Nutella Banana Crepes, Falafels, Napoleon Dynamite Parks....or Paris
So this past weekend I went to Paris with a friend from IES. I went to meet Ursula (my friend from Southwestern, who also happens to be my little in my sororiety, and Wouter, my Dutch friend who studied abroad at Southwestern last semester). Lisa (friend from IES) and I took the TGV from Nantes to Paris Friday afternoon, which is only a two hour train ride, not bad at all. Wouter greeted as at the train station, and granted I was in Paris, my mind immediatly thought to do the American thing and hug him when I saw him, the French do not do this. We actually asked my grammar professor about this and she explained that she does hug people, but it primarily b/c her husband is German, and Germans hug, but for her to hug the person it has to be someone incredibly close to her. O well, I already stick out as an American or at least not French b/c I am pale and do not have an angular face. Anyways we took the bus to Wouter's parent's apartment which is in the Jewish quarter (or pretty much the center of Paris!). After the bus ride I looked at a map of where we had come from and where we were and that was when I realized how compact Paris is. Paris is a large city, but compared to New York, or any large American city, it is pretty easy and quick to get across the cente of the city. Seeing Paris from the bus though was a little bit stunning though just the size and the amount of people, I felt like it is 100 times the size of Nantes. There were also people everywhere, and they have the same horrible driving habits that people in Nantes have.
The first night was pretty relaxing. We got to Wouter's family's apartment and were introduced to his mother, father, and brother and then discovered that his mother had prepared a pretty elaborate meal for us. We began our dinner with a Dutch duck spread on bread and Bugels. We also had champagne. Then we sat down at the table and had half an avacado with baby shrimp and a yummy cream sauce. It was delicious! Then we had a veal and mushrooms in a cream sauce and a potato pancake type of thing. It was all very good! Then of course we finished the meal with cheese :) The next morning Wouter's family had also bought croissants and bread, so we had a typical European breakfest, which was also delicious!
The apartment was absolutely gorgeous! It had a terrace, from which if you looked out you could see so many Parisian roof tops. If I could have any apartment in the world I think I would want one similar to there's. The best part was waking up in the mornings with the door slightly open and looking out to see Paris and hear church bells. Its obvious, but I am struggling to express how much I fell in love this part of Paris and it was like waking up in the middle of a good dream in the morning just seeing Paris and smelling the scents wafting upwards from the boulangerie et patisserie which was just a few floors beneath the apartment.
Saturday morning Wouter and I went to greet Ursula at the airport and Lisa went to meet up with a friend from high school. Wouter made signs the night before that said "URP WELCOMES URSULA" and "YOU ARE NOT IN TEXAS ANYMORE" and we brought a stuffed animal Turkey wearing a Texas shirt. We got a lot of laughs holding up the signs, because Ursula was probably one of the last people to debark the plane and make it through customs, because she wasn't thinking with the French mentality, where you just go. In France people don't believe in lines really and you have to push your way to the front if you ever want to get something. After picking up Ursula, Wouter gave us a little tour of the city by car and then we returned to his house and Ursula got to meet his family, before we set our for our trek around Paris. We began by walking over to le centre Pompidou (which was like 10 minutes walking from Wouter's) and then continued on toward the Louvre (which is HUGE) and then walked staight down through the parks in front of the Louvre, then to the Arc d'Triomphe, and Champs-Elysee, then window shopping at all the desinger stores and wishing someone would just decide to give us eash 10 000 E to spend, and then le tour eiffel. We were forced to climb the stairs of the tour eiffel so that was fun, I though by the first platform I was going to dye, but I managed. The structure is just so cool, and the view from the top is amazing! It was interesting just people watching too, because you would see people from all around the world, and the ways that families and couples would relate to one another were all totally different. By that point in the day is was 18h30 so we headed down just in time for the lights to start to flash/sparkle so we got pictures of that. We also by minutes missed some guy proposing to his girlfriend on the top of the eiffel tour (a little silly, but hey, whatever makes you happy). We though eventually returned b/c we were hungary, sore, and Ursula was about to pass out. We ate a nice light dinner of salad and bread with goat cheese, and started with mushroom soup. Which was also really good, Wouter's mom is a really good cook! I think Ursula made it 30 minutes after dinner before crashing for the rest of the night from jet lag.
Sunday was the most amazing day ever, though we didn't do much, it was perfect. We started by eating a huge breakfest, then had a cappacino, before going out to a market and buying cheap scarves and food for lunch. We then went to a park that Napoleon had dynamited, so create steep hills and it was absolutely gorgeous. We wandered through there a while before stopping on the grassy lawn that overlooks the city for a light lunch of cheese and bread and fruit from the market. We hung around a while, and a bum asked us for the rest of our cheese and because Wouter is a nice person, he gave him the rest of our Brie (we also had compte, which is SOOOOO good). We then returned back to Wouter's neighborhood because his brother had to return to the Netherlands and we went out for tea at this French tea house which was really, really good. They had mountains of pie, that we didn't get to try but later. Then we began wandering towards Notre Dame, where we found this really weird guy doing a street show on on of the bridges over the Seine. We stopped and watched for a while, but it was just bizarre, and he was speaking English so people wouldn't understand him (b/c most French people can't speak English, like most English people can't speak French without a really, really thick accent). We then continued on our trek to Notre Dame, which was gorgeous, and huge. I forgot to mention the weather Sunday was amazing, it was not too warm, but it was sunny and perfect. We took pics at Notre Dame before heading back to get our bags. But along the way we stopped for a banana nutella crepe and then for a falafel, both of which were really, really good. The crepe was one made right in front of us by a street vender and the falafel came from this place in the Jewish quarter where we waited in a 20 minute line b/c this place is apparently the best. We then also had to say good bye to Wouter's parents and soon after Wouter and Ursula :( We weren't able to catch the bus we needed, but Lisa and I found our way back by metro.
