The Time We Were Hemingway

I had to miss the class walk on the day I went to London, so yesterday (Saturday) Teo repeated the walk for those of us who missed it. It was nice to be in a smaller group of about 12 students, so we all kept together.
The walk was sort of near Odeon, first to a church that was turned into a meeting club during the French Revolution.

 We walked by the University of Paris, Sorbonne, which Teo said is like the second tier after the doctor and engineering schools. He said the universities are super affordable, less than $400, but everyone has to take a huge merit exam that determines which school you go to. It's funny that in the US, our universities have some of the nicest architecture of the city; here, they just blend in.

 The pantheon is around the corner.

The next stop was the church where Clovis and Pascal are buried. It's called Saint-Étienne-du-Mont; we stopped inside but a mass was going on, so we couldn't venture to the back area. However, this church was actually unique from other churches, as it had gorgeous white spiral staircases in the center that reminded me of bone or shell skeletons.

Since we were near Hemingway's house by now, Teo told us that he used to walk down this street and drink and write in the cafés nearby. All 12 of us sat down in one of the cafés (Le Contrescarpe) and a third-party unaffiliated with UCLA (definitely not Teo) bought us all small beers so we could be like Hemingway. 

(Too bad I don't care for beer, so another student finished mine. It was a cool experience so now I can say I drank where Hemingway did.) 

We continued down Rue de Mouffe as the locals say, where all the stores were open for the market for lunch. This is where our walk ended, but several of us stayed around to look at the bakeries and jarred goods and cheese shops and seafood. I got a sandwich jambon from a popular bakery, which was amazing on very chewy and tough bread (but not stale, of course) with a good helping of mayo. 

The desserts looked so perfect and glazed, but I wasn't hungry enough for one. I was experimental, though, and tried some bits of fried dough with powdered sugar, which I thought would be like funnel cake but were more dense and crispy than chewy and soft. I didn't finish them - I didn't like the bland taste nor thick texture.

 In the afternoon, after a little resting time, I went to Pierre Herme to try their macarons - two of them, Jasmine and Chocolate/Passion Fruit, to be exact. Laduree and Pierre Herme are the best macarons in Paris, so you have to have a taste-off to see which you like better. 

The verdict: Pierre Herme! Though I liked Laduree's tea flavored macaron, the textures were better at Pierre Herme. They were slightly chewy with more quantity of creamy filling. The chocolate/passion fruit was my favorite of all (read: about five places) I tried in Paris - a little sour but rich and sweet too, like other fruit/chocolate combos you can get in the US.

 Tonight was our class's formal dinner, so we all went to a restaurant near the Seine by Notre Dame at 7:30. Walking from the metro to the restaurant was a gorgeous scene - the light an hour before sunset was golden. The beams that reflected off the river were blinding as we all walked in our semi-formal attire to fit into a 40-person room.

 After the entree of salad, we got our pre-ordered plat between vegetarian, fish and duck. The duck comes in a huge pot of four servings, bathed in a tasty prune sauce. There were chunks of plum skins and duck skins in the broth, oozing flavor. It was so tender and went well with the great, soft (almost soggy) French fries.

 It was hot in the room with 40 people and no air conditioning, but I still enjoyed the meal. I talked with two girls about how there are so many different personas of Paris when we hear the name. You can think of the Paris that's stated under the designer labels, or the Hemingway idyllic Paris, or the more city-like cosmopolitan Paris that we live in. The connotations when someone says "Paris" are so varied, but I want to understand them all. But I digress.

The chocolate tart dessert came with like a melted vanilla ice cream - some people thought it was too much chocolate but there is no such thing. We ended dinner with the story of how Teo met his wife, to conclude a wonderful night in the city.

The Time I (Finally) Tried Snails

Before class, I got up early to go to 81 Rue de L'Universite "Rue de Loo" where Julia Child lived. I wanted to just take a little look, and I caught a morning glimpse of the metro commute as I rode there over the elevated tracks.
It's a very simple building, not in a really bustling area, with just a few random cafes nearby. However, it is right down the street from the Assemblee Nationale bearing French flags and all. It's cheesy, but I tried to imagine her walking down these streets and first falling in love with Paris.

Today we went as a class to Pere Lachaise Cemetery - the most expensive neighborhood in Paris. Teo said a plot of land for a grave is millions of euros. It was a huge labyrinth of cobblestones and little monuments of many famous people, including Sarah Bernhardt, Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Gertrude Stein.

 As we went along each grave, we would put a pink rose on the tombs of the people we talked about. Teo had brought the bouquet and we took turns putting roses down - mine was on Sarah Bernhardt's.

 Even the cemetery itself was pretty, though they the idea of graves kind of creeps me out. It was similar to a park with fallen leaves, as we passed by a row with tombs from the Holocaust. Down the row there were many sad metal statues of drooping turquoise bodies like skin and bones. It's sad to see remnants of that period in Europe, in the place it occurred.

