Paris- part 2

Our last full day in Paris.

We started off the day with breakfast at the cafe around the corner. The outdoor market was in swing again today, and as luck would have it, there was even a vendor selling cheap suitcases. Oh God, had we become that kind of traveller?

Well, yes and no. We had tallied a good amount of wine to transport back to the US and were worried about packing it in our checked luggage. So the extra suitcase was our insurance in case anything might break en route...

But enough about the wine. We were still in Paris and I continue to fall deeper in love with this beautiful city each time we visit...and we didn't have much time left. Our favorite thing to do is just wander and experience, but we do try to do at least one 'cultural' thing each day. Today, we planned to visit the Musee de Picasso. We set off from the St Germain area towards the Musee, in the 3rd arrondissement. We eventually found the museum, bubbling with excitement in anticipation of experiencing this little treasure.....only to discover that it was closed on Tuesdays...and... it was a Tuesday. Yep. Got to do a little more planning and research for that next time in Paris. At least we weren't the only ones who didn't consult a guidebook. Two other couples arrived at the exact moment we did, and had the same reactions that we did. Merde! Zut alors! Eh, bien.


With open minds and open hearts, we continued our little stroll, trying to decide what our next option might be (as if the options in Paris might actually be limited, ha!). I would have been happy to wander all day. My husband is an eternal planner while I am happy to go with the flow. But somehow in France, my husband starts to relax and he can come over to the dark side of unplanned days.

As luck would have it, we stumbled across the Musee de Carnavalet. Our curiosities were peaked by posters for a photo exhibit, so we wandered inside.

Since there was no admission fee, this was a big hit with my DH, the self proclaimed 'cheap yankee'. The Carnavalet is a museum of the history of Paris and was a very pleasant surprise. My favorite room was the one dedicated to old shop signs, but a close second would be the gallery of impressionist to early 20th century paintings representing life in Paris.

After the Carnavalet, we continued our theme of wandering and with a brief respite to laze at Les Places des Vosges. Of course, I wanted to visit more shops. DH doesn't understand that even if I don't buy anything, that shopping is creative stimulation. I continued to find loads of creative stimulation and miraculously, my DH kindly indulged me.

Throughout the day, we exchanged phone messages with our friends we had met at Le Vallon in Provence, Marie and Jerome...setting up plans to meet for dinner that evening.

Plans were eventually settled to meet them at Cafe Metro, near the Bourse.

We had a lovely evening with Marie and Jerome. This is something I love about travel, that every once in a while, you meet people who become a part of your life. Good food (it was a fabulous meal, I can still taste the ravioli with truffles!) and good conversation with new friends...what else could we ask for???

I won't divulge our full conversation, in respect to their privacy, but something stuck with me when we started to discuss perceptions across the pond. I felt more akin to them than the pressures I felt from own culture. Could this be a sign of things to come?

Marie asked us if Americans perceived the French as lazy. Hmm. I had to admit that the American media does tend to portray them that way, but as far as we were concerned, the French have the right idea. In America (and especially in the career driven environs of NYC), I feel like our culture drives people to live to work- where as the French and the rest of Europe, in my small experience, generally hold to the ideal of working to live. Given the choice, I want the French option. I know these cultural norms are changing and unfortunately swinging towards the western values. Tres dommage.

When I returned the question, and asked about the perceptions of Americans in France I was not at all surprised by their answer. In general, they said the perception was not good. We all had a laugh, since we all knew that general perceptions are deceiving (no matter how true they can be), especially to those who have not travelled or experienced different cultures with an open mind.

It was bittersweet, bidding our new friends adieu. Not that we would never see or hear from them again, but that tonight was pretty much the end to our adventures in France for 2007.

Paris 2007

Paris photos, last two days 2007

Our last two days- in Paris

OK, it's been a really long time since our trip. My notes are sparse so I am trying to piece it all together.

It was pretty uneventful taking the TGV back up to Paris from Montpellier. On time, speedy and we had reservations at the same hotel in Paris.

Once we checked in to the hotel, it was off to see and experience more of Paris that we hadn't seen before. Well, maybe that's a little white lie. DH had actually acquiesed to my desire to SHOP in Paris this time. On our last trip, I had hoped to do a little shopping on our last day. Alas, we weren't thinking, and all the shops were closed when we arrived (tip for newbie travellers who like to shop- don't plan to shop on a Sunday in Europe) and hit me with a reality stick- last year we were even in Paris during the bi-annual soldes (sales). Lack of government sales and shitty dollar to the euro exchange rate be damned, I was still going shopping.

