Last Tango in Paris

Paris, France
October 1-5

For our last five days in Paris we were once again joined by friends. For years now, Shaun has been meeting up with John, Vanda, Kathy and Kevin to taste wines. They had done multiple trips to wine country in California, but they had never done anything outside of the US. When we told them about our trip, they decided to join us in France for their first ever International wine tasting trip. Paris was just the first stop. From here we will go to Lyon (considered the food capital of France) and then Avignon where the real wine tasting will happen. But first, it was time to close out our month in the City of Light. A few observations though, before we get to that.

Shaun and I are very glad that we scheduled this long stop in Paris at the beginning of the trip. Since we knew we would be here for a month, we didn't make too many real plans beyond Paris. That is a good thing. We learned so much in the first two weeks that will now play a role in our future travel plans. In those first twelve nights we did two nights in Munich, two nights in Salzburg, two nights in Luzern, three nights in Freiburg, two nights in Grindelwald and one night in Strasbourg. Our desire to see so many places meant we were constantly packing and unpacking, checking in and out of hotels and taking train after train. We both agreed in retrospect that we were trying to do too much. Going forward, we are going to plan differently. We want to spend at least three nights everywhere we go and even more if we can. That means we will see fewer places on the trip, but we will get to know the ones we do see better.

We also pared back our things. We mailed one box home and Kathy brought an extra bag to take some more of our things. Some of it is seasonal; we are heading into fall and the clothes we need are a little different. Some of it is just the usual realization that something you brought probably won't get much wear. Some of it is because I went shopping and now have something I am replacing with something else! Either way, it's always nice have the chance to organize and consolidate.

There are certain things we bought or brought that really made a difference for us. For me, the two best purchases were my new backpack and my hiking boots. You may remember that we did a practice pack before we left. When we did the practice pack, I realized that my backpack from 2004 was not going to work for this trip. I was having flashbacks to my sabbatical when I first came to Europe and how much that pack drove me crazy. I decided to spend the money to get a new pack and I am SOOO glad I did. The guy at REI suggested this pack to me. I was surprised because it was their least expensive backpack, but he said he had always gotten positive reviews from the women who bought it. I love it. It opens from the top and the front and it has tons of space but fits me very comfortably. It is the most essential item for a trip like this and it is an excellent piece of gear.

I feel the same way about my hiking boots. The weather on this trip has been crazy good, but the two times we were in really heavy rain, my feet stayed warm and dry the whole time. They are also rather stylish if I do say so myself! That's important because shoes are a luxury item for backpacking. They simply take up too much room, so its important for whatever you have to be somewhat versatile. These Ahnu hikers are dressy enough to wear with pants out to dinner, but tough enough to brave the elements. I'm sure I will love them even more if we see any snow in December.

My best purchases in Paris were some scarves, a pair of black pants, a long-sleeved black dress and a little pair of blue ballet flats. The pants and the dress are totally versatile, they can be topped with the scarves, a t-shirt or a sweater to make a million different outfits. The ballet flats work with both the pants and the dress and they pack away in a side pocket of my backpack. They replace some of the summery things I'm sending home this week.

My Ipad has been indispensable as well. (RIP Steve Jobs) It is light as a feather and I bought a keyboard case to complement it before we left. The case allows it to stand on its side so it is very similar to typing on a laptop. I could not have done the blogging without this keyboard. We also loaded some fabulous apps. For $9.99 I bought one called Transport Maps that has public transportation maps for many major cities in Europe. In Paris it had the Metro map, the RER map, the Bus map, a map of the Latin Quarter, The Marais and more. We would pull it up before we left the house to plan our route every morning. Other favorite apps are the New York Times Crossword Puzzles (good for entertainment on trains), Yelp for finding restaurants, Trip Advisor for finding hotels and Skype for staying in touch with my family.

Me blogging on the train while Shaun looks at silly photos we took during the week


Which brings me to the last and favorite indispensable item, my husband! Shaun is such a great travel companion. He never gets stressed out, he's totally up for adventure and best of all he carries all the heavy stuff! (Just kidding, sort of.) I love how excited he gets by an excellent meal, some great street food or a nice glass of wine. And he's either very approachable or very international looking because everywhere we go he gets asked for directions by someone in their native tongue. It happened in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. By the end of our Paris stay, he could actually understand the questions and respond in French! It was quite impressive considering the guy only did about two hours of Rosetta Stone French before we left. Granted I did make him listen to French language CD's every time we got in the car together and quizzed him regularly on common phrases he would need. "Deux Vins Rouges S'il Vous Plait" has come in very handy!

And speaking of Wine, having John, