{really, the most amazing pastry ever!}
A few things that you all should know about Paris:
1. Everything you put in your mouth here tastes like heaven.
2. It is impossible to resist putting these things in your mouth.
3. The only reason that people don't get fat here is because no one can resist walking and exploring this magical city.
4. This city has the best dressed children in the world.
5. The Metro is both the most useful and convenient yet most confusing aspect of Parisian transportation.
6. The food is out of this world.
7. Every neighborhood has a marché (market) and the produce is fab!
8. The Marais is the coolest Jew neighborhood ever. And has really yummy falafel.
9. FROMAGE!
Above is my observation list after living in Paris for exactly one week (although it feels like much longer). I literally can't stop eating everything in sight because a.) it's DELICIOUS, b.) it's there, c.) it's a source of comfort in this period of confusion and adjustment, and d.) I can justify it because living in Paris is only temporary. I could easily turn this blog into a food journal of all that I've eaten and where here in Paris, but alas, I will not. Must stick to my plan of keeping track of all the fab things that I've done and passing on recommendations to you lovely readers of mine. But, before I continue on to recap the past few days in the City of Light, I will list to you the best things I've eaten yet:
1. fresh, warm baguettes
2. melted chèvre and camembert (especially when placed on baguette)
3. this pain au chocolat-type pastry, I think called Pepita Chocolat, which tastes like the most decadent chocolate chip pancake ever
4. ripe pears
5. Ladurée macaroons
6. chocolate-covered waffle from the vending machine in the Metro (impulse purchase with Olivia)
7. falafel from L'as de Fallafel
8. crêpes!!!!
{the famous l'as du fallafel fallafel}
Can't wait to see how this list grows over the next 4 months!!
{garçons skater}
Okay, so flashback to Friday: Had my first French class with my professor Emmanuelle who is so cute and gave us a dope textbook that she herself wrote, that has every grammar rule outline for our French-learning pleasure. We then were assigned to small groups to do a city scavenger hunt for an in-class presentation. Two of my classmates and I were assigned Le Canal Saint Martin. The first area of our scavenger hunt around the aches on Boulevard St. Denis was really sketchy and reminded me of Midtown Manhattan. There was, however, this funky little alleyway called Passage Brady that was lined with brightly-painted Indian restaurants and stores that seemed quite promising. The area around the canal was pretty awesome with lots of cute cafés and funky stores. We even passed a skate park where local skater kids were flaunting their moves.
{strawberry mojitos at curieux spaghetti}
Later that night, my friends and I met up at... CURIEUX SPAGHETTI BAR! While the place wasn't as hopping as I would have expected for a Friday night and the closed kitchen meant no spaghetti for us kiddies, it was still a pretty cool atmosphere and bundles of fun. The bar is known for its flavored mojitos and tiny test tube shots, so I settled on a delectable (but rather strong) strawberry mojito-yum! On our way to the Noctillien bus, Paris' answer to the Metro shutting down at 1:30 am, Olivia and I HAD to stop for late-night crêpes: Nutella and banana please! Even though we walked around forever trying to find the bus and almost slept through our bus stop, the crêpe detour was TOTALLY worth it.
{olivia and me outside versailles in the rain}
{cristina at the end of a hall inside château versailles}
Yesterday was Saturday and BU had planned a group trip to Versailles. Olivia and I got there nearly in the nick of time, but missed the tour tram by a minute. It was raining and cold out so we were happy to not be on the outdoor tour anyway and instead explored the glorious castle of Versailles. The place was more ornate than I could have ever imagined--I can't believe people actually lived in this place! I loved the fabric wallpaper and the gold-painted detailed carvings on the ceilings, not to mention the chandeliers! Took lots of inspiration pics on my meander through the castle. The gross weather and our week of running around put my friends and me in the mood to lay low, so I returned home and spent the rest of my day and evening at home-- much needed! I went to Olivia's room to pick up the planner that I purchased at the Versailles gift shop and instead of going back to my room to do homework, I ended up hanging out for nearly three hours just chatting away and laughing, exchanging life stories and making fun of each other. I'm so glad that she and I are getting along so incredibly well and having so much fun exploring Paris together! I stayed up late last night watching The Virgin Suicides and attempting to upload my photos from Israel to Facebook. SEMI FAIL. I hate this effing internet connection.
{olivia tests some vintage perfume bottles at the market}
Today was a perfect Sunday in Paris. Olivia and I got up relatively early and headed straight for a flea market near the Bastille area in the Place d'Aligre. I found some cutie clip-on earrings with little gold lizards and Olivia and I both picked up fresh produce (pears, oranges, bananas, zucchini and onions!). We then made our way to the Marais for falafel and shopping obviously. We waited outside for over a half an hour to get a table at the Marais famous falafal restaurant L'As du Fallafel. Apparently it's Lenny Kravitz's favorite falafel joint and the place does of good job of making that little tidbit known. After filling our bellies with the delicious fried balls of love, we ventured into numerous vintage stores and the best kitschy tchotchke stores ever! I couldn't resist this dainty silver ring with a neon pink string bow and two dangly beads from a store that sold origami-embellished jewelry. Next to that store was another called Litchi which sold mostly brightly-colored religious and ethnic kitsch, including Russian dolls keychains, all sorts of good luck charms and even Mexican wrestling masks. Airnoos is another great find. Along with cutsie clothing and shoes, the store sells funny mugs, telephones and notebooks. I was especially fond of this mug set with different smily faces on the underside of the cup. Fleux is a funky home accessory store with practical home decorations in every shape from legos to ice cream and rain boots. The store has two locations across the street from one another and they're both a must go! Olivia stopped at various patisseries to sample the French macaroons (her obsession) and we stopped at gay-friendly Open Café for a quick coffee before grabbing a baguette for tomorrow's sandwich and heading home.
What a day. What a week. What a life!
This week is looking pretty low-key, but I'm in Paris and you never know what can happen in this place!!
Paix, Amour et Néon,
Marisa
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