Even though I have an extreme aversion to large department stores, we ended up at Les Galleries Lafayette (Macy's in NYC gives me hives). I've never done research on shopping or anything else for that matter regarding Paris (except for hotels and restos) before our trips, so I had no idea where to begin looking for interesting boutiques/shops. And, dear reader, my husband has an extreme aversion to shopping. So a one stop smorgasbord was deemed to be the best solution.

Now, when in France- I pretty much want to buy everything. OK, my consumptionist side is revealing itself. But hey, I only get to visit here once a year...and there's a bit of the safari mentality cursing through my veins. No I don't have a budget to buy everything, or even several things. But this girl is a girl and she likes to be a girl. And the French like to make a girl feel like a girl.

My husband lasted about 15 minutes in the store (a record for him) before he announced that he was going to visit the Paris Opera while I shopped. He had worked there years ago, while on tour in Europe. While it was tempting to join him...I decided it would be better to remain at Les Galleries- ogling one pretty frock and the next and the next and the next. I eventually found a sundress that satiated my ooh-la-la french envy, plunked down the CC and did the virtual ostrich head in the sand thing regarding the actual price in dollars vs euros.

On to the next item on my agenda. It was time to head to La Duree for macarons. If you've been oh so patiently following this blog from the beginning, you will remember I was on a bit of a macaron treasure hunt- courtesy of moi and my friend Cynthia's sometime obsession with them. DH kindly escorted me to the La Duree on the Champs d'Elysee. Once I entered the golden gates, he noticed the glazed look in my eye and promptly said, "Take your time, I'll be waiting for you across the street in the pub.". Ooh! The choices, beckoning and calling my name. All those pretty little pastries, so lovingly coaxed into being, dressed in their finest to beguile a sucker like me.

There were too many choices in front of me. If I were lucky enough to live in Paris, I would probably have insisted on returning at least once a week, to sample the divine pastries available for the choosing. But, the macaron mission kept me on task. I selected a dozen minis to take back to NYC for Cynthia (and moi) to taste test. Chocolate, Violet, Lemon, Strawberry, Mocha, Pistachio,...ooh lah lah. For myself, I selected two full sized macarons, to be consumed in France. I chose a chocolate and a pistachio. After choosing my treasures, I patiently waited in line, while the shopgirls prettily boxed them, I paid my tab and then joined my husband across the street.

Too shy to break into them right in the store, this was the moment I had been waiting for- were they worth it? Well, honies, let's just say that the first bite was all of heaven and the best part of hell combined. If my husband had asked me to choose between him and the macaraons at that point, it would have been a hard decision. Yes Virginia, La Duree macarons are worth every cent you spend and each inch you travel to taste them.

Having fed the girl kitty, it was my turn to be the big man. DH suggested we go to La Defense and see the Eiffel tower from a new view. A quick hop and stop on the Metro and we were there. Neither of us was awed by La Defense. We were both amused/intrigued by the gypsies trolling for scams. The view of the Eiffel tower was lovely. And then we were done. I'm sure we're missing some huge significance here, but these were our impressions.

It was getting to be that time of day, so dinner options were discussed. I was all in favor of a nice dinner at a local bistro of cafe, but my husband was heavily leaning towards a picnic. Since the saintly spousal points were leaning towards my husband, we both agreed to assemble a picnic.

We amassed at bevy of food from the tiny grocer around the corner from the hotel Studia. And of course, I needed a little more sustenance (some calamare some gigantes), so supplemented from a Greek vendor in the neighborhood. Grabbed a bottle of wine and headed down to the Seine, right in the shadows of Notre Dame.

I've wanted to picnic on the Seine since I lived in Europe over ten years ago. Never got around to it, tonight was the night.

We spread out the blanket, laid out our meal and uncorked the wine. There were several other couples partaking in the same lovely experience. As the tourist boats sped by, it was fun to be toasted by the people on the boats and even more fun to pretend that we were 'real Parisiennes', raising our glasses and wishing a bon soir in return. But eventually, the way we started our trip, was the way our trip would draw to and end. Ah yes, as Fanny Brice sang in Funny Girl, it started to "Rain on our Parade". We huddled underneath the bridge with about a six other couples, as the rain came down and we waited to make our hasty retreat back to Hotel Studia.

One more day, and then we would have to leave our dear France.