Second day in Paris. Just popped a cappucino macarone in my mouth. It's made of eggwhites, sugar and almond flour. And the middle is ganache (a chocolate sauce with hot milk stirred into it).
To get to Paris with a Ryanair flight, you have to fly to Beauvais, which is about an hour outside of Paris. Then you take a handy bus to the city center where they plop you down at the metro station. I was quite proud of myself having gotten onto the metro, going the right way, when some french guys in yellow suits told everyone to get off at the next stop. There I was, mapless, with no french, and no option 2 to get to Kristine's apartment. I stopped a french man, who wagged his finger at my english, and asked him how to get to Bastille. He rambled off some french directions, with some english words stuck randomly in, and then grabbed my elbow and started walking me towards the escalator. I didn't know how to ask what was happening so I decided to just go with it. He ended up taking me on another metro with him that got me directly to Kristine. She was waiting behind the exit doors, arms outstretched and ready for a big hug!
Kristine's neighborhood, Bastille, was my first Parisian experience. It was like a french las vegas, with neon lights buzzing from kebab joints, indian restaurants, and french brasseries. The streets mumbled in French and Arabic. And nestled into the doorways of closed banks and clothing shops, gypsy families set up camp for the night, laying out their mattresses and constructing their tents. We grabbed a kebab to go and went up to Kristine's apartment to eat and catch up! It had been nearly a year since we had seen each other!
The weekend was jam-packed with sights and events, so I've set apart just a few that I especially don't want to forget--
Cafe Divan - French Onion Soup, Salad with arugula, pesto olive oil dressing, toast drilled with honey with a round herbed goat cheese atop. They served tap water! And there is no sit down fee in France! What a treat!
Marais- The jewish quarter and gay neighborhood combined. These manicured streets, with high class coffee shops and brasseries, contemporary art galleries and clothing boutiques is where I would live in Paris.
Kristine's French cheeses and wine party in her high class closet of an apartment- packed like pickles, Kristine and I, with 9 over her best friends, listened to old french music, and ate stinky cheeses, quiche lorraine with ham and cheese, cherry tomatoes, and french pastries. I got to know two of her friends, Lionel from Paris, and a girl from Spanish whose name is slipping me. We also discussed the film, Drive, which has apparently become a cult classic in France. I felt slightly stupid when they guys started talking about the soundtrack genre, Italo-electro, which I had never heard of. I found out later, talking to Italian friends, that most Italians don't know what it is either because it isn't popular here. Italians are much more pop-y or rocky on the whole. Any electronic music made here is sustained by the French and the Germans. Interesting stuff.
Montmare, with its Taj Mahal like church up on the hill overlooking the city. The winding cobble streets are punctuated by Boulangeries (bakeries) with crossants, èclairs, pain au chocolat, mille feiulle cakes, brioche with apples, apricots, or rhubarb. Windmills dazzle the passing tourists, while formageries (cheese shops) offer them eye burningly stinkly cheeses. On our way down the hill, we paused to see the cafe where Amelie worked, and to take pictures in front of the Moulin Rouge.
Arc d'Triomphe- it marks the center of a round about from which radiate the boulevards of the city, including the widest and most famous, the Champs-Elysées. The arc, is also known as the L’etoile, because of the star-like effect created by the surrounding streets. From the windy viewpoint, we were able to see the whole city, including the marathon taking place on the Champs-Elysées. All of the runners were clad in blue panchos.
Walking down the Champs-Elysées we stopped to get Macarons at the place where they were said to have been invented, Ladurèe. The flavors ranged from classic; pistacchio, raspberry, cappuccino, chocolate; to more original-- rose petal, orange blossom, black currant, salted caramel. We also passed by what looked like a palace, complete with black and gold oversized gates, pruned hedges and pink tulips. A mob of people collected behind a security guard, anxiously awaiting the turn to enter the store with another privileged few. The store, you ask? Abercrombie and Fitch. Apparently its popularity stems from the fact that originally a garmet from A&F meant that one had been to the US, and thus demonstrated a certain level of social and economic status.
Last lunch in Paris- escargot in a mushroom and cream sauce. The restaurant was famous for Southwestern French specialties.
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