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 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!