We decided to leave Vincent's place because Guillaume was kind enough to offer up his room to us. He is staying with Julia for the weekend which is so generous of him. Vincent was just a little bizarre and Guillaume has a mattress for us. Turns out Guillaume was nicer than we could have imagined or hoped for. We arrived and he had an extra set of keys for us and he'd bought us fresh croissants for this morning and little packaged waffle things for future breakfasts! Amazing!
With our last and FINAL (!!!!) move of the trip done (except for to and from airports), we headed back to the St. Michel area where we were meeting up with Rich. He was waiting for us by the fountain and promptly announced that he was freezing, so we went to a cafe about 10 meters from where we were currently standing. Have I mentioned I love cafes in Paris? Or anywhere really, but in Paris, especially. We spent a couple hours over our petit cafes telling him some of our most ridiculous stories and hearing about his life here in Paris, including his morning at a literary festival, his adventures in shopping trolleys, et le coupe du monde. He moved here from England around 2 years ago and works at a bar and lives the 20-something Parisian life. I have a lot of admiration, I guess is the word, for him making the leap to move here. He's the first person I've met that's actually doing what I've been talking about doing for years, so it was inspiring to hear what that's like.
When Rich left to go back to work (after stubbornly insisting on paying for my too expensive cafe au lait), we wandered around the area, went past the Notre Dame again, found some great street food, high fived some Scottish men in kilts, and got little French flags handed to us. When it started raining we decided to come back to Guillaume's to get some more layers. This stop over ended up being much longer than anticipated, but we were planning out other things to do and Laura was trying to figure out how on earth to cheaply get to CDG for her 8 AM flight. I cannot believe this trip is almost over. What she decided was that she would just go Sunday night on one of the last metros and spend the night in the airport or something. Which means this is our last night together....tear :'(
The weather cleared up and around 930 we headed to the Eiffel Tour to go see it at night and catch its little light show. It's so gorgeous at night. I know I've seen it so many times and I know the rest of the world also thinks it's gorgeous, but still, I think it's just beautiful at night. We found a little shop that was still open, bought a 4.90 euro bottle of wine which was to become our project for the night. The nice men at the shop even opened it for us. We took our seats about 5 minutes before the light show, which really isn't that big of a deal but it's still cool to see. After the light show, we watched some street dancing before jumping on another metro and heading back to Montmarte.
We got to Montmarte around midnight so there was still live music being played and a few people dancing but there weren't as many people as I was hoping. We sat on the steps and could see the Centre Pompidou, the Notre Dame, and the Invalides all lit up. After about 30 seconds, people started talking to us (that's why I love The Steps). I spoke in French for the majority of the night, because the drunk Algerian boys didn't really speak that much English. We found a group of a few Americans who were all studying in Scotland and here visiting. We spent the next hour and a half or so working through our bottle, gazing up at the Sacre Coeur (also stunning at night) and talking with our new friends. Eventually it started to get cold and I started to have to go to the bathroom, and we weren't sure if the metros were still running so we headed home.
We got lucky and the metros WERE still running but when we got out of the station we had no idea what street we were on. We thought it would be a great idea to run down the up escalator and go back through the metro to another exit. When we got to the bottom of the escalator we found that the doors to the metro locked shut (because they were exit doors). Bummer. So we went back up to street level and found our way home.
My brain is tired.
Quotes:
"I've got Paris. Sure, I don't travel much, but I've got Paris! That's all that matters." - Rich
Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paris. Show all posts
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Vincent - CS #24
Oh man this morning was weird. We had to leave Noemie's flat because she's gone for the weekend. We headed to Vincent's place. When we got there, there were 3 other CouchSurfers there; two of them were heading out for the day though. With the three of us that were left, even though we were tired and hungry and it was nice out and we wanted to go play in Paris, he started showing us 10 minutes of 3 different videos and giving us little mini lectures in between. It was the strangest thing! This was after he showed us some of his aikido (sp??) skills and gave me a lecture on how much sugar is in hamburgers (he is a dentist, FYI).
