The Time We Escaped the Heat with Macarons

Walking in the heat in Paris is pretty awful. Though it's funny when we complain, because then we realize how ridiculous we sound. "Oh help me, I'm spending my summer walking around Paris. Poor me." But regardless, it's hot.

Today our walking tour consisted of the Palais Royale, Galarie Vivianne, Place de Victoires and walking through the Louvre exterior, which used to be the palace. 

(Church at St. Germain l'auxerrois. Good escape from the heat)

(A man was playing Bach on the guitar in front of the arches and glasswork)

(Example of classic style)

(A hot garden pathway with rows of shaded trees with light peeping through leaves)

(The fountain in the garden)

(A modern art installment)

(The Louvre pyramid)

I really enjoyed walking through the galleries today. There were tons of rich stores, but I liked that they're inside like a mall, but very fancy with gold decor, glass ceilings, and plants. It felt like walking through a train station in the jungle or something. 

After our tour, a few girls went to Laduree - a famous macaron shop that's apparently really popular as an upscale dessert place, though I hadn't heard of it. We think this is the original one. 

I went and tried three mini macarons flavored rose, licorice, and "Marie Antoinette Tea" which turned out to be the best. I can't place the flavor - I'm guessing it's tea-related but it was almost coconut-y as well. The black licorice, though I usually enjoy that flavor, was not very memorable. All the tastes were mild and the cookies were incredibly light and not as chewy as I've usually had before. So airy! These must be the correct way to make macarons, since they're Parisian.    

The decor of the room was Chinese-themed, with bamboo style print wallpaper and Mandarin writing that some of the girls translated to "Ear, hand, nose" etc. At the front we found the dessert counter with rows of pastries and the macarons of course. Worth the little experience. 

A few of us went back to Marais to look at shops, but everything was either really expensive even with the summer sales, not my style, or available in the US. We found this store called COS that had really simple clothing but it was edgy, with weird shapes and cuts that looked like French fashion. Wish we could wear holographic or waist-less dresses in America.

For dinner, I had a crepe in the upper part of Paris because I met a high school classmate there. This just proves that the street crepes across from our hotel near the Eiffel Tower are really the best, as Teo says. My crepe, while perfectly decent by all American standards, was boring compared to the street crepes. It wasn't as soft or harmonious or cheesy, but instead the fillings were layered and not stuck together nor mixed together in one bite. 

Then we spent midnight in Paris on the Seine, which looked like an impressionist painting. 

The Time I Just Wanted a Necklace

This week's going to be a hot one with temperatures in the high 30s...celsius.

Our morning began learning about the 1300 era like Louis the Fair. We had an hour break before our walking tour, but I went back to my room to make lunch with some pasta and cheese I got at the market.

The tour today took us across the love lock bridge (it really does look hideous to me now) on the Ile de St. Louis, the island in the Seine. The walks are becoming less about destinations and more about just soaking in the neighborhood it seems, as we become more familiar with Paris.

Marais was a new neighborhood we meandered through, which Teo says is a heart of gay pride and young fashion. Many boutiques we passed were filled with colorful and stylish clothing.

He pointed out a synagogue that was designed by a non-Jew, which he said is an example of France's secular culture. Teo had told us earlier that French were surveyed and found that 95% of them first identify as French before another label, like a religion. Americans were 60% Christian first, he said.

Our group also stuffed into St. Paul's cathedral today. We had a treat in that there was a children's choir that sang songs and an organ solo piece. The church was filled with parents snapping photos of the kids, and it was very peaceful to sit and listen while looking at the the ever-high ceilings.

The tour ended at a park that Teo called one of the most popular of Paris - Place de Vosges. It's tucked between brick buildings all around it, as you have to go through an arched tunnel to get in. The place is completely symmetrical in four quadrants, each with a fountain and a statue of King Louis XIII in the center.

From there, we were on our own. A few girls and I went to shop at some boutiques in Bastille nearby, which have unique handmade clothing. I've noticed the fashion here is very light, thin and simple. While I didn't buy anything, I liked looking. They wanted to go back to the hotel afterwards, but I decided to travel back to Odeon, where there was a necklace in a shop that I'd wanted.