This weekend went really fast, but it was really good. I didn't get to go into museums, but I didn't really have time for that. The plan is to go back to Paris for part of break to see the museums b/c one good thing Sarko has done for France is to make all the museums free in the month of April!
By the way the strike at the universities is still going on, it is a good thing I am taking classes only with IES, because a lot of students are having to swich midsemester into IES classes b/c we have no idea when it will be finished. Like everyone, inlcuding the French say that striking can be considered one of their National Sports...
The first night was pretty relaxing. We got to Wouter's family's apartment and were introduced to his mother, father, and brother and then discovered that his mother had prepared a pretty elaborate meal for us. We began our dinner with a Dutch duck spread on bread and Bugels. We also had champagne. Then we sat down at the table and had half an avacado with baby shrimp and a yummy cream sauce. It was delicious! Then we had a veal and mushrooms in a cream sauce and a potato pancake type of thing. It was all very good! Then of course we finished the meal with cheese :) The next morning Wouter's family had also bought croissants and bread, so we had a typical European breakfest, which was also delicious!
The apartment was absolutely gorgeous! It had a terrace, from which if you looked out you could see so many Parisian roof tops. If I could have any apartment in the world I think I would want one similar to there's. The best part was waking up in the mornings with the door slightly open and looking out to see Paris and hear church bells. Its obvious, but I am struggling to express how much I fell in love this part of Paris and it was like waking up in the middle of a good dream in the morning just seeing Paris and smelling the scents wafting upwards from the boulangerie et patisserie which was just a few floors beneath the apartment.
Saturday morning Wouter and I went to greet Ursula at the airport and Lisa went to meet up with a friend from high school. Wouter made signs the night before that said "URP WELCOMES URSULA" and "YOU ARE NOT IN TEXAS ANYMORE" and we brought a stuffed animal Turkey wearing a Texas shirt. We got a lot of laughs holding up the signs, because Ursula was probably one of the last people to debark the plane and make it through customs, because she wasn't thinking with the French mentality, where you just go. In France people don't believe in lines really and you have to push your way to the front if you ever want to get something. After picking up Ursula, Wouter gave us a little tour of the city by car and then we returned to his house and Ursula got to meet his family, before we set our for our trek around Paris. We began by walking over to le centre Pompidou (which was like 10 minutes walking from Wouter's) and then continued on toward the Louvre (which is HUGE) and then walked staight down through the parks in front of the Louvre, then to the Arc d'Triomphe, and Champs-Elysee, then window shopping at all the desinger stores and wishing someone would just decide to give us eash 10 000 E to spend, and then le tour eiffel. We were forced to climb the stairs of the tour eiffel so that was fun, I though by the first platform I was going to dye, but I managed. The structure is just so cool, and the view from the top is amazing! It was interesting just people watching too, because you would see people from all around the world, and the ways that families and couples would relate to one another were all totally different. By that point in the day is was 18h30 so we headed down just in time for the lights to start to flash/sparkle so we got pictures of that. We also by minutes missed some guy proposing to his girlfriend on the top of the eiffel tour (a little silly, but hey, whatever makes you happy). We though eventually returned b/c we were hungary, sore, and Ursula was about to pass out. We ate a nice light dinner of salad and bread with goat cheese, and started with mushroom soup. Which was also really good, Wouter's mom is a really good cook! I think Ursula made it 30 minutes after dinner before crashing for the rest of the night from jet lag.
Sunday was the most amazing day ever, though we didn't do much, it was perfect. We started by eating a huge breakfest, then had a cappacino, before going out to a market and buying cheap scarves and food for lunch. We then went to a park that Napoleon had dynamited, so create steep hills and it was absolutely gorgeous. We wandered through there a while before stopping on the grassy lawn that overlooks the city for a light lunch of cheese and bread and fruit from the market. We hung around a while, and a bum asked us for the rest of our cheese and because Wouter is a nice person, he gave him the rest of our Brie (we also had compte, which is SOOOOO good). We then returned back to Wouter's neighborhood because his brother had to return to the Netherlands and we went out for tea at this French tea house which was really, really good. They had mountains of pie, that we didn't get to try but later. Then we began wandering towards Notre Dame, where we found this really weird guy doing a street show on on of the bridges over the Seine. We stopped and watched for a while, but it was just bizarre, and he was speaking English so people wouldn't understand him (b/c most French people can't speak English, like most English people can't speak French without a really, really thick accent). We then continued on our trek to Notre Dame, which was gorgeous, and huge. I forgot to mention the weather Sunday was amazing, it was not too warm, but it was sunny and perfect. We took pics at Notre Dame before heading back to get our bags. But along the way we stopped for a banana nutella crepe and then for a falafel, both of which were really, really good. The crepe was one made right in front of us by a street vender and the falafel came from this place in the Jewish quarter where we waited in a 20 minute line b/c this place is apparently the best. We then also had to say good bye to Wouter's parents and soon after Wouter and Ursula :( We weren't able to catch the bus we needed, but Lisa and I found our way back by metro.
This weekend went really fast, but it was really good. I didn't get to go into museums, but I didn't really have time for that. The plan is to go back to Paris for part of break to see the museums b/c one good thing Sarko has done for France is to make all the museums free in the month of April!
By the way the strike at the universities is still going on, it is a good thing I am taking classes only with IES, because a lot of students are having to swich midsemester into IES classes b/c we have no idea when it will be finished. Like everyone, inlcuding the French say that striking can be considered one of their National Sports...
Comments
Post a Comment