So, we watched some of a shark movie, and then some of a Fast and the Furious movie, and then some of a Katherine Heigl movie, and finally it was like 11, and we were STARVING and we were like - Hey man, we want to go outside and stop watching 10 minutes of all these random movies and eat some food and figure out our plans! So he let us use his internet (which was not wifi, because he 'heard' somewhere that wifi was bad for you) and we coordinated with three different people for today and tomorrow and finally left around noon.
It was a crazy morning. Once we got out of the house though we went to the Opera area and found pastries and some cheese and bread sticks. Then we walked back down to Rue de Rivoli and around Place de la Concorde and the Jardin de Tuilieres. We sat at the garden for a while looking out over the Place de la Concorde. Finally we left and looked at trinkety souvenir shops making our way to the Comedie Francaise. You can get really cheap tickets, but we wanted to know if there were any English shows (there aren't). Then we went to Gallerie Lafayette and looked at a lot of expensive things that we can't actually afford.
After that, we went to an Aussie bar called Cafe Oz to meet up with another CouchSurfer who is living in Paris this summer with her German boyfriend. There was also a 5th surfer who met up with us. The five of us watched the US/Slovenia game which was great fun. It was a really nice spontaneous CouchSurfing group. Everybody was willing to converse and laugh and we all got along quite well. The game was really exciting too - our comeback was sweet and we 100% got robbed of our winning goal. I don't usually get upset with ref calls, but this was just....tragic. Really, an awful, awful, literally game changing call. Major bummer.
After the game ended Laura and I found another place to have a nice dinner close to the Grands Boulevards. We split a pizza and I got red wine (she got chardonnay). Then...after looking at so many menus and going "that would be good" I finally ordered a cheese plate. However, Laura didn't really want any, so Yes, I did eat the entire cheese plate. And I loved it. Don't judge me for eating like a cow. I'm in Paris. I got brie, camembert, and chevre, and they were all delicious. Also, for a plate of all three and a ton of fresh baguette bread it was only 7 euros which I'm pretty sure is way cheaper than you could get all that cheese in the states!
So after a delicious meal that I still cannot believe I ate all of (!!!!) we went to the Bastille to meet up with Estelle!!! Estelle was one of our hosts in Brussels, Belgium and she is here in Paris visiting her friend. We went out to dinner with her, Julia, and Julia's boyfriend Guillaume (I didn't / couldn't eat anything) and it was so much fun to see her again and to hang out and chat!!!
Then we went back to Vincent's place and were happy to know that we got an air mattress instead of just a floor. That was good news...
So, we watched some of a shark movie, and then some of a Fast and the Furious movie, and then some of a Katherine Heigl movie, and finally it was like 11, and we were STARVING and we were like - Hey man, we want to go outside and stop watching 10 minutes of all these random movies and eat some food and figure out our plans! So he let us use his internet (which was not wifi, because he 'heard' somewhere that wifi was bad for you) and we coordinated with three different people for today and tomorrow and finally left around noon.
It was a crazy morning. Once we got out of the house though we went to the Opera area and found pastries and some cheese and bread sticks. Then we walked back down to Rue de Rivoli and around Place de la Concorde and the Jardin de Tuilieres. We sat at the garden for a while looking out over the Place de la Concorde. Finally we left and looked at trinkety souvenir shops making our way to the Comedie Francaise. You can get really cheap tickets, but we wanted to know if there were any English shows (there aren't). Then we went to Gallerie Lafayette and looked at a lot of expensive things that we can't actually afford.
After that, we went to an Aussie bar called Cafe Oz to meet up with another CouchSurfer who is living in Paris this summer with her German boyfriend. There was also a 5th surfer who met up with us. The five of us watched the US/Slovenia game which was great fun. It was a really nice spontaneous CouchSurfing group. Everybody was willing to converse and laugh and we all got along quite well. The game was really exciting too - our comeback was sweet and we 100% got robbed of our winning goal. I don't usually get upset with ref calls, but this was just....tragic. Really, an awful, awful, literally game changing call. Major bummer.
