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Saturday, September 4, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Paris Metro
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I love this picture.
I snapped this on the last afternoon of our last day in Paris. We were riding the Metro home from the Science and Industry museum. Frankie is so relaxed and so sleepy, sprawled on the seats of the Metro with her hand on Matt's knee. The name of one of the Metro stops we're passing by is in the background, through the window, on the wall.
Such a great moment, frozen in time.
Good Eats
Oh! And as for the requests/suggestions we got from the Paris experts among you:
1) Chappy, I did get a chance to eat a street panini. It was brie, ham, and cheese, and it was totally delicious! You were right.
2) K.C., we ate some delicious camembert cheese from one of the local shops. It was so smelly that the entire apartment stank of camembert for days. The smell was totally pungent. We could smell it as soon as we opened the door to the apartment, despite the fact that we kept the cheese in the fridge, wrapped in wax paper, inside the wooden package we bought it in, and sealed in a ziplock bag. It's like the odor was a living entity.
3) Chad, I'm sorry to say that we didn't make it to Fauchon or Hediard. We did, however, eat quite a few macaroons from the bakery by our apartment. We ate some that were hot pink (strawberry), some that were a vibrant orange color (fig, maybe?), and some that were green (pistachio). They were really wonderful. And so were the croissants.
1) Chappy, I did get a chance to eat a street panini. It was brie, ham, and cheese, and it was totally delicious! You were right.
2) K.C., we ate some delicious camembert cheese from one of the local shops. It was so smelly that the entire apartment stank of camembert for days. The smell was totally pungent. We could smell it as soon as we opened the door to the apartment, despite the fact that we kept the cheese in the fridge, wrapped in wax paper, inside the wooden package we bought it in, and sealed in a ziplock bag. It's like the odor was a living entity.
3) Chad, I'm sorry to say that we didn't make it to Fauchon or Hediard. We did, however, eat quite a few macaroons from the bakery by our apartment. We ate some that were hot pink (strawberry), some that were a vibrant orange color (fig, maybe?), and some that were green (pistachio). They were really wonderful. And so were the croissants.
Au revoir, Paris
We just got back from France this afternoon. It's good to be home, but I kind of wish we could have stayed a few more days in Paris. I feel like we were just starting to get the hang of things. By our last day there, we were actually able to order meals in restaurants with minimal embarassment. Every day we got a little better at navigating the challenges of the language barrier. Matt was actually getting pretty darn good at it, pouring over phrasebooks at night and picking up new and helpful words.
I hope we get the chance to go back someday. It really is an amazing city.
I took tons of pictures, and am planning to sort through them for the blog tomorrow. Stay tuned!
I hope we get the chance to go back someday. It really is an amazing city.
I took tons of pictures, and am planning to sort through them for the blog tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Random observations about Paris
1) Motorcycles are apparently not bound by any rules of the road. If you drive a motorcycle in Paris, feel free to drive it on the sidewalk, between incoming and outgoing traffic lanes, or right to the door of your favorite shop.
2) People here really enjoy making out in public places
3) Everything you've ever heard about the coffee in France is true. It's delicious. Like, mind-blowingly delicious. It tastes dark, rich, and deep. I'm not even a coffee drinker, but I find myself walking through the city fantasizing abouty drinking a cup. It's awesome.
4) A large glass of wine is significantly cheaper than any other drink on the menu, including coca-cola. Even at the science and industry museum, it was less expensive to get a small container of wine with lunch than the cost of a soft drink.The result? I've been drinking a lot of wine.
2) People here really enjoy making out in public places
3) Everything you've ever heard about the coffee in France is true. It's delicious. Like, mind-blowingly delicious. It tastes dark, rich, and deep. I'm not even a coffee drinker, but I find myself walking through the city fantasizing abouty drinking a cup. It's awesome.
4) A large glass of wine is significantly cheaper than any other drink on the menu, including coca-cola. Even at the science and industry museum, it was less expensive to get a small container of wine with lunch than the cost of a soft drink.The result? I've been drinking a lot of wine.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
La Tour Eiffel
We saw the Eiffel Tower today, and I wasn't prepared for how much the sight of it affected me. I've seen it so many times in movies and on television, that I didn't think it would be a big deal. But it's really awe-inspiring, seeing it in person. It's so huge, and beautiful, and... iconic. I saw it as we rounded the corner, and it very nearly took my breath away. I'm not normally a very sentimental person, but it almost made me tear up. I'm so happy that I got the chance to see it.
