Not sure how two weeks in Paris flew by but here I am, week 4, country #3.
Writing to you from the bar while I wait for the Netherlands/Costa Rica game to start. Stop right there. I know what you're thinking, "Ekta? Soccer? Ummm..." Not gonna lie, it's actually fun to watch on this side of the world, especially in Italy and France when they were both in it....*crickets*. There's a sea of orange in here though...should I root for Costa Rica to be a shit disturber? I'll let you know how it goes.
Whoa wait.
Clearly, I started this post days ago so yeah, back to real time, Happy Monday!
Just a recap because I know you're dying to know...for my own safety, I rooted for Netherlands and also because my friend Elisa would have chopped my head off if I didn't.
Anywhoo...
Rainy, mucky day here in Barcelona which gives me the chance to fill you party peeps in on the second half of my Parisien adventures. It was a full week so how about I do it differently (and easier...guilty) this time and go day by day? Okay? Okay!
Sunday - Rainy day in Paris but I met up with Moshmi and her pal Sonia for treasure hunting at a local flea market. Because of the weather, not all vendors were out but enough for us to pass a few hours and make some purchases. We even found pieces dating back to the 1920s... So incredible. There were so many things I wanted to buy but knowing me and also knowing that I still had 3 weeks of travel left at that point, was afraid that I'd only be bringing home broken pieces of my purchases. All good though...I did make one non-fragile purchase, a 1950s camera for my brother. I guess it's not a surprise anymore! Actually, I highly doubt he even reads my blog so nevermind!
After the flea market, we headed to India town for some grub. I guess after a while you do start to miss it...there's only so many croissants and baguettes my body can handle. Since I couldn't order everything on the menu, I opted for a masala dosa which was pretty bangin!
And of course I needed to have some chai, served straight up like you're in the gaam.
Monday - I put on my walking shoes and set out on a gorgeous, sunny day. I purchased a metro pass during my first week but opted to walk everywhere week 2. I had no idea before but Paris isn't all that big and because of my central location, I had a maximum 45min - hour walk to anywhere I really wanted to go. I'd definitely recommend exploring Paris by foot to really get a feel for the city and experience little pockets you'd otherwise miss.
My first stop was Pont des Arts aka the Love Lock Bridge. Little did I know, I was on the bridge beside it a few days prior...that's what happens when you just aimlessly wander. As expected, thousands upon thousands of lovey-dovey couples have left their mark on the bridge and I wouldn't be surprised if the sheer weight of all the locks one day brought the bridge down. Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic and not the roses and butterfly'ish thoughts that one would have after visiting the bridge. I take it back (not). My friend Sylvia asked me to look for the lock she and her bf left last year but yeah...let's just say I tried.
My next stop was Notre Dame. Happy to report I made it inside...woop! I'd been before when I was 16 but it was definitely nice to refresh my memory with the interior. Wait, who am I kidding, I barely remembered it anyway!
They had some fancy shmancy confessionals and they were done face-to-face....don't know about you but awwwwwkkkkwwwwaaaaarrrrddd.
I also visited Saint Germain des Près which is the area some of the literary and arts greats spent time (Hemingway, Picasso, etc.). Lovely little area with lots of shops and cafés, including this one that I recognized from "The Paris Wife"; a historical fiction novel about Hemingway's first wife. Definitely a great read!
I caught the France vs Nigeria match at the bar again but this time I stayed closer to home and made it through the evening with no creepos! Not gonna lie, I caught myself yelling and gasping out loud during the match... Who am I?!?
Tuesday aka Canada Day - I woke up SORE as heck. Not from walking, I'm not thaaaat out of shape. Dang squats man. Note to self, don't do them on vacay... I never learn. It was another walking day for me but this time I headed over to the Pigalle area; some would call this the bow chicka wow wow part of Paris. Streets were lined with endless sex shops and peep shows, all leading up to the mother of them all, Moulin Rouge. Not very impressive during the day and I never made it back at night to see it with the lights on. Oh well!
See? Meh. At least I can say I saw it, right? I then took my hungry butt over to a restaurant around the corner called "Café de 2 Moulins". If it wasn't for my friend Sylvia, I never would have known about this place. Ever heard of the movie "Amelie"? Well, the main character, Amelie (Duh) worked at this café and Sylvia loved the movie so as a gooooood pal, I made her happy and went. It's a cute spot with a decent menu but dang, their creme brûlée is out of this world!
Don't worry, I finished it all. My week wouldn't have been complete without a Creepo incident and low and behold I had it here. My server, bless his heart, his sweetness quickly turned into creepo-status when he refused to give me my bill (he said he didn't want me to leave) and then after a good 15 minutes of waiting for it, blocked the door so I couldn't leave. Gotta love the Frenchies, so persistent.
Don't ask how but I found myself wandering through the cemetary in Montmatre after lunch. It was actually very beautiful. Some of the tombs even dated back to the 1700s.
If you look closely, you'll see there's a black cat in that basket. Ummmm...
And of course since it was Canada Day, my plan was to hit up a Canadian bar and celebrate the birth of my dear nation. I wound up heading out later than expected which proved to be a massive mistake. The first bar I hit, The Moose, was charging friggin €20 to get in all because of the dang USA vs whoever eliminated them match! No thank you. I'm not gonna pay €20 to stand and watch a game I don't give two flying craps about. I'm Canadian dammit... We should get priority!!! So then I walked over to The Great Canadian Pub but man, I heard the commotion from there before even turning the corner. The bar was packed beyond belief and folks were overflowing onto the sidewalk. Same deal, all the Americans infiltrated to watch the match. Come on... Can't you go watch at an AMERICAN bar and leave us Canadians to enjoy our day with some poutine?? Lawd. I squeezed in but wasn't even able to make it to the bar. Eff it. Happy Canada Day. Doesn't matter though because this finally enabled me to go visit the Eiffel Tower at night. Hallelujah!! Seriously, at my first sight of it, I stopped dead in my tracks. At the risk of sounding like a cheesy, hopeless romantic, it was probably one of the most stunning sights I've ever seen. I'll admit though, it was slightly awkward and semi-depressing because I did not spot any other person there solo. I always expected to visit Paris with someone special but I wasn't going to not see the tower at night because circumstances were different. I'm still glad I went but there are a lot of things I didn't do for the reason of experiencing them the first time with someone. Cue the sappy music. Whatever. I'm allowed to be sappy sometime.
Look at that!! People dancing in the plaza to live music!! Can we say "awwwwww"!!!!
Okay enough of that day.
Let me power through some.
Wednesday - Versailles!!! Seriously breathtaking. I spent a full day enjoying the Gardens, Trianons and Palace. I didn't realize how vast the grounds were so if you're there for the day, I suggest renting a bike or golf cart thingie. Trust me, you'll thank me later!!!
Okay, I seriously have a bajilllion pictures from this day so I'll leave you with those.
Confession - I had my first French meal that night after waking up from a stellar power nap. Who knew French cuisine was so delish!!! The goat cheese app was to die for!!! All kinds of fruity, nutty, herby goodness. My entree compared nicely as well! Courtesy of Hugo, located in the 9th arr.
It also helped that the waiter was giving me free wine. Sometimes the perk of dining solo... Pity wine! Gotta love it.
Thursday - I was hoping for another walking day but dang, it was a scorcher. I took the metro to Musée D'Orsay which holds many impressionist pieces, including tons of Monet. They had a temporary Van Gogh exhibit which was a pleasant little bonus. It's a gorgeous museum that is housed in an old train station. They don't allow photos inside but I managed to snap one of the main hall. Definitely a must visit!
That night, Moshmi invited me out for after work drinks with some of her friends near Pont Alexandre III. It's a strip of bars down by the river and apparently the place to be seen in Paris. Didn't I feel so cool?! Definitely where all the "hip" Parisiens hang. Had a lovely time with some lovely people, not to mention 3 bottles of wine. Uhhhh hello!
Okay, don't worry, now we're at Friday...I'm almost done. You can soon continue on with being productive.
Friday - I had plans to meet up with Srikanta, who I met through my previous job at the Casino. He was a performer in one of my shows and lives in Paris so I hit him up and let him know I was in his neck of the woods. I met with himself, his lovely wife Jenn and gorgeously cute daughter Lily near Pont Marie; a very charming and old-worldly part of Paris. Sidenote: Both Sri and Jenn are insanely talented performers...not your ordinary performers though. Check out their art at http://www.fusion-arts.com. Anyways, They had mentioned there being a popular fallafel place nearby so after grabbing coffees, we made our way there for lunch. So let me just lay this out. This place, "L'as du Fallafel" looks like a hole in the wall but they are legit doing something right because it was like lining up to get into a club! They have a take-out window which had it's fair share of customers but the other line for a table was complete with stanchions and door men with walkie talkies. Okay, so now I'm intrigued. Having lived in NYC, my fallafel standards were set high with Mamoun's but if this place had THIS many people waiting for a taste, then it must be something special, right?
Let me go on the record and say, I had hands down the best fallafel of life. Everything about it was ohhhh sooooo tasty and fresh! Wow. I still find myself salivating over the thought of it. Behold, the glorious fallafel:
Dang. It's 12:30am and all I can think about is this. Must. Re-shift. Focus.
Alriiiiiight, the rest of Friday was lowkey. I went and enjoyed a cappuccino on the 9th floor terrace of the Printemps shopping mall:
Not too shabby, eh?
Afterwards, Moshmi and I went to her friend's place to watch the France vs Germany match. Well, we all know what happened. T'was a somber night in Paris. And then in true Parisien fashion, we went to a Vietnamese spot for my final dinner. I had been craving pho for who knows how long and although it was fairly decent, they didn't have any hoisin sauce. How do you have pho without hoisin sauce?!?!!! Gosh, I can't wait to get home to some.
So yeah, that was pretty much my final week in Paris in a nutshell. Nothing crazy but thoroughly enjoyable. I'm so glad I decided to devote all my days to Paris. There's honestly so much to see and do that I could have probably stayed another 2 weeks and then some.
I have to give a big thank you to Moshmi who really took me under her wing and was a huge part of my great times there. Although we had known each other since highschool, we hadn't seen each other or communicated much in the past 14 years but it never felt like it. She definitely went above and beyond my expectations... Thank you for everything!
Overall, Paris was good to me. Having an extended amount of time here not only rejuvenated me physically but mentally as well.
If I've learned anything here it's:
- the French are actually nice people!
- hair removal is in full force...rest assured
- my body can function just fine on bread, bread and more bread (and the occasional box of macarons)
À bientôt, Paris!
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