After the game ended Laura and I found another place to have a nice dinner close to the Grands Boulevards. We split a pizza and I got red wine (she got chardonnay). Then...after looking at so many menus and going "that would be good" I finally ordered a cheese plate. However, Laura didn't really want any, so Yes, I did eat the entire cheese plate. And I loved it. Don't judge me for eating like a cow. I'm in Paris. I got brie, camembert, and chevre, and they were all delicious. Also, for a plate of all three and a ton of fresh baguette bread it was only 7 euros which I'm pretty sure is way cheaper than you could get all that cheese in the states!
So after a delicious meal that I still cannot believe I ate all of (!!!!) we went to the Bastille to meet up with Estelle!!! Estelle was one of our hosts in Brussels, Belgium and she is here in Paris visiting her friend. We went out to dinner with her, Julia, and Julia's boyfriend Guillaume (I didn't / couldn't eat anything) and it was so much fun to see her again and to hang out and chat!!!
Then we went back to Vincent's place and were happy to know that we got an air mattress instead of just a floor. That was good news...
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Walking
Today we did the free city walking tour of Paris, which sadly paled in comparison to Stephanie's Berlin tour and failed to live up to Keith's Prague tour. A bit of a bummer, but we got some good walking and sight seeing in. I can't put my finger exactly on what I didn't like, and when I try it just ends up being a nitpicky list of negative things, so I'll spare you. But it was just missing something.
After the tour, we sat on a bench for a while waiting for the rain to stop, then walked up the Champs Elysees, stopping at fun stores like the Citroen store and the Louis Vuitton store. People were throwing money around like crazy in the LV store. It was so busy. I definitely felt like a slob just walking in. We continued up the Champs Elysees until we got to the Arc de Triomphe. That seen, we were walking away when a funeral procession started. I don't know who passed away, but there was lots of music and flags and official looking people parading down the street.
Then we went and found a bar in the St. Germain area to watch the France/Mexico game. I got a nice dinner finally which steak with a Roquefort sauce, salad, and red wine. It was very satisfying. We spent a long time in this bar eating slowly and waiting for the game to start. France played like poop so it wasn't that exciting. They lost after an awful game and some embarrassing mistakes and we headed back to Noemie's flat.
Once back, I got into a long conversation with Noemie about the importance of accurate CS references. I think mine have been accurate, but they've also been very nice and sometimes maybe too euphemistic. I think from now on I am going to try to be a little bit more...strict? Harsh? Honest? with my references. Not sure of the best word. I am worried of sounding ungrateful or rude when things don't go fantastically, but we have also had a couple weird experiences that I have not warned, per say, other surfers of. Anyway, my mind seems open to inspiration lately and I think I'm going to start being better about those.
After the tour, we sat on a bench for a while waiting for the rain to stop, then walked up the Champs Elysees, stopping at fun stores like the Citroen store and the Louis Vuitton store. People were throwing money around like crazy in the LV store. It was so busy. I definitely felt like a slob just walking in. We continued up the Champs Elysees until we got to the Arc de Triomphe. That seen, we were walking away when a funeral procession started. I don't know who passed away, but there was lots of music and flags and official looking people parading down the street.
Then we went and found a bar in the St. Germain area to watch the France/Mexico game. I got a nice dinner finally which steak with a Roquefort sauce, salad, and red wine. It was very satisfying. We spent a long time in this bar eating slowly and waiting for the game to start. France played like poop so it wasn't that exciting. They lost after an awful game and some embarrassing mistakes and we headed back to Noemie's flat.
Once back, I got into a long conversation with Noemie about the importance of accurate CS references. I think mine have been accurate, but they've also been very nice and sometimes maybe too euphemistic. I think from now on I am going to try to be a little bit more...strict? Harsh? Honest? with my references. Not sure of the best word. I am worried of sounding ungrateful or rude when things don't go fantastically, but we have also had a couple weird experiences that I have not warned, per say, other surfers of. Anyway, my mind seems open to inspiration lately and I think I'm going to start being better about those.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Noemie - CS #23
Today we walked around the 3rd and 4th arrondissement looking at cute little shops. My favorite was shop called Olivier & Co (which I later found out is not just in Paris). They sell delicious olive oils, vinegars, tapenades, seasoning salts, etc. They had yummy samples out and I almost bought the whole store. Because of this, I left without buying anything so that I could think about what I really wanted (to carry home). They started speaking English to me and I responded by saying that I understood (in French). Surprised, the sales woman was like, "Oh, you speak French?!" and I was like, "yes." And she said, "Sorry, I thought I heard some English," and I was like, "Well, yes, there is that, too..." And she spoke in French to me from then on. As I was leaving I asked for a business card so I could find the place again. She didn't have any but gave me their beautiful catalog for free instead and told me it was a little present. So cute.