After a few metro transfers, I was back at a cute boutique. Once I was inside, and asked the young employee to open a glass cabinet to see the necklaces, she told me to wait until after the other two customers left. I thought that was strange but just looked around until they walked out. Then she grabbed the phone and told me she had to call the police because they'd been shoplifting. She made several phone calls and talked in lightning speed French, and when she got off the phone she was crying. I tried to help her by telling her it wasn't her fault and I hoped they'd get it back. She said, "Yes but it's just I've worked here a long time." And I said, "Yeah, it's important to you." She said, "Well I need this money, I need to live." And I just felt really bad so I waited until the police came and they looked at the surveillance video. I hope they find the two girls who stole.

I did buy my necklace - it's a small sterling silver gold-plated star necklace (etoile). It is the city of lights after all, so it's a nice souvenir.

For dinner, we decided to try a Thai restaurant near the hotel. Yes, sorry, once again we are not having Parisian food but we need a change at times. Three of us shared beef basil, pad thai and another noodle dish.

We later decided to have a picnic on the Seine river near sunset, since it was about 9:00 p.m. by then. At a bakery, we got a few dessert tarts. The employee gave us a paper bag filled with little sweet breads for free, probably because they were closing soon but it was really generous of her. The chocolate tart was amazing - very soft and rich with a crumbly crust.

It's very pleasant to sit on the edge of the Seine, with feet dangling over the concrete above the green water. You can see people walking by and boats sailing and the sunset. When we walked back, we got splashed with water from some people who were chasing each other with vases of water outside a café, and then later a bucket of water dumped in front of us on the sidewalk from outside a window. Such a strange day!

The Time We Were Tourists

Teo says we aren't tourists, because we will become Parisians. Since we don't visit many tourist locales in class, some of us decided to go to the Arc de Triomphe ourselves. It was easy on the metro, as we emerged from the tunnels to this huge looming archway. I had seen pictures of it but none of them can convey the huge scale of this piece of architecture. It's enormous. 

What's more, the cars racing by are essentially in a six-lane roundabout but with no lights, signs, or lane markings - they just wait for each other and weave in and out of each other's paths. A tunnel takes you under the busy street and right below the Arc, where you can see a fire and flowers that pay tribute to soldiers, and get a more up-close look at the detailed structure.
From there, we bought a ticket to walk up the many flights of spiral staircases; it was a calf workout but we eventually made it to the top. The view is certainly worth the pain: you can see all of Paris in every direction.
In America, we never plan out cities so that major roads will all intersect in a spoke-like pattern, leading to a giant archway in the middle. It was astonishing to see the stone roads all connect to the Arc, and seeing rooftop after eclectic rooftop and iron shutters and ivy on buildings. Of course, the Tour Eiffel stands above it all. It's like the Empire State Building view but better because everything seems better in France.

The hike back down was much easier, and some girls left to go rest at the hotel. I stayed with a friend to people-watch across the street near the Champs Elysees. They're mostly tourists striking weird poses in front of the Arc, like ballet poses or peace signs or pretending to pinch it. The two of us strolled down the shopping street but it was just filled with tourists, and I decided it was the Times Square of Paris, but older. 

At 7:15 p.m. the group met in the hotel to go on a picnic in front of the Tour Eiffel to celebrate the holiday today. The lawn was packed with picnicking groups like us. Teo and his wife Scarlett distributed baguettes, sausages, salami slices, chicken, brie cheese, bleu brie, and some soft cheese that was either fig/nut or chive and tasted just like flavored cream cheese. We also had small pickles, cherry tomatoes, oranges, cherries, and chocolate cookies. 

At about 9:30 we left for Teo's surprise: a boat ride along the Seine! It began at 10 p.m. when it is still light in Paris. We piled into this open-topped boat and were sprayed by mist as we sailed along, watching the water splash against the cement canals. There are bridges everywhere whose decorated lights began to shine as the sun set. The boat took us past many famous buildings of Paris like Notre Dame, the Louve, and many we didn't yet recognize though every building lining the radiant water was old and classic. 

So many of the passengers just snapped photos the entire time, but I've really been trying to limit myself on photos so that I can just enjoy the atmosphere in the moment. I loved dusk, watching lights beam on as the sun set across the water. People were sitting on the edge of the canal, singing and dancing and shouting and eating and drinking to music, even though it was 10 p.m.

By the time we got back, we were absolutely freezing cold from the boat, but the Tour Eiffel was lit up and began to sparkle at 11 p.m. on the dot. 

Walking home, I got lost with a couple girls as we found the metro rail that runs down our street, but we weren't sure if the hotel was up or down so we walked to wrong way and eventually took the metro back at midnight. 

Today, we began to learn how to be Parisians, but we also let ourselves be tourists for a day to sight see some of the many must-dos of the city.