Paris- a city of culture, history, fine cuisine, fashion, and romance. That's where I found myself this weekend.
By the time Maja, Greta, and I found our way through airports and metro stations to our hotel the first night, it was dark and time for dinner. Our 'camp' for the next few days was located in a cozy corner right off of St. Michael's Boulevard, and it was surrounded by a multitude of cafes, restaurants, shops, and movie theaters, (Not to mention how centralized it was compared to all of the big Parisian monuments).
We went to a restaurant that was very close to our hotel, and to our luck it was exactly what we were craving for! Total French cuisine- veal liver, steak tartar, escargot, and many other mouth-watering dishes. I split a plate of escargot with Greta, I had never tried snail before and I was sort of worried about how it was going to go down. I was imagining snail to be all slime, and to kind of take on the texture of an oyster. Greta was telling me before the dish came that she used to work for a restaurant and jokingly said that the snails were going to be alive when we were going to eat them. She let me panic for a few moments and then told me the real story of how the snails were long-dead before hand and that they are seasoned with garlic and re-stuffed into the shells.
As our plate of mollusks arrived and the sweet smell of garlic filled my nostrils, a certain excitement rushed through my veins. We were given two cutlery tools, a fork and a clasp. I smiled, dug out a snail, and plopped it into my mouth like a candy. It was DELICIOUS! No slime, no grit, just garlicy perfection in a shell. I was pleasantly surprised and greatly enjoyed gobbling up the rest of the platter with Greta.
The rest of the meal included freshly-baked bread, local wine, I split a plate of veal liver (YUM) and a plate of lamb with Greta, all three of we girls shared a chocolate mousse, and ended the perfectly rounded meal with a black coffee. If this meal is all that I would have had in Paris, I would have still been 100% satisfied. Have I forgotten to mention that our waiter had the stereo-typical French mustache?
The next morning we awoke to rain. Nothing better to break the gloom of clouds in my opinion than a nice, bread filled French breakfast! With appetites curbed, Greta, Maja, and I started our short walk to the famous Notre Dame Cathedral. The inside and the outside of this church are simply magnificent. The colors emitted by the intricate stained glass and the pure height and size of this structure is breath-taking. The feeling of this Gothic cathedral really does put off an essence that there is something 'bigger' out there. It amazes me that architects and engineers hundreds of years ago could construct such a long-lasting, massive, artistic feat.
After some time spent in awe in the Notre Dame, we headed down several shopping streets in the surrounding area. Unfortunately things in Paris are a bit pricey, and we did not do the Christmas shopping that we thought we could.
A few hours spent browsing through high-fashion designer specialty shops, and we were ready for a nice cup of tea. We took the metro to the Mosque of Paris, (built in 1921), where we were not allowed in due to it being the day of prayer, but instead dove into the cafe located on the other side of the structure. We drank honey tea in a room crowded with all sorts of people, but with the interior design taking us to somewhere else... completely different from what we had been experiencing lately. I almost half-expected it to be blazing-hot outside when we stepped out of the cafe.
We then ventured into more small streets in search of a special market street. We found it, and bought supplies for an indoor-picnic. Browsing through the meat-deli, I was surprised to find pheasants and chickens plucked from the neck down, but with their heads still feathered and completely in-tact. I suppose that either people use the head for cooking, or it is simply for style. With grocery bags filled with good bread, cheese, olives, wine, and other food items, we found our way back to our hotel.
After our picnic we decided that it would be fabulous if we went to the movie theater next door and watched an old film.
This theater had a few retro movies playing, we watched Henry Adams and the Million Pound Note with Gregory Peck in it! It was adorable, I love old movies!
We woke up to a gorgeous blue-sky day on Saturday. Once again, pleased with a bread breakfast we three girls took a train ride to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. This beautiful place of worship was perhaps my favorite thing I saw in Paris. The shape and the colors were so pristine, and the view of Paris from the top of the hill was to die for. There was a harpist playing on the stairs nearing the entrance, to add effect to this magical place. When we got inside, there was a service being provided. Nuns were singing and as the lights shone in from the stained glass, a priest said his service. We sat in on the service for awhile, and then walked around a Christmas market which had placed itself conveniently alongside. It was at this Christmas market where we purchased nutella crepes and vin chaud (hot wine). We browsed our way along the market and eventually found ourselves in a artist square. Artists had placed themselves all around this square and were painting, and selling their art. It was neat to see them in progress, and I was reminded that I was truly in Paris.
Greta had had her heart set on eating couscous at a specific restaurant for several weeks, and this was very close to the Basilica and the artist square. We eventually found it and once again delighted our taste buds and pleasantly bloated our stomachs.
After lunch we did a little more store-hopping but due to a change in the weather, headed back to our hotel for the day.
We didn't have to venture out too far from camp to find a hopping restaurant filled with 'young' people. This is where we had our last dinner. Our hotel was also located in the so-called 'student' area of Paris, and we witnessed this Saturday night. I have a feeling that this crowd of students were ones who were more into the arts, and perhaps the movies because they were all going to the theaters later, which were filled with very artistic, indie, and retro movies.
Sunday morning, once again we woke up blessed with a sunny day. Our flight didn't leave until 3 p.m. so we decided that we could indeed make a trip to the famous Eiffel Tower. Just as everyone imagines, this famous landmark towers over everything around, and it is the final step in creating the feel that you are in Paris.
I had a wonderful trip to Paris, and I hope to all those who are reading this will have the chance to experience this interesting city like I did! Don't leave anything out! (Especially the escargot, you HAVE to try it!)
It's a week before Christmas, start the countdown!
'Till next time!
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