We went to the Centre Pompidou because I love that building, and I tried to show Laura the awesome fountain outside of it but it was EMPTY! Very upset by this. The water was completely drained :(
We got lunch at a great little cafe on a busy street and sat outside eating freshly toasted Croque Monsieurs (now that's the only way I'll eat them).
Then we went back to meandering through shops and Laura ended up buying 2 pairs of shoes! Very proud of her. I was quite tempted but the shoes I liked all had tiny little things wrong with them which would have driven me crazy, so I resisted my consumerist urges. Instead I just bought a little tarte.
We went back to Noemie's place and got ready to go to the Moulin Rouge!!!! Finally - I've been here so many times and I always say, "Yeah, I want to do that." Well, this time it's happening! I actually felt like a girl and wore my dress and put on a little bit of make up and that was lots of fun. We went with Noemie and a couple of friends for a glass of wine first and then headed to the show.
The costumes were AMAZING, the singing was pretty good, and the dancing was only mediocre. You can't take pictures in there but it was a really gorgeous setting. A very fun night :)
We went to the Centre Pompidou because I love that building, and I tried to show Laura the awesome fountain outside of it but it was EMPTY! Very upset by this. The water was completely drained :(
We got lunch at a great little cafe on a busy street and sat outside eating freshly toasted Croque Monsieurs (now that's the only way I'll eat them).
Then we went back to meandering through shops and Laura ended up buying 2 pairs of shoes! Very proud of her. I was quite tempted but the shoes I liked all had tiny little things wrong with them which would have driven me crazy, so I resisted my consumerist urges. Instead I just bought a little tarte.
We went back to Noemie's place and got ready to go to the Moulin Rouge!!!! Finally - I've been here so many times and I always say, "Yeah, I want to do that." Well, this time it's happening! I actually felt like a girl and wore my dress and put on a little bit of make up and that was lots of fun. We went with Noemie and a couple of friends for a glass of wine first and then headed to the show.
The costumes were AMAZING, the singing was pretty good, and the dancing was only mediocre. You can't take pictures in there but it was a really gorgeous setting. A very fun night :)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
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!
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!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Michael - CS #21
I don't know if I really slept at all on that overnight train. They're such a great idea, in theory. But with 6 people including 1 sick, coughing child, and 1 crying baby and the window that never seemed to shut letting the loud whooshes of the night come in - it was near impossible.
After the night train to Frankfurt we had to take another 3.5 hour train to Paris. On that train, we met a girl named Cathy from Oregon who was living in France and I had her give me some quick French lessons on things that I knew were drifting away from my foundation. That was good. I flipped through Laura's phrase book to make sure I knew how to say all the basic things (I was pretty sure I did...I just get nervous) and soon I was feeling ready for a trial run.
We arrived at Gare de l'Est and I was so freaking excited to be in Paris again. It was really warm and sunny and everywhere you look there are boulangeries and patisseries and crepes and other delicious things. It's hard to explain how or why I love this city so much. We had really good intentions of going all the way to Bordeaux today but we knew that trains to Bordeaux might already be fully booked. We'd coordinated with a CouchSurfing host in Bordeaux in case we DID make it, and also with a host in Paris in case we got stuck. After talking with a ticket person (IN FRENCH!) and learning that there were no trains to Bordeaux until Sunday our decision was made for us.
Side note: the French have an awful reputation of not speaking English to you. But they also have a reputation of starting to speak English as soon as they here you aren't perfectly fluent. So I was not sure how my rusty french would go over.
I don't know if the woman I spoke to did not know English, did not want to speak English, or did want to speak English but knew I was trying to practice my French (or some other possibility), but she spoke in French with me the whole time and I got the information I needed.