After our three hour cemetery excursion, I was starving. We stopped in one of the first cafés we saw near Gambette with an orange awning. A common practice here seems to be having a price for a combo meal of a entree and plat OR plat and dessert. Here it was 14 euros for my lamb and tiramisu framboise (raspberry).

 Though it was more expensive than a typical lunch for me, I was impressed that we could get a French meal of lamb and dessert for about $15. I really loved the sweet lamb sauce and almonds for texture. The tiramisu was less impressive - though the cream was good, it didn't flow well with the coffee cake parts but was too separated for my liking. We also had some trouble with the waiter because he didn't speak English and some members in my group were picky with orders.

In the afternoon I had some free time, so I went window shopping in the touristy areas near the Louvre. Sorry to my inner Parisian, but I wanted to see the souvenirs. I didn't take too long, though, because I met one of my friends from UCLA for dinner. Alfie is doing another travel study program that goes to four cities and she just got to Paris. We met near Cluny at Le Bistro Du Perigord, which a girl from my program recommended. 

We ordered that combo option with three courses. My entree was (finally) escargot, something that I knew I definitely wanted to try in Paris but have been procrastinating for no particular reason. I wasn't sure where to go or when to get it to make it special. My fellow student had recommended it, so I knew this was the trusted place. Alfie and I actually ran into her there with her friends, which is how it goes - we find places and share them and go back and have favorites. 

 The escargot actually was really delicious as long as you don't think about it! It tastes like seafood, like little chewy scallops or something. And they're just covered in garlic and oil and maybe a pesto-like sauce? It's salty and chewy, like a good delicacy. You use that little eyelash curler thing to hold the shell, while a two-pronged baby fork takes the little piece of meat out.

This was a rumpsteak with an amazing cream-like sauce and soft vegetables - dare I say ratatouille? It's fun to order in France because even with translated menus, you never really know what you're going to get because they're Google translated and often a little wrong. You see "steak" and "vegetables" but have no idea how it's prepared. Before cutting into that thick slab of meat, I was scared it would be rare like the French do things, but it was just right.

This was my dessert. A sort of caramelized apple kalua coffee ice cream pastry God knows what (thanks Google translated menu). The little pastry shells were so flaky and crumbly, and inside was a huge ball of ice cream and those wonderful apples. A little fruit/vegetable/thing garnish was placed on top, which tasted like a cross between an orange and cherry tomato. The sauce around and on top was a fabulous caramel coffee - a great combination when mixed all together. 

I would completely recommend this place - the waiters here were so attentive and refilled our water like five times. Très bien. 

Maybe on this blog it looks like I'm eating out a lot, and I certainly am more this week than prior weeks because time is winding down. However, when I don't post pictures of my meals, I either had a two euro pastry for breakfast or I made something simple (pasta, likely) in my room. It's not always extravagant, but there are those days like today where we spent 2.5 hours on a real three course French meal done right. And I'm not even scared to take the metro by myself anymore!

The Time of my Cheese Dessert

On Wednesdays, we go to the market. I got some baby cucumbers, strawberries, a ham bread for breakfast, and a leather purse for myself as a souvenir. One of the stall workers at the market, upon hearing my English, asked where I was from ("England or America?"), then proceeded to say "California or Texas?" I thought it was a stereotype that foreigners group U.S. regions together, but apparently not so much.

 Today was our last formal lecture, during which we talked about the French revolution, reminding me of our trip to Versailles. After my chicken crepe for lunch (I have to eat more of them while I have the chance before I leave soon), we embarked on our walk. We passed by a modern art museum and a park with lots of street art.

 The tour also took us outside the oldest private residence (house) in Paris - that of Nicholas Flamel. Like in Harry Potter.

We walked down many streets, like the rue de Montergeuil, which had many cafes and shops. Our walk ended outside of a gothic church called St. Eustache. I feel like I've seen so many beautiful churches on this trip, and this was no different.  

It was enormous inside, with huge towers holding up the ceiling. I think this was the highest ceiling thus far, I genuinely felt like I was in a giant's church. So impressive.

Since it was drizzly and cloudy today (my favorite weather in Paris), I sat in a cafe with two girls for a bit to soak up the atmosphere and watch the city go by. I had a cafe creme and they had chocolat with whipped cream. I kid you not, their drinks were three inches of hot chocolate and four inches of whipped cream with a straw. It's bliss to sit under a red cafe awning in wicker chairs and watch the grey rain in the streets. 

