning on meeting up. I don't have a phone though, so I'd told her that I'd be at this bar around 8 or 830 for the World Cup game and that she was more than welcome to come. But, I didn't know if she was actually going to show up or not. So sitting in this bar in Paris and having your cousin walk in is pretty freaking exciting!! Karly's boyfriend ended up meeting up with us as well, so we had a great little group going. Once Karly was there, a pitcher of beer was definitely in order.

Side story: The Frog has vodka+caramel and vodka+strawberry shots. I hate vodka. I don't like taking shots. Laura loves caramel. Laura likes taking shots. Laura wanted to take shots. I said, I'll make you deal - I'll take a shot if the US scores a goal. I was sincerely planning (but not hoping) that we would get annihilated by England. Long story short, the US scored (which is when we found out how many US fans were in this English pub) and we had to order shots too. Rough life.

All in all, it was a really fun night and I still kind of can't believe that this stop over in Paris happened so spontaneously. I mean, we were really planning on being in Bordeaux right now. But yesterday and today have just been fantastic. Our train to Bordeaux leaves tomorrow before 8 AM, so a little bit after the game ended, we headed home. On the way out, Rich said he'd show us "Paris proper" later this week, so hopefully that will happen! First though, we've got beaucoup du vin rouge pour boire!