I got to use my French a number of other times for little things here and there - figuring out how to use a payphone (always a challenge for me in foreign countries), ordering crepes (obviously the first thing I ate), buying metro tickets (oh, good story), etc.
Metro ticket story: Paris has expensive tourist passes for like 9 euros for a day. It covers zones 1-3. I asked the tourist office if there was any cheaper way of getting around (individual tickets are 1.6 euros). They said no. I felt like they were lying. I went to the Paris ticket seller booth and saw a sign that said 1 day pass, zones 1-2, 5.6 euros. Half the price! And we had no reason to go to zone 3, because seriously, what's in zone 3? Practically everything is in zone 1. So I was able to buy us the way cheaper all day unlimited passes which we then commenced to use profusely.
We had to check our bags because our host was not home and not picking up his phone. It cost 5 euros a bag (!!!) so we only checked our big bags and I was stuck carrying my green bag and my Baby (my bag of breakables with dying handles) all day.
On our way to go see the city...finally. After 2.5 months of traveling, after 24 hours of commuting, after practically no sleep and little food - but still, I was excited beyond belief so running on adrenaline was no problem.
Then I realized it was Friday, and I just happen to know that the Louvre is free on Fridays for people under 26 after a certain time. So that's where we went first. It was about 3 when we got there and free entrance didn't start until 6. So going off of pure memory, I led us to a neighborhood close by that I remembered having cheap, yummy crepes. I was pretty sure I had gotten to the neighborhood and we stopped at the first crepe place. After I'd finished eating, I pulled out my trusty travel journal (that I got right before I was in France almost 2 years ago). I flipped through what I wrote during August 2008...and found a line scrawled that some street had great crepes. I looked at where I knew we were on my map...and saw that the street I had written down 2 years ago intersected with the street we were on, just half a block up. I had made it on memory!!!
At this point, I've got to be honest. I was feeling pretty damn clever. Back in my Paris, speaking French, jumping off a train on no sleep and knowing what museums are free and where the food is. It's a GREAT feeling. I need to live here.
After that, we were within walking distance of the Notre Dame. It was here that we realized that both of our cameras were dead. Hilarious considering the weather was beautiful and we had all day metro passes so we'd be going to see as much as we could. After that we headed to the Eiffel Tower which was majestic and gorgeous as always. There we saw some really good street performers dancing. Usually I feel like only guys do street dancing, but this group had a girl who was also really good! I wish I could dance...at all.
After the street performers, I really wanted to go to the fountain close by and sit with my feet in the water. I love doing that. But...right now there is no fountain because Paris has set up a huge outdoor screen for the world cup games and the whole area is fenced off and labeled "FIFA FAN FEST." Pretty cool! Except that there's no fountain :( Tons of people were sitting outside though watching the opening day of the world cup. I wish the States like soccer as much as Europe.
So, by now it was time to head back to the Louvre to get in for free. Laura and I are not huge museum people, especially by this point on our trip, and I'm just jaded having been to the the Louvre 2 or 3 times already. This resulted in the fastest whirl wind and totally under appreciative tour of the Louvre ever. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and that was pretty much it. A little lame but whatevs. If we really want to go back, we'll be here next Friday too :)
After the Louvre we went back to Gare de l'Est, called our host from Bordeaux to say we weren't coming and tried again to call our host here in Paris. When he didn't respond, again, we walked until we found a McDonald's. We sat outside stealing their internet and trying to Skype our host and check for possible back up hosts on CS. Finally we got through to him and found out he was home, so we went back to the station to retrieve our huge bags and took the metro to his stop. But the story doesn't end there. He said he lived really close to the metro, but Google maps told us to go the completely wrong direction. So we walked around lost with all of our freaking stuff for at least half an hour. Then I finally started using my French once again to figure out how to get us to his place. A nice shop man helped me and let me use his phone. After 15 minutes of having the shop man help me and letting me get through to our host (who said he was too tired to come and pick us up...a 10 minute walk away) I didn't want to leave without buying anything. The closest and cheapest thing in sight was a beer and I was hot, tired, thirsty, and frustrated, so that sounded great. No idea if it's legal to drink on the streets here but I picked up all my bags and drank my beer on the way to host's flat. His name is Michael by the way.