Soon, I went with a group to the Rodin museum and garden (wow, I initially spelled that "gardin" and had no idea why it was underlined red - French is rubbing off). The metro was insanely jam-packed. At first we thought it was because it was rush hour from work around 5 p.m., but we've travelled at this time before and it wasn't so crowded. In retrospect, maybe it was because of the rain. Anyway, the metros were packed with people like sardines. People would flood out of the doors, leaving no time for us to get on before the doors close. One time, someone got their foot stuck in the automatic doors as they slammed shut, and people had to pry the doors open so his foot wouldn't be like ripped off when the metro took off. Scary. 

The Rodin Museum is under construction, so we could only access the garden and one exhibit for a reduced price. I really enjoyed the garden view, which reminded me of the Vaux le Vicomte architecture because it was yellow and palace-like with a lovely rose garden and cone-shaped tree hedges. It's also seen in "Midnight in Paris."

 We weren't sure whether these were like original sculptures or casts or what, because why would they put "fakes" in a museum but why would they put originals outside? I think we deduced later that they were casts, but like some of the first original casts perhaps. Not sure still, because we thought some of these sculptures are also in other museums and such.

The inside exhibition was not as gorgeous as the garden, but still cool to witness how Rodin created rough edges to see that artist's hand and how he morphed the body. I liked him more after seeing this museum to get a better look at his style. 

After the museum, I rejoined the two girls from the cafe for dinner. I really wanted to try a restaurant with a green awning around the corner from our hotel, called L'Alchimie. Teo had originally recommended it, but then others from our program went and apparently a girl cried because it was so good. We went in with high expectations, though I tried to lower mine so I wouldn't be disappointed.
The menu, first of all, was oddly translated and poetic, like one item that said "with crystallized shallots crushed by blue (bruise) of former days."

This was a special dinner for us, with three courses. I decided to order things I've never had before and we all three got all different things so we could try each other's. For the entree, I had carpaccio of beef in the pesto crumble of parmesan cheese. I was a little nervous to try raw meat, but their dish made it very manageable. I pretended it was like thin ham, and it was so flavorful - covered in oil and garlic and pesto. It was just soaked with that flavor. I also tried the other girl's foie gras and the other's asparagus soup (which was the best - essentially cream and asparagus, reminding me of broccoli and cheddar soup).

 For the plat, I ordered pig's rib with assortment of vegetables. I don't even like pork that much, but this was just so good and hot. In fact, it came out so hot and fresh that by the time I was done, the meat had cooked itself to be dry (but for the majority of my meal, it was perfectly juicy). In the photo below, the vegetables are hidden by a "meadow" as one girl said of herbs, but vegetables lie underneath. I can't even explain the flavor. None of us had even tasted this flavor in our lives. It was like a butter acidic maybe citrus bitter taste that these carrots, zucchini and shallots had been marinating in for so long. They fell apart they were so soft. One girl said it was like a part of her brain was lighting up from tasting this completely new nameless flavor. The best part was the sauce (again, unlike anything I've had) and what I believe are mashed potatoes under the herbs. It was a smooth ball of light yellow, and when I first tasted it, I thought it was pure butter. It tasted like pure butter, in a good way. Wonderful!

 For dessert, I felt that I needed to try a fromage plate while in Paris so I did. It was a brie, a goat cheese and some other type of sharp cheese. While their flavors were very good, especially on the warm rolls they came with, by the end of the meal I felt I needed something sweet to finish it off. So, I was kind of unsatisfied by the whole palette of the meal because I had two meats and cheese - all savory and salty. However, it was my fault for ordering this way. I chose dish by dish instead of a full balanced meal. The two girls got strawberries with cream and basil jelly, and an assortment of sorbets. The mango sorbet had real junks of mango and was very refreshing. The girl with the strawberry basil almost cried because it was good. I liked both their desserts, too, because of their simplicity and light sweetness.

It was a good French meal treat. More expensive than normal of course, but we needed to go here before we left. 

The Time We Ate and Ate

As I'm writing this, I am so full. But let's start chronologically, shall we?

I woke up in Paris, and went out in the morning to recharge my navigo metro pass and buy a croissant from our favorite bakery across the street, which is called a la petite chocolatiere. They have the most crispy and flaky croissants. I also grabbed an apple crumble pastry to have later.

This morning it was really exciting to reunite with everyone on my program, and we all were talking about what we did over the weekend and how glad we were to be back. I really loved this reunion, hearing about people who went to Amsterdam, Barcelona or stayed in Paris.

For class today, we walked around La Defense, which is a more modern area kind of on the edge of the city so as not to disrupt the six-story building historic center. There was a huge arc and lots of glass and steel buildings; Teo said they tried to make this like a futuristic utopia.

 (The view from the steps - you can see the Arc de Triomphe in the center in the distance)

Just beyond the steps was a carousel, which we stopped to ride like little kids. This was Teo's surprise for the day, and I rode a little horse!

Since today's theme was modern Paris, we also strolled through rue Montaigne with all the designer stores. At one point, Teo joked that we should all run into Gucci I think it was and steal all the clothes, and suddenly a security guard came to the window and looked at us. We all laughed and the guard was very confused. 

