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 Climbed 1,091 Stairs

Yes, 1,091 stairs in one day because Notre Dame has 387 and the Tour Eiffel has 704. But apparently 387 + 704 = 2 amazing views.

Today we got up extra early to leave at 9 am for Chateau de Vincennes, a medieval castle! It was like a fairytale castle, except the real thing in its antiquated state. The color was very faded, with many tones of yellow or brown or beige. 

We had tickets to cross the bridge over a field of grass (like a mote) and go up into the tower. There were spiral staircases here, too, as we climbed up to see the small rooms and chambers. No furniture was present, but merely rooms of brick and old fireplaces. A balcony was on the other side of the little bridge, where we could see the grounds. The building across from us (which we didn't go into) kind of looked like Versailles on the outside. This medieval castle was never taken during the wars.

Across the castle towers was a church, which was as white and clean as the Chartres Cathedral. The stained glass never comes out as radiant in my photos, but I really enjoyed sitting in the bright church with those common arched ceilings.    

For lunch, we walked around the back of Chateau de Vincennes to a park-like wooded area on the other side of the street. It was a really nice park with dusty gravel paths and even a pond with lilypads. Teo had brought us sandwiches, so I ate a curry chicken one with avocados while sitting on the grass among the flowers. 

After the picnic, Teo led an optional walk to Canal St. Martin, so I went along to see it. Though the area was perhaps a little grimy and grungy and not as nice as the Seine, I liked seeing people hanging out around the canal with the water so high.

At one point, we saw a boat coming up the canal so we waited to watch. Since the canal is tiered, they have a special process to open the canal and let the water levels equal out, raising the boat, so it can sail through. Here is the blockage when it's closed, but we watched it for about 15 minutes while it opened.

We also met up with one of Teo's old students who gave us each a slice of a fruit tart that was brilliantly flakey. After this stroll along the canal, I branched off with two girls to go to Notre Dame, since we embarrassingly have been here over two weeks and have not gone inside. The line in the front was about 30 minutes to get inside the church. 

It was really similar to every other church we've been to, to be honest, with arched ceilings, stained glass rose windows, and gothic details. However, I was surprised by how dark it was inside, with very little light shining through even with several chandeliers and candles around. Posters described the history of its construction, and I could see what Teo was talking about when he said that it was built over such a long period of time, adding other styles to change it.

Another line greeted us outside, this time an hour long wait to pay to climb the 387 stairs to the top. I'll repeat: waiting in line to pay to walk up stairs. That's right. Despite the winding spiral staircases, it was worth it. We stopped at the first level to see the complete 180 degree view of Paris in front of us, with the array of gargoyles and rooftops of Notre Dame behind us. Really stunning, even on this cloudy day. In fact, it started raining while we were up there but oh well. 

 (The view is so breathtaking in person, seeing all the perfectly Parisian buildings and all the landmarks that we can now recognize.)

We walked up more stairs, first to the bell tower to see the giant bells and then to the top of the left tower. We had five minutes at the top, but you can even see the Arc de Triomphe from here, though much of the view was the same as the first level. I was so glad I went to Notre Dame - I can never get over these aerial views of Paris.

Once we wound back down the stairs, we stopped along the bridges nearby to look at art for sale. There are a lot vendors here drawing caricatures or selling paintings or prints of Paris. I LOVE these artworks because they try to capture the fleeting nature of this city, so it makes sense why the impressionists loved Paris. It started to downpour, so I quickly bought a little impressionist painting of the Eiffel Tower, but every stand I passed had wonderful pictures. Wish I could collect them all. 

For dinner, I went to the grocery store Franprix to get cheese-filled pasta. I'm discovering little hidden foods of Paris in these markets that aren't exactly famous Parisian but that I enjoy. For example, there's this fig and nut cheese that has the texture of chunky cream cheese and a salty and sweet taste. And there are these sodas called Oasis (not oasis like the desert, but pronounced oh-ay-sees). They will correct you on your pronunciation if you say oasis. Anyway, I've had both raspberry and tropical flavors, the latter of which is the best soda here. I don't think these are even French things, but I've never seen them at home. 

Post-dinner a group of us decided to climb the Eiffel Tour because it was one girl's birthday (yes, another birthday!). We left around 10 p.m. so we could see it sparkle starting at 11. However, apparently we should've gone earlier because they said that once you walk up the stairs to the second level, you have to buy another ticket to ride the lift to the very top and it might close soon. 

So we tried to climb the tower really fast, but I actually ended up losing them for a while because I stopped on the first level to look at the view. Then I spent a long time just looking for them, climbing the next set of unbearably endless stairs. It's really cool being inside the tower at night, when it's lit up so you can see the intricate metallic weavings illuminated. 

We didn't make it in time to buy tickets to the top, but the view from the second tier is still amazing at night. I especially love the northwest view of the Seine.

And, as always, at 11 p.m., the tower sparkles for five minutes, which was unbelievably neat to see from right there. The lightbulbs just flicker on and off and create weird shadows when you're up there. It was great, other than the part about losing my group for 20 minutes. 

So, all in all, like I said - 1,091 stairs at Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Even more if you count Chateau de Vicennes. But, it was a day of breathtaking views as well. 

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. 

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.