PARIS DAY 7.2: P'tit D'enfer
Sleep in: check. See Teresa: check. Next on the to-do list for the day was a cheese and wine picnic on the Seine, but as the title of my previous post aludes, it was raining all day and even it had stopped, it was still far too wet out for any kind of picnic. Also, when I got back in to Jay's room he met me with the news that we wouldn't be able to go out to the fancy restaurant either because he didn't own any dress shoes and the dress code there is pretty strict.
Well, so much for plans. It seems to me that I made a lot of plans for things to do when I came here, and in the end most of those plans ended up not working out and evolved into other things. And whether or not that is okay all depends on your attitude.
We decided to go ahead with our picnic, sans Seine. While I took a much needed shower (this one wasn't as annoying as the others, though at one point I dropped my razor and the blade came off and fell down the drain, which was pretty ridiculous), Jason went out and bought camembert and coulommiers (to go with the Bordeaux we had bought when I arrived), a fresh baguette, and a small $20 bottle of champange (for later--it is still unopened on the shelf). In the meantime, some of the girls from Jay's program came by with a plate of leftover Thanksgiving food, and when Jay returned we ate that and then had our picnic on the bed.
It didn't take long to realize that we had waay too much food... So we stopped eating, cleaned up, and went out to go shopping and eventually find dinner. We went back to Les Halles where we walked around and Jason did some gift shopping. When we mall closed we wandered around the surrounding neighborhood, popping into shops here and there and admiring the Pompidou Center (it is built inside out!).
We went back to the Fondation with Jason to drop off his gifts and then headed to Cafe D'enfer for dinner. It is a really nice restaurant (btw, one thing in general about French restaurants--since service is included in your bill, the wait staff feel no need to check on you with any sort of frequency). Since we had been planning on having a really expensive dinner anyway, money was no object and we ordered what we wanted. We started with appetizers: chevre ravioli in parmesaen sauce, and bulochon with mushrooms--the latter ended up being a sort of crispy crepe type of thing with tons of mushrooms stuffed into a crater in the center. For dinner we had an especially delicious mushroom risotto with chicken. Dessert was Le P'tit D'enfer--The Little Hell: a molten chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream. We were also served shots of some of sort of, perhaps, cinnamon liquor with our bill. =) Pretty expensive meal, but it was a wonderful experience.
Today is my last real day in Paris, since I leave tomorrow afternoon. We are going to Montmartre (as in Amelie!) and maybe an Indian restaurant, and I am going to buy myself something pretty.
A
PARIS DAY 8: I have now seen all of Paris!
...from Sacre Cour, the cathedral on top of a hill in Montmartre. But, let's backtrack.
Latish start to the morning, but that's okay. We went back to the really good crepe place to get lunch; I had a crepe with cheese, tomato, and mushrooms while Jason had a Hot Dog panini (it kind of like what you imagine: foot long hot dog on a foot long roll, with ketchup and mustard, and also cheese, then smashed on a panini grill). We then headed out to Montmartre.
Montmartre, which one gets to by way of Gare du Nor, is where Amelie was set (and largely filmed), the location of the Sacre Cour, and what Jason calls "the ghetto." The train that passes through is the 2, and it is on an elevated track. We passed over real train station, where some scenes from Amelie take place (I did not get a photo, unfortunately). When we got off the train, the first thing we did was visit Sacre Cour, which is all the way up on top of a huge hill. At the base are streets lined with fabric shops, tourist traps, and also the carousel in the scene where Amelie gives Nino back his book.
At this carousel we were acosted by some men claiming to be from Africa and insisting on tying bracelets on our wrists and telling us that we should go to Africa, and these bracelets mean respect and are also good for sex. They then demanded 5 euro apiece, which we really didn't have to give them (and didn't want to--you can't force someone into something and then expect them to pay what you demand). Jason ended up gving them all the change out of his pocket and we continued up the mountain.
Breathlessly reaching the mezzanine (think: "A fool looks at the finger that is pointed at the sky), we looked out over all of the city. It is a pretty fantastic view, and quite breezy. We didn't go in the actual cathedral; no need, really, and the view was quite worth it.
After coming back down we walked down the main drag a bit, nervously. This part of town is filled with many resale shops and tons of people.
We ended up back on the train and went further out to Belleville (triplets, anyone?) which is another ghetto (says Jay) but also a Vietnamese neighborhood (it definitely was). I went in a couple shops but there wasn't anything really nice around there, either...
Back on the train, to Chatele, to transfer to the 7 to go to Saint Placide, an upper scale street with more shops. First we stopped in FNAC, which is the big chain electronics/movies/etc store in Paris so that Jason could find a battery for his analog camera (which we found! Yay! Now Jason will take amazing pictures in rainy Paris!). Which reminds me: it did not rain today, though we only had a few moments of sun.
After fnac we went in KooKai, a women's clothing store, and I finally bought something for myself: a nice top. We stopped in one or two more stores along the street, but I ended up deciding that I wanted to go back to St. Paul (where we went for falafel) to check out a coat I'd seen when we'd been there before.
We got there, and I found the coat, and I bought it. So there. You'll see it someday.
We then bought some juice at Franprix, and an Opera pastry at the bakery next door. I am going to eat said pastry momentarily.
We got back to the Fondation, having been quite all over the place, and ate the microwave turkey dinner we had bought for Thursday, with some bread and cheese. Then I packed. Now, it is time for pastry, champange, and a movie with my true love. Jason, not the pastry. =)
I have 4.99 euro left, just enough for some breakfast tomorrow before leaving for the airport. If you wanted me to get you something in Paris...too bad, because I'm leaving tomorrow. =) Still, you should come visit here sometime, it is a pretty nice place.
Goodnight, and thank you for reading! I'll see you all when I get back to Chicago.
Love,
Ayn
Sleep in: check. See Teresa: check. Next on the to-do list for the day was a cheese and wine picnic on the Seine, but as the title of my previous post aludes, it was raining all day and even it had stopped, it was still far too wet out for any kind of picnic. Also, when I got back in to Jay's room he met me with the news that we wouldn't be able to go out to the fancy restaurant either because he didn't own any dress shoes and the dress code there is pretty strict.
Well, so much for plans. It seems to me that I made a lot of plans for things to do when I came here, and in the end most of those plans ended up not working out and evolved into other things. And whether or not that is okay all depends on your attitude.
We decided to go ahead with our picnic, sans Seine. While I took a much needed shower (this one wasn't as annoying as the others, though at one point I dropped my razor and the blade came off and fell down the drain, which was pretty ridiculous), Jason went out and bought camembert and coulommiers (to go with the Bordeaux we had bought when I arrived), a fresh baguette, and a small $20 bottle of champange (for later--it is still unopened on the shelf). In the meantime, some of the girls from Jay's program came by with a plate of leftover Thanksgiving food, and when Jay returned we ate that and then had our picnic on the bed.
It didn't take long to realize that we had waay too much food... So we stopped eating, cleaned up, and went out to go shopping and eventually find dinner. We went back to Les Halles where we walked around and Jason did some gift shopping. When we mall closed we wandered around the surrounding neighborhood, popping into shops here and there and admiring the Pompidou Center (it is built inside out!).
We went back to the Fondation with Jason to drop off his gifts and then headed to Cafe D'enfer for dinner. It is a really nice restaurant (btw, one thing in general about French restaurants--since service is included in your bill, the wait staff feel no need to check on you with any sort of frequency). Since we had been planning on having a really expensive dinner anyway, money was no object and we ordered what we wanted. We started with appetizers: chevre ravioli in parmesaen sauce, and bulochon with mushrooms--the latter ended up being a sort of crispy crepe type of thing with tons of mushrooms stuffed into a crater in the center. For dinner we had an especially delicious mushroom risotto with chicken. Dessert was Le P'tit D'enfer--The Little Hell: a molten chocolate cake served with vanilla ice cream. We were also served shots of some of sort of, perhaps, cinnamon liquor with our bill. =) Pretty expensive meal, but it was a wonderful experience.
