Parisian Reflection

I had a lot of time to myself while in Paris, and reminiscent of my early days in NYC, I spent hours walking the streets and taking in the views of the architecture, people and monuments. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time I was there and I came down with a cold, but I didn't let that stop me. I took the subway to different areas and walked most of the day, stopping occasionally for a crepe with Nutella or a quiche with salad. I loved it, but my legs and feet ached at the end of the day!

A Night Out in Paris

When my friend Irish Parisienne asked what I wanted to do while I was in Paris, I told her, dancing! She organized the evening with some friends, some of whom I had met at New Year's, and we hit a club. Paris nightlife is like NYC's -- starting the evening around 11 p.m. -- and the drinks were appallingly expensive. The music was eclectic, but most of it was dance-able. We had a fun time!

French Farmers' Market

One of my favorite mornings in Paris was spent wandering through the local farmers' market. The amounts and variety of food was amazing, and I just had to take a picture of the lingerie booth...not something we have in our markets in the U.S.!

Paris, Revisited

Paris is gorgeous, as always, but the weather has been drippy gray and I've been slowed by a cold. As usual, I've been pushing myself to go-go-go, and I'm quite exhausted. Yesterday and today, I walked and walked, taking pictures of buildings and scenes that caught my fancy, stopping to eat when I got hungry, and seeing as much as possible. The people I've met have been very forgiving with my French, and the food has been divine.

The apartment I'm renting has a computer (awesome!) with a French keyboard (frustrating). It's mostly similar to an English one, but has a few differences that slow me tremendously and force me to "hunt and peck." If I were to type as I usually do, here's how this paragraph would turn out:

The qpqrt,ent Iù, renting hqs q co,puter 9qzeso,e1à zith q French keyboqrd 9frustrqting0: Itùs ,ostly si,ilqr to qn English one; but hqs q fez differences thqt sloz ,e tre,endously qnd force ,e to hunt qnd peck: If I zere to type qs I usuqlly do, hereùs hoz this pqrqgrqph zould turn out:

So, this post will be short! :-) I look forward to sharing pictures when I get back stateside.

The Rest of Paris

Belated, I know, but here's a quick summary of the rest of my amazing trip to Paris.

Irish Parisienne and the French Guy both had to work come Monday, so I was free to do my own thing. I started most days with a walk down to the bakery to grab a croissant and a coffee. My bits of the French language improved each day, but I was still limited to "This please" and "Merci!" However, seeing as I didn't go hungry, I guess I did fine.

I decided to do some shopping on Monday, and IP met me later that afternoon for a movie. I find the Metro system easy to navigate in Paris (probably learned behavior from my years in NYC), and I'm good with maps. IP told me to meet her outside Saint Eustache Church, by the statue of the head in a hand. Her description was perfect, and as I sat near the statue waiting for her, a bum came up and asked me something in French. I politely explained I didn't understand (one of my key learned phrases), to which he angrily asked something like "you don't speak French?" in French. I said No, and he threw his hands out to the sides and asked, "Cigarette?" As a devout non-smoker, I had to again say No, and he walked off in a huff. I was so tickled by the interchange, and had to suppress more giggles later when he walked by and looked at me withcontempt again later.

After our movie, IP went home to do some more work, and I met French Guy for dinner. It was lovely. We ate at a typical brasserie, and I had a delicious roast chicken with mashed potatoes and French wine. Afterwards, we went by the Eiffel Tower so I could get an obligatory picture.

Tuesday was my last day, and I went to the Musee d'Orsay. Monet is my favorite, and I had been told they had the most of his pieces. I decided to save his work for the end, and I really enjoyed the sculptures. When I got to the Monet section, I was horrified to find a paltry four or five pieces with a sign saying the majority had been leant to the Musee National Grand Palais. I looked it up and took the subway over there, just to learn they were closing the exhibit at 2:00, precisely the time I had arrived. I was very disappointed.

Later, I met up with IP again and did a little more shopping (where we both bought the same dress, even in the same size!), and we stopped for a Kir Royale. We had a lovely dinner together. It's so easy spending time with her. She is definitely a soul-mate kind of friend.

French Guy offered to take me to the airport the next morning, which was sweet and very helpful. We arrived extra early to accommodate for any morning traffic, and after checking me in, we grabbed a coffee and croissant. Then the police started moving everyone back away from the eating area. At first, it just seemed annoying. We could hear announcements that a woman had left a bag unattended. They continued to move us back across the terminal, and we heard a loud BOOM that made me scream (and French Guy jumped), which was probably the police and security blowing up the bag. I was also getting nervous as the clocked ticked by because I still had to get through security. French Guy was sweet and gave me lots of kisses and hugs, saying this was his "best New Year's ever. And January 1, and January 3..." I didn't want to leave.

