Paris Says "I Doo"

So my last week and a half in Paris went down like this: going out for a nice dinner every night because it was SOMEONE'S last night, followed by a tearful goodbye at the metro/on the street/on Pont Neuf watching the tower glitter. It was emotional exhaustion at its well-fed finest. Crewmembers were droppin' like flies. Then I scrambled to move into my new temporary home in St. Michel (from the 10th to the 5th arrondissement), where I would be spending my final week. Many friends were gone or going, but there was a new addition!!! Doo!

My sister graduated from Kent State University this year (yay, so proud) and as her gift, she got to come visit me for my final 10 days or so in Paris, and we flew home together. It was so nice because we had enough time to see pretty much everything I wanted to show her, and at a leisurely pace. Plus, since it was my last week, I mostly just wanted to soak up some rare Paris sun and do all the things I loved most during the semester (cough, sitting in grassy places and drinking wine).

It was an amazing way to end my time there, and a memorable experience for us, because Doo is my only sister and we have grown much closer as we have matured. It meant a lot to have her as a partner in crime.

Performers in front of the turr to complement a perfect picnic. They were doing some really cool stuff, and it was actually my first time seeing anything like that there. There was also a bachelor party (the groom-to-be was wearing a french maid's costume and posing for pictures with everyone) that added to the convivial atmosphere. It was really something special.

Dinner at Le Mesteret (my go-to) for Doo's first night and her first time trying duck. Her poor jet-lagged self fell a little bit asleep in the booth...

Doo's 1st night coincided with Anne's last. It was heart-warming and -breaking all at once. Love you ladies. Oh yeah, and EFL was good company too.

After shopping at marché Aligre, and walking along the Promenade plantée (where jogging is frowned upon, as stated by little placards along the walkway), we plopped down for lunch in Picnic Paradise, the Jardin de Reuilly.

Jardin de Reuilly. We clearly were not the only ones with the idea.

A walk through the Marais and the Place des Vosges led to a pleasant surprise: stumbling on a goat cheese exhibit (Chèvre tous les jours!). I loved this cheese map. Almost as much as the free samples.

Knocking off a Paris must at the very last minute: ABSINTHE. Pretty drinkable, with the additions of water and sugar, of course.

The following photo doesn't seem to have a whole lot going on, but it actually merits some backstory: Colby (whom I have found my heart aching for as of late; miss you!!!) brought these weird double-pronged baguettes to KMC's (OMG miss you too, I want you to lift me high above the ground as you glide across an icy expanse) one night for dinner. He had found them in a random boulangerie near his school. They. Were. Awesome. EFL, equally enamored of these baguettes, took the time to find the bakery (Colby wasn't actually sure which one it had been that he had stopped in- rookie move, my friend). After I relocated to the 5th, I found myself much closer to rue d'Assas (7th), and therefore to the beloved boulangerie d'Assas. From then on, Doo and I bought at least one of these special baguettes (called l'équilibre, because they are mixed flours) every day. One Paris memory we often laugh about is jogging down to the bakery and running back through the Luxembourg Gardens, passing the baguette back and forth like a baton while dodging tourists and judgement in our path.

I dream of these baguettes all too often. ONE DAY YOU WILL BE MINE

 Remember all those corks I collected while in France? I was soon drowning in them, and when I finally started to pack for home, it became painfully clear that they would stay in their motherland. While walking through the Marais one day, Doo and I saw a wine store with a window display sign asking for cork donations. Done deal.

Showed up with my giant bag of corks, and the nice man led me to the window and invited us to simply toss our corks over. It was actually fun, and mildly challenging because they were bouncing all over the place. The man went into the back of the shop for a moment and came back laughing that we were still there. He underestimated the ability of American students to drink wine, clearly.

He sent us away with thanks, and a bottle of red wine! POUR LE GAGNE!

 After the Marais+wine, it was Montmartre+beer. While meandering down the rue des Martyrs, we stopped in at People's Drug Store, where handsome hipsters sell brews from all over the world.

Once you buy your beer, you can even hang out and play chess after they put it in their quick-chilling machine! We sat on crates just outside the shop.

 I prided myself on introducing Doo to the element of French culture I got to know the best: the noms. While in Paris, she got to try some staples: duck, foie gras (duck or goose liver, depending), escargot (snails), oodles of French whines (emphasis on Côtes de Rhone and the cheapest at the Supermarché next to our apartment, I'll admit), millefeuille & other classic French pastries/baguettes/croissants and the like, and at least 2 French cheeses a day. Not to mention crêpes!!! (See below for buttery goodness). Gluttony, thy last name is HUTCHESON.

My best meal in Paris, at Les Papilles. Such a special place. OMG the soup...

 Besides eating out, having an apartment with a kitchen (granted, a kitchen the size of a postage stamp) allowed us to cook some meals for ourselves, a luxury I had not truly enjoyed while with a host family. Plus, then we got to dine at a leisurely pace in comfort of the sunwashed living room.

