The Time I Lived the Baguette Life

The baguette life is basically code for the Parisian life, if you ask me. Since yesterday was a free Sunday, I was able to go to the market and get nectarines, an avocado, a baguette and a grilled poulet (chicken) for my excursion. I felt very French because I spoke to everyone in French and got all my goodies like the French people. Next stop for me was Jardin du Luxembourg, like the French. Teo said they all go there on Sunday to relax, and I wanted to be (read: try being) Parisian.

I got other foods from my room, like my fig cheese and cucumbers. Thus, baguette in hand I got in the metro. I got off early to walk a few blocks down Boulevard Saint Michel to the entrance. It's almost like a carnival with the dusty gravel paths through the park, a giant fountain with kids racing boats adorned with national flags, and lots of flowers and trees (even palm trees). Green metal chairs are scattered all over the garden, so I picked one and ate a third of my baguette with cheese and some chicken and cucumber.

Every 20-30 minutes I would move locations to a new spot, all around the fountain and even in the wooded area to get different views. Then I would snack on something different as well, sometimes listening to music, sometimes reading "A Moveable Feast" and sometimes just watching everyone.

The senate building is in the garden, so I could hear it chime every 15 minutes and longer on the hour. At one point in my novel, Hemingway talked about walking through Luxembourg Gardens and I was right there! It was a very relaxing morning/afternoon to be there by myself, eating and watching Paris go by.

I lived that baguette life, eating a whole baguette in one day over a period of six hours (I finished it later in my room). I'm not talking about a cheap Subway foot-long or anything - I mean a full fledged arms-length baguette. By myself. One day. I feel like I should be crowned a true Parisian now.

Side note: I saw a magnet the other day that said "I heart Paris" but the "I" was a baguette, the heart was a heart, and Paris was an Eiffel Tower. I thought the heart should be the Louvre, so it would be "I Louvre Paris" ;)

Anyway, after my Luxembourg Sunday Parisian adventure, I stopped off at the Mabillon metro exit to try what Teo calls the best cupcakes in Paris. It's the definition of a hole in the wall - it's a one-person room with a tiny oning. You walk inside and there's no one there - the one-person room is empty except me. Then a woman opened a peep hole like how I imagine 1920s clubs, and saw me and opened a door to bring out a tiny tray with baby cupcakes on it. It felt mysterious.

I chose a little nutella cupcake and it was delicious indeed. Very moist and flavorful with thick whipped frosting and a hazelnut on top. I ate it quickly because it was so small, but while I was riding the metro back, I kept thinking about how good it was in retrospect. It was almost better to think about than actually experience.

Then I was a horribly unhealthy person and went to Berthillon ice cream too. Because what's cake without ice cream? Ugh so unhealthy, but I guess I'll tell myself this is like vacation? It started to rain near Saint Michel and Notre Dame when I was there, but once again I felt like a Parisian because all the tourists fled for cover, but I just walked over and got chocolate ice cream.

It's the best chocolate ice cream ever. Period. So rich and creamy and soft and melty. I just stood along the river eating my heart out; I loved this ice cream and this view. I can't get over either one.

On my way back, there was a guy and girl singing songs from the band Train with guitars in the metro. And they were really good so it made me smile. In the evening, I was going to meet up with Andrea, a girl I know at UCLA who is studying in London but visiting for the weekend. However, she ended up not getting wifi so we weren't able to meet. Instead, I made dinner in the hotel and went to get hot chocolate with two fellow students (one of whom went to Paris Disneyland today) at Le Piquet cafe down the street from us. I relish in sitting in cafes at night, with lights all around and people passing by. Again, very Parisian.

 (On the way back we passed by this giant recycling bin with tons of wine bottles and such outside. WOAH.)

We gathered up a few more students and went to sit by the Inception bridge as we call it (AKA Bir Hakeim bridge), to watch the tower lit up by the river. It's so beautiful, I could watch it forever and daydream.

Today I felt very Parisian, or at least I tried to be. Between my baguette, the garden, the rain, the café and the tower, it was a very casual and authentic day in Paris. I hope this is what it means to be Parisian because I enjoy the baguette life.

The Time I Was Jet Lagged

I am exhausted. I've been awake for 26 hours now, and it's 2:45 p.m. in Paris so I still have another 9 hours to survive and beat this jet lag. I woke up at 3:45 a.m. west coast time, and it is now 5:45 a.m. the next day at home.
The layer in Vancouver, BC was horrible, as I had to maneuver through the maze of halls from the international terminal to the domestic terminal because apparently you can't stay in the terminal if your connecting flight to Paris goes through Toronto. So I had to go through baggage claim, customs (even though I'd only be in Canada a few hours), and then back through security to the domestic terminal on the other side of the airport. I arrived at the gate as it was boarding, despite a two hour layover.
I was very impressed by the Toronto airport, however - the gates had counters with iPads everywhere.
The flight to Paris was seven hours long, but because we were flying ahead in time, we witnessed the sunset, nighttime, and sunrise by leaving at 8 p.m. and arriving at 8 a.m. The flight attendant even said we would be chasing the sunset and the sunrise, which sounded very poetic.

Once we were soaring above France, I could see the patches of green all around - I didn't know it was rural.
After I landed, I met up with another girl on my program. We'd decided to split a taxi fare to our hotel, and after we jumped in we asked, "Parlez-vous Anglais?" and of course he said, "No." Not sure if that was a ruse or serious, but we showed him the address of the hotel and went along our way.
I love riding in cars, so it was neat to see the different buildings - worn down, classic and some modern with US electronic company logos like Samsung and Toshiba. The absolute best part was when I happened to look out my window and was startled to find my view filled with criss-crossing
medal - the immediately recognizable bottom of the Eiffel Tower. Shocking - it made me smile. The taxi driver uttered the only word he said during the ride, "Eiffel!" and we laughed.

Fun fact: In Paris, they drive on the right side of the road - I thought it would be left, as I've seen in European films but I was foolishly wrong.

The hotel employees said our room wasn't ready yet, so we left our luggage and decided to walk around Paris with another girl from our program.
The first quest: food. We wandered around the streets, underneath a kind of rail platform, looking at various cafes. They're everywhere! Every city block has like three, with wicker chairs pouring onto the sidewalk, filled with people smoking or drinking cappuccinos. While some parts of Paris do remind me of America (it's not as big of a culture shock as I'd imagined), there are many parts that are so typically French. I literally saw a little child wearing a navy blue barret hat. A lot of the people are clearly tourists, though.
Anyway, we chose a cafe near the hotel that was serving breakfast, but we also asked for lunch menus. My first French meal: "petit dejeuner Francais" which included iced orange juice, chocolat, and bread with jam. It normally also includes a croissant but the employee said "croissant fini," so I just enjoyed the huge chewy baguette that was sliced, lathered with butter and then my added jam.

From there, we decided to walk to the Eiffel Tower since it's close to our hotel. We just followed its giant tip poking above the buildings until we reached the area packed with tourists and pickpockets and salesmen pushing metallic Eiffel Tower trinkets. The tower is beautiful from the ground - so tall when you look up to see it. But I like the view from the end of the park, at a distance, more.

Our last stop on this self-guided tour, if you will, was the Seine. We walked along a path and across a bridge that perfectly displayed the boats sailing below, a view of the tower, and palace-like buildings, all with window shutters and iron balconies, on the other side.

Even though I'm tired, I can't handle picturesque the city is.