The Paris Adventure Continues
After a challenging immersion into Parisian life, I'm finally starting to fall in love with Paris. It was definitely a jarring transition-- I think I was cocky from all of the travelling, expecting Paris to be as easy to navigate as London or Edinburgh. It wasn't, largely due to the language barrier. But, the more we try to speak the language, talk to people, ask questions, and explore the city, the more we are all starting to really love it here. Frankie even told us last night that she wants to be a language teacher when she grows up, so she can learn how to speak perfect French and show other kids how to do it as well.
Yesterday was really a turning point for me and Paris. Frankie and I had the day all to ourselves, since Matt was busy at business meetings. Instead of hiding out in the apartment, we dove into the city. We walked down the Seine and took in the sights. Eventually we ended up at the Jardin des Plantes, which is essentially a gigantic botanical garden in the center of Paris.
The Jardin des Plantes is more than just a garden, it also has five or six smaller museums on the premises. The museums are in these beautiful old buildings hidden throughout the garden, and they all are tied to some aspect of natural history: Dinosaurs, evolution, plants, and so on.
Sadly, all of the museums were closed yesterday. (We didn't realize that Tuesday is a day when quite a few museums are closed to the public.) But, really, we wouldn't have had time to walk through them all anyhow. There was a small zoo at the gardens, and walking through that as well as the botanical garden itself took pretty much all day. I would imagine that it would be impossible to see everything there in a single day.
While Frankie and I were out and about yesterday, we managed to successfully navigate around the city (it's a little over a mile from our apartment to the Jardin des Plantes). I was also able to order lunch for us both in French. Later in the day, I was confident enough to stop in to a small bakery and order us pastries for an afternoon snack.
What I've found is the more I try to interact with people in Paris, the more I enjoy being here. It was daunting at first, but the more I do it, the more I jump in as opposed to observe on the margins, the better the experience is.
When Matt was finished with work yesterday, we all managed to have a very nice dinner at a wine bar/cafe on the leafy pedestrian square outside our apartment. We had fish in a citrus sauce, honeyed chicken, onion soup, and some of the best wine I've had in ages. (Matt had a French dictionary, and he painstakingly translated all of the menu items for us.) It was really nice, being outside in Paris, spending time with my family. The wait staff was really patient with or attempts at French, and at one point the waiter smiled warmly and said to us, "You don't speak French, but you try. And that's enough for me."
Yesterday was really a turning point for me and Paris. Frankie and I had the day all to ourselves, since Matt was busy at business meetings. Instead of hiding out in the apartment, we dove into the city. We walked down the Seine and took in the sights. Eventually we ended up at the Jardin des Plantes, which is essentially a gigantic botanical garden in the center of Paris.
The Jardin des Plantes is more than just a garden, it also has five or six smaller museums on the premises. The museums are in these beautiful old buildings hidden throughout the garden, and they all are tied to some aspect of natural history: Dinosaurs, evolution, plants, and so on.
Sadly, all of the museums were closed yesterday. (We didn't realize that Tuesday is a day when quite a few museums are closed to the public.) But, really, we wouldn't have had time to walk through them all anyhow. There was a small zoo at the gardens, and walking through that as well as the botanical garden itself took pretty much all day. I would imagine that it would be impossible to see everything there in a single day.
While Frankie and I were out and about yesterday, we managed to successfully navigate around the city (it's a little over a mile from our apartment to the Jardin des Plantes). I was also able to order lunch for us both in French. Later in the day, I was confident enough to stop in to a small bakery and order us pastries for an afternoon snack.
What I've found is the more I try to interact with people in Paris, the more I enjoy being here. It was daunting at first, but the more I do it, the more I jump in as opposed to observe on the margins, the better the experience is.
When Matt was finished with work yesterday, we all managed to have a very nice dinner at a wine bar/cafe on the leafy pedestrian square outside our apartment. We had fish in a citrus sauce, honeyed chicken, onion soup, and some of the best wine I've had in ages. (Matt had a French dictionary, and he painstakingly translated all of the menu items for us.) It was really nice, being outside in Paris, spending time with my family. The wait staff was really patient with or attempts at French, and at one point the waiter smiled warmly and said to us, "You don't speak French, but you try. And that's enough for me."
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