Since being home, I have emailed with him and asked if I could see him again. While some of my friends expressed some dislike when learning he's Jewish, it didn't bother me, but ironically, my not being Jewish is why he won't consider me as anything more. Rejection is never easy, but I wasn't that invested. And we'll always have Paris...

A Most Unusual First Date, and then some

A couple weeks ago, I got an email from a friend in NY asking if I was going to be in Austin as he was thinking of visiting a warmer climate. I replied yes, I would be in Austin until my trip to Paris. That piqued his attention, and he asked if I was travelling with anyone. I explained I was going on my own to visit my friend Irish Parisienne, and he asked if he could join me, admitting it was a crazy request. (This is all over email.) I agreed it was a crazy request, especially since we had never even gone on a first date! So he proposed coming to Austin, taking me out on a date or two, and if it went well, accompanying me to Paris, at least for a couple days. I said that sounded okay, but then when he went to book his flights, he realized if he didn't book all the cities at once, he would have unused tickets so he just decided to do the whole thing. I felt a bit pressured at this, but I didn't say anything other than to insist that he not "expect" anything from me and that getting his own accommodations was a requirement.

We had a couple dates in Austin as we had planned. He's very intelligent and I enjoyed showing him around a bit, but I didn't feel anything when he kissed me. (Just pecks, nothing sloppy.)

When we arrived in Paris, I was predictably jet-lagged and not wanting to do much sight-seeing the first day here. (I knew this would be the case and had explained that to him, however, since he was only here for 2 days -- had to get back for work -- he was eager to pack in as much as possible.) Things got a little tense, but we split up and did our own things.

The one thing the NYer really wanted to do while in Paris was Disneyland, so we spent the majority of New Year's Eve day there at the park. (See pictures below.) That night, Irish Parisienne got us invited along to a party of a friend's for New Year's Eve, and we arrived with our obligatory 10 Euros for food and a bottle of champagne each. It was a great party, and the Parisians were friendly and spoke English fluently. We drank much champagne, feasted on smoked salmon and other hors-d'ouvers and danced to American music. And then I kissed a Frenchman.

I think that pretty much took care of having to explain to the NYer that I wasn't interested in him as more than a friend. I did feel bad that I hadn't had "the talk" with him prior to that, and to be honest, I guess I chickened out. However, I didn't plan on kissing another guy, it just happened. (He was cute and nice and we just clicked.) Anyway...a bit of drama. More drama was involved as there was a French girl at the party who has quite a crush on the French guy I kissed. But said French guy insisted he isn't interested in her and only thinks of her as a friend, so something like this was bound to happen.

The NYer was very good about the whole thing. I apologized, but he said "no worries." He left New Year's day to go back to NYC as planned.

And me? I got a cute new Frenchman to show me around and take me to lunch on New Year's Day.

Disneyland Paris

What better way to spend a day in Paris then to go to Disneyland! Okay, not really my first choice, but a friend wanted to go. (I still have to explain this friend, but now I must rest a bit before going to a New Year's party.)

So here's a few pics to tide you over:

Paris!

I'm in Paris! A couple months ago, I got an email from Delta about their fare sales, and I wrote to my girlfriend Irish Parisienne who lives here. When she said she would be around for New Year's, I booked the trip.

Irish Parisienne and I met through our blogs, and we estimate we've been reading and commenting on each other's dating odysseys for 3-4 years. When I met her in person back in April (my first ever trip to the City of Lights), we instantly clicked and solidified our friendship. Since then, she's been encouraging me to come back, and as I find New Year's Eve depressing on my own, I decided this was a good occasion.

Today, being my first day here, was a bit rough from the jet lag. Although I got a few hours sleep on the plane, it always catches up to me my first day here. I'm renting a lovely little studio apartment from a friend of IP's, and the comfy bed and shuttered windows were ideal for an afternoon nap.

Every meal I've eaten in Paris has been delicious, and today was no exception. For lunch, I had a quiche lorraine, and dinner was exquisite: pumpkin soup with a creamy blue cheese for starters, and beef tenderloin cooked to medium perfection with baby potatoes and a scrumptious wine reduction gravy. And French wine, of course!

Now it's off to bed for me. I'm too tired to tell you the rest of the story, but there's more... :-)