Rue Francois had a really cute roundabout courtyard, that might have been my favorite courtyard for no particular reason. Maybe I'm just glad to be back in Paris after a tiring weekend, but it was very sweet with the typical buildings and colorful flowers and blue cloudy sky. I feel like I'd recognize a French building anywhere, but maybe more of Europe is like this that I just haven't seen. 

One of the last stops was outside the Grand and Petit Palais, two museum type exhibitions that are simply beautiful on the outside. We didn't go in, but admired the classic architecture that can be randomly and casually found throughout the city. 

We crossed a bridge towards Napoleon's tomb, but the bridge itself provided a perfect view from all angles of the Seine, the Tour Eiffel, the tomb, street lamps, the Palais... just everywhere was picture ready. Apparently this is a rather famous bridge with gold colored statues. 

(That view...unbearable. Great way to end our walk.)

For lunch, a few of us went back to Le Marais to try the world famous falafels. I don't even like falafels, so I was hesitant to spend a Parisian lunch eating one, but this restaurant Teo had pointed out earlier was amazing. It's a soft pita with vegetables, sauce, eggplants, cucumbers and chickpea falafels.

 (Yes there was a line)

 (My half-eaten falafel)

Like I said, I don't even LIKE falafels and I loved this. Wonderful flavors and textures, almost like a Greek gyro. Someone from our program loves falafels, has even eaten them in Israel, and said these were the best ever. We sat on the curb outside to eat because there's no seating offered. Side note: Oh, the places I've sat on this trip. I don't even care anymore - we walk so much that I'm so tired that the floor becomes a viable option. I've sat on metro floors, on streets, on the cigarette-covered Champ de Mars... This was nothing. 

Even though we were full from our wonderful falafels, we passed by a Swedish ice cream place we wanted to test out. This double creme meringue was delicious, like extra creamy vanilla with meringue chunks. Some of the girls felt like we were cheating on our favorite ice cream, Berthillon, though.  

After an afternoon of rest, I went on my adventure project. This was assignment Teo gave us the first week, where he wrote down addresses on scraps of paper and random groups of three students chose a piece of paper. Ours was 83 rue de Reuilly, and since we had a free afternoon, my group went today. The metro took 30 minutes, but we got off in a neighborhood we've never been to and turned the corner to find the impasse we were meant to explore. 

It was merely a cobblestone street with houses and cars parked along the side. It was a side street with a few local French people watering their gardens or reparking their cars. We walked down to see the blend of old and new - the parts of paint chipping, piles of broken cement, graffiti, and old shutters. Then we saw the new parts with growth, like flower pots and a roof with grapevines and grapes hanging over the side. 

It was strange to see a cute little side street that was worn down yet still full of people living. We don't really know what the assignment is, other than to investigate this hidden area of Paris and report back. It wasn't really all that special, but just a nice little street. 

One thing we really noticed was the quiet. The street perpendicular to it was completely loud, with tons of buses and cars and bikes and people everywhere. Then you simply turn right and it's silent in the side street except a bell chime. We don't know why, because there's no door or illusion - but it's very quiet just one foot away. 

Once we returned to the hotel, a group of friends went out to celebrate a girl's birthday. We have a bucket list of food places we want to try, but in Paris everything is closed on Mondays, so our go-tos weren't open. We consulted Yelp, as we always do, and found a place a few blocks away called Le Volant Basque. 
A lot of us wanted boef bourguignon but (and this is something that has happened before in France) the waitress suggested that we try other things, too, and not all get the same item. If you all order the same thing, they will actually tell you to get other things to eat, I guess because they want you to try more of their dishes than just the same one? I think the French are just so proud of their food that they want you to have a good experience, and that's how you know you're "in" if they give you tips and advice. Though we usually listen to their advice, one girl got salmon but the rest of us stuck with the boef bourguignon anyway. Eventually they brought out bread and our food. 

The boef bourguignon was brought out in a copper pan, full of brown sauce, pieces of beef and mushrooms and some sort of bacon-like pork on top. We thought it was one portion and were freaking out that we ordered way too much, but luckily the waitress must've realized our naivety and only ordered two dishes for five of us to share. And we still had extra. It was amazingly tender and flavorful and so genuinely homemade French. They even brought out polenta, some vegetable rice and mashed potatoes to eat with it. It was just so good, probably the best meal I've had here. Very rich, though; I only had three pieces of beef. I'm still full two hours later.

For dessert, we shared two creme brûlées whose insides were very creamy, melty and did not hold their shape. I've had some before that are thick, but these in France aren't. It was good but not stand out. After a truly Parisian dinner of three hours and many laughs (including one girl's story of being called a disobedient avocado), we walked home very happy and full from a wonderful day of eating.