Our tiny table for two :)

Risotto, green salad, bread+cheese+confiture

 Obviously, final days in Paris meant final nights out on the town around Bastille, and a final trip to the street crêpes man. My waxing nostalgic was evidently charming enough to score us free crêpes, free beers, and his phone number. Victory was mine (as was a tummyache).

So nice to have a travel buddy on the métro...

Selfie marathon on the train. There was a moment of, OMG we kind of look alike! to a moment of, oh yeah...we are related...

And then THIS GUY came on board. The giggles were never.ending.

hehehehehehehe

As we had lost many friends, we had to make some new ones. Doo found herself often resorting to Spanish in a valiant effort to communicate.

But then everyone shut up and looked at the pretty lights.

Picnic at the Luxembourg gardens on a beautiful sunny day

 Before I knew it, we said goodbye, just as rainy weather came in to Paris (why does that not surprise me). Thus began the long journey home, but at least I had Doo. And lots and lots of movies to watch on the plane.

Sushi and beer on our layover in Iceland, a far cry from typique cheese and wine!

Each sign presented an opportunity for giggles. Who knew so many consonants could be strung together!?

Dear France, I love you.

An ode to the Hexagon, in images (also, proof that it's every bit as picturesque as guidebooks would have you believe):

1. So much cheese, you can't believe your eyes, or your nose. That first step into a cheese store, when you are slapped in the face with the smell...it's unbeatable.

As Charles de Gaulle once said, "How can anyone govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six different kinds of cheese?"

 2. Edible art, especially where pastries are concerned. The French put presentation on a pedestal, and the end results are extraordinary. But they are too yummy not to eat.

 3. Viennoiseries, also known as croissants and the like, which fall into a category all their own.

My personal favorites, the vast varieties of escargots (the breakfast danish, not the mollusk) at Du Pain et Des Idées. PS. Check the firebread to the left!!! Another fixture in my life, once upon a time.

 4. Crêpes. Authentic buckwheat crêpes. With hard cider from Normandy. Oh.Mon.Dieu.

 5. Fashion so beautiful, and so expensive, it makes your heart ache.

"Dis moi Oui Pour la Vie" - Tell me Yes for Life

 6. The Eiffel, the Seine, the city itself.

This was taken during my morning run. Made it worth getting up, every time.

 7. The covered passageways. A figment of the past that remains, and we are all luckier for it.

 8. The simpler side of French fare: Happiness IS mopping up the garlicky herb butter sauce with crusty bread after polishing off a plate of snails.

Especially if you can get your hands on some life-changing butter that is so abundant in France, and a plate of charcuterie!

 9. Public parks, gardens, and green spaces. Being able to stumble upon nature in a city is a gift.

The Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Gardens, in springtime.

 10. Foodshopping becomes a transcendental experience, no matter what you are buying. Every job, every interaction, and every item is to be handled with pride, precision, and a certain politesse.

So yeah, I'm a bit obsessed with Paris especially, as I have been for much of my life. Actually staying there awhile did nothing to help this affinity for the city; if my life goes as planned, I hope to return ASAP. Next time, though, I'll join a gym.

BRUNCH?!

When I said I had a few more Paris posts to come, I meant it. I hope no one (of the millions of people hanging on my every word) held their breath. I've been back in DC all summer, enjoying seeing my friends and working as a nanny during the week, and at a farmer's market on the weekends. The transition has been relatively smooth. Honestly, my biggest problem is my disdain for the drinking age in the states. It really riles me up. Is it December yet?

Anywho, to get back to wrapping up my time abroad, which the crew and I frantically spent trying to make the most of (we succeeded). Remember how picnics were a large part of my life in Paris towards the end there?I FORGOT BRUNCH.

The concept of "brunch" in Paris is much like the current cupcake trend there: very, very fashionable & cool, and very VERY poorly executed. Unless you have money to blow.

Faced with this problem, and too much free time, and a veritable mimosa addiction, the crew promptly began to have our own brunches. With certain members on board (and often, the direction of Eiffel Tower Legs), our brunches were elevated to a level of amazingness I could never have expected. But it should be noted that Annebam and I had many a brunch toute seule, as the evidence will prove, and each time was lovely (although maybe we should have had more people around because we inevitably ended up incapacitated by our painfully overstuffed tummies and bubble-bamboozled heads).

Do I detect a glimmer of anxiety in Anne's face? SO MUCH FOOD.

Firebread! Whipped cream! Speculoos!

Ohboyohboyohboy

Risotto, Speculoos french toast, and fried eggs. Brunch of champions (aka Anne+Caro)

Diarra tries domestic on for size, as everyone debates the name of the dish (eggs in a basket?)

Final product!

YUM.

End result of many a brunch: total self-annihilation, also known as intense sleepytime.

P.S. Last night my friend showed me how to use google maps to actually put yourself on the street and look at the buildings (some businesses you can even "go into!" So obviously I started looking up my house/friend's houses in Paris. And cried. Pathetic. Evidently I miss it.