World Tour: Paris

After two and half rainy days in London, we were excited to head south and hopefully away from the gloom. The EuroStar train from London to Paris took less than two hours.  I loved hearing both languages collide and listening in on French conversations (that people didn't know I could understand- sneaky). I got to practice my French later when our friend Ben and one of his  friends took us to Cafe de L'industrie, a hip little restaurant that probably hasn't seen too many Americans in its day.  We helped translate the menu for Nate and I learned a few new words I didn't know. We sat there for two and a half hours, enjoying wine and different foods (Ben order raw ground beef- I don't think that would fly in the US!)

Ben had done so many touristy things already that Nate and I went out on our own the next day.  We had both seen the city and most of the important sites, but we didn't have pictures together in front of Le Tour Eiffel or other Parisian symbols. Ben's apartment is walking distance from the Eiffel Tower, so we set off on foot.  Of course, we got hungry along the way, so we stopped in the sweetest little boulangerie. There were shelves full of flaky pastries and chocolatey tarts.  In my head, I rehearsed over and over again how I would order our croissant, pain au chocolate, coffee, and Diet Coke (Nate didn't quite grasp the "When in Rome..." philosophy!) I ordered successfully, and then the lady at the cash register threw in an unexpected question:  Do you have any change, perhaps? It took a moment for it to register, and then I turned to Nate, looking to him for change.  He had no idea what was going on, so he was of no help. I shook my head no and handed her the money.  If only French people would have stuck to the phrases that I rehearsed in French classes!  This communicating thing would have been a lot easier! 

 

After the Eiffel Tower, we convinced Ben to go with us to Shakespeare and Co., an English bookstore across from Notre Dame.  I learned about it when I read Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway's memoirs of living in Paris in the 20's. I didn't see the "No Photos" sign until it was too late!

Maybe Hemingway sat in this very same writing nook :) 

That evening, we went to Montparnasse to see Sacre Cour.  We took the metro, and the walked to the top of a steep hill.  A touristy hub of restaurants, souvenir shops, and of course, the cathedral, awaited us at the top. The cathedral was beautiful and had a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tour, Arc de Triomphe, and Notre Dame.

My mom told me to find Chez Eugene in Montparnasse, a restaurant that my mom and dad (Eugene) ate at the last time they were in Paris. Naturally, we had to take a picture.  Nate kept the camera glued to him at all times, but his camera bag broke, so for a part of the day, he wore the broken camera bag around his neck as well as the camera.  I walked by group of women and heard one lady say, in French, "Why would anyone be a tourist like that?!"  I wanted to turn around and tell her I could understand her and that the camera bag was broken, but it still takes me so long to think in French that I missed my chance.

That evening, we went to an apartment party with Ben.  One of his friends from work was throwing it and he assured us that everyone spoke English.  We loved getting to see the old, rustic (tiny) apartment, drinking French wine, and talking to his friends.  It gave us an idea of what it might be like to live in Paris.