Today is my last real day in Paris, since I leave tomorrow afternoon. We are going to Montmartre (as in Amelie!) and maybe an Indian restaurant, and I am going to buy myself something pretty.
A
PARIS DAY 8: I have now seen all of Paris!
...from Sacre Cour, the cathedral on top of a hill in Montmartre. But, let's backtrack.
Latish start to the morning, but that's okay. We went back to the really good crepe place to get lunch; I had a crepe with cheese, tomato, and mushrooms while Jason had a Hot Dog panini (it kind of like what you imagine: foot long hot dog on a foot long roll, with ketchup and mustard, and also cheese, then smashed on a panini grill). We then headed out to Montmartre.
Montmartre, which one gets to by way of Gare du Nor, is where Amelie was set (and largely filmed), the location of the Sacre Cour, and what Jason calls "the ghetto." The train that passes through is the 2, and it is on an elevated track. We passed over real train station, where some scenes from Amelie take place (I did not get a photo, unfortunately). When we got off the train, the first thing we did was visit Sacre Cour, which is all the way up on top of a huge hill. At the base are streets lined with fabric shops, tourist traps, and also the carousel in the scene where Amelie gives Nino back his book.
At this carousel we were acosted by some men claiming to be from Africa and insisting on tying bracelets on our wrists and telling us that we should go to Africa, and these bracelets mean respect and are also good for sex. They then demanded 5 euro apiece, which we really didn't have to give them (and didn't want to--you can't force someone into something and then expect them to pay what you demand). Jason ended up gving them all the change out of his pocket and we continued up the mountain.
Breathlessly reaching the mezzanine (think: "A fool looks at the finger that is pointed at the sky), we looked out over all of the city. It is a pretty fantastic view, and quite breezy. We didn't go in the actual cathedral; no need, really, and the view was quite worth it.
After coming back down we walked down the main drag a bit, nervously. This part of town is filled with many resale shops and tons of people.
We ended up back on the train and went further out to Belleville (triplets, anyone?) which is another ghetto (says Jay) but also a Vietnamese neighborhood (it definitely was). I went in a couple shops but there wasn't anything really nice around there, either...
Back on the train, to Chatele, to transfer to the 7 to go to Saint Placide, an upper scale street with more shops. First we stopped in FNAC, which is the big chain electronics/movies/etc store in Paris so that Jason could find a battery for his analog camera (which we found! Yay! Now Jason will take amazing pictures in rainy Paris!). Which reminds me: it did not rain today, though we only had a few moments of sun.
After fnac we went in KooKai, a women's clothing store, and I finally bought something for myself: a nice top. We stopped in one or two more stores along the street, but I ended up deciding that I wanted to go back to St. Paul (where we went for falafel) to check out a coat I'd seen when we'd been there before.
We got there, and I found the coat, and I bought it. So there. You'll see it someday.
We then bought some juice at Franprix, and an Opera pastry at the bakery next door. I am going to eat said pastry momentarily.
We got back to the Fondation, having been quite all over the place, and ate the microwave turkey dinner we had bought for Thursday, with some bread and cheese. Then I packed. Now, it is time for pastry, champange, and a movie with my true love. Jason, not the pastry. =)
I have 4.99 euro left, just enough for some breakfast tomorrow before leaving for the airport. If you wanted me to get you something in Paris...too bad, because I'm leaving tomorrow. =) Still, you should come visit here sometime, it is a pretty nice place.
Goodnight, and thank you for reading! I'll see you all when I get back to Chicago.
Love,
Ayn
posted by Ayn at 12:01 AM
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