Michael turned out to be a really nice guy from Mauritius working as a train engineer here. He made us a great little pasta dinner with chopped green onions and really tender beef. We picked up a bottle of red Bordeaux wine to go with it. Happily fed and not carrying all our bags around the evening was going much better. By now I think it was around 11 or so, but we had all day metro passes so I wanted to keep doing stuff!
When I was here two summers ago I stayed at a hostel where I met Rich who was in the process of moving from England to Paris at that time. He works at an English pub here so I thought we could go see his bar and see if he was working. It was a Friday night so I figured he would be. His bar turned out to be really cool and really huge. It's also a microbrewery and they brew six different beers on site. Rich was working, but he didn't recognize me at first which was prettttty awkward. But it has been almost two years and my hair was up instead of down. I tried a dark beer (cleverly called "Dark de Triomphe") and Michael, who agreed to come out with us, got a ginger beer. Both were pretty delicious. It was really fun seeing Rich and I chatted with him on our way out and he asked if I was watching the world cup games. I said I really wanted to see the US/England game and asked if the Frog (his pub) was showing it. He said of course it was, so I think we'll be back tomorrow.
Then we began the slow trek back to Michael's flat...couldn't have asked for a better first day in Paris. It was a fantastically full day for not even knowing for sure 24 hours ago that we were going to be here. Love this city. Love it.
Accomplishments:
Speaking French again and still knowing my way around :)
After the night train to Frankfurt we had to take another 3.5 hour train to Paris. On that train, we met a girl named Cathy from Oregon who was living in France and I had her give me some quick French lessons on things that I knew were drifting away from my foundation. That was good. I flipped through Laura's phrase book to make sure I knew how to say all the basic things (I was pretty sure I did...I just get nervous) and soon I was feeling ready for a trial run.
We arrived at Gare de l'Est and I was so freaking excited to be in Paris again. It was really warm and sunny and everywhere you look there are boulangeries and patisseries and crepes and other delicious things. It's hard to explain how or why I love this city so much. We had really good intentions of going all the way to Bordeaux today but we knew that trains to Bordeaux might already be fully booked. We'd coordinated with a CouchSurfing host in Bordeaux in case we DID make it, and also with a host in Paris in case we got stuck. After talking with a ticket person (IN FRENCH!) and learning that there were no trains to Bordeaux until Sunday our decision was made for us.
Side note: the French have an awful reputation of not speaking English to you. But they also have a reputation of starting to speak English as soon as they here you aren't perfectly fluent. So I was not sure how my rusty french would go over.
I don't know if the woman I spoke to did not know English, did not want to speak English, or did want to speak English but knew I was trying to practice my French (or some other possibility), but she spoke in French with me the whole time and I got the information I needed.
I got to use my French a number of other times for little things here and there - figuring out how to use a payphone (always a challenge for me in foreign countries), ordering crepes (obviously the first thing I ate), buying metro tickets (oh, good story), etc.
Metro ticket story: Paris has expensive tourist passes for like 9 euros for a day. It covers zones 1-3. I asked the tourist office if there was any cheaper way of getting around (individual tickets are 1.6 euros). They said no. I felt like they were lying. I went to the Paris ticket seller booth and saw a sign that said 1 day pass, zones 1-2, 5.6 euros. Half the price! And we had no reason to go to zone 3, because seriously, what's in zone 3? Practically everything is in zone 1. So I was able to buy us the way cheaper all day unlimited passes which we then commenced to use profusely.
We had to check our bags because our host was not home and not picking up his phone. It cost 5 euros a bag (!!!) so we only checked our big bags and I was stuck carrying my green bag and my Baby (my bag of breakables with dying handles) all day.
On our way to go see the city...finally. After 2.5 months of traveling, after 24 hours of commuting, after practically no sleep and little food - but still, I was excited beyond belief so running on adrenaline was no problem.
Then I realized it was Friday, and I just happen to know that the Louvre is free on Fridays for people under 26 after a certain time. So that's where we went first. It was about 3 when we got there and free entrance didn't start until 6. So going off of pure memory, I led us to a neighborhood close by that I remembered having cheap, yummy crepes. I was pretty sure I had gotten to the neighborhood and we stopped at the first crepe place. After I'd finished eating, I pulled out my trusty travel journal (that I got right before I was in France almost 2 years ago). I flipped through what I wrote during August 2008...and found a line scrawled that some street had great crepes. I looked at where I knew we were on my map...and saw that the street I had written down 2 years ago intersected with the street we were on, just half a block up. I had made it on memory!!!
At this point, I've got to be honest. I was feeling pretty damn clever. Back in my Paris, speaking French, jumping off a train on no sleep and knowing what museums are free and where the food is. It's a GREAT feeling. I need to live here.
After that, we were within walking distance of the Notre Dame. It was here that we realized that both of our cameras were dead. Hilarious considering the weather was beautiful and we had all day metro passes so we'd be going to see as much as we could. After that we headed to the Eiffel Tower which was majestic and gorgeous as always. There we saw some really good street performers dancing. Usually I feel like only guys do street dancing, but this group had a girl who was also really good! I wish I could dance...at all.
After the street performers, I really wanted to go to the fountain close by and sit with my feet in the water. I love doing that. But...right now there is no fountain because Paris has set up a huge outdoor screen for the world cup games and the whole area is fenced off and labeled "FIFA FAN FEST." Pretty cool! Except that there's no fountain :( Tons of people were sitting outside though watching the opening day of the world cup. I wish the States like soccer as much as Europe.
So, by now it was time to head back to the Louvre to get in for free. Laura and I are not huge museum people, especially by this point on our trip, and I'm just jaded having been to the the Louvre 2 or 3 times already. This resulted in the fastest whirl wind and totally under appreciative tour of the Louvre ever. We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and that was pretty much it. A little lame but whatevs. If we really want to go back, we'll be here next Friday too :)
After the Louvre we went back to Gare de l'Est, called our host from Bordeaux to say we weren't coming and tried again to call our host here in Paris. When he didn't respond, again, we walked until we found a McDonald's. We sat outside stealing their internet and trying to Skype our host and check for possible back up hosts on CS. Finally we got through to him and found out he was home, so we went back to the station to retrieve our huge bags and took the metro to his stop. But the story doesn't end there. He said he lived really close to the metro, but Google maps told us to go the completely wrong direction. So we walked around lost with all of our freaking stuff for at least half an hour. Then I finally started using my French once again to figure out how to get us to his place. A nice shop man helped me and let me use his phone. After 15 minutes of having the shop man help me and letting me get through to our host (who said he was too tired to come and pick us up...a 10 minute walk away) I didn't want to leave without buying anything. The closest and cheapest thing in sight was a beer and I was hot, tired, thirsty, and frustrated, so that sounded great. No idea if it's legal to drink on the streets here but I picked up all my bags and drank my beer on the way to host's flat. His name is Michael by the way.
Michael turned out to be a really nice guy from Mauritius working as a train engineer here. He made us a great little pasta dinner with chopped green onions and really tender beef. We picked up a bottle of red Bordeaux wine to go with it. Happily fed and not carrying all our bags around the evening was going much better. By now I think it was around 11 or so, but we had all day metro passes so I wanted to keep doing stuff!
When I was here two summers ago I stayed at a hostel where I met Rich who was in the process of moving from England to Paris at that time. He works at an English pub here so I thought we could go see his bar and see if he was working. It was a Friday night so I figured he would be. His bar turned out to be really cool and really huge. It's also a microbrewery and they brew six different beers on site. Rich was working, but he didn't recognize me at first which was prettttty awkward. But it has been almost two years and my hair was up instead of down. I tried a dark beer (cleverly called "Dark de Triomphe") and Michael, who agreed to come out with us, got a ginger beer. Both were pretty delicious. It was really fun seeing Rich and I chatted with him on our way out and he asked if I was watching the world cup games. I said I really wanted to see the US/England game and asked if the Frog (his pub) was showing it. He said of course it was, so I think we'll be back tomorrow.
Then we began the slow trek back to Michael's flat...couldn't have asked for a better first day in Paris. It was a fantastically full day for not even knowing for sure 24 hours ago that we were going to be here. Love this city. Love it.
Accomplishments:
Speaking French again and still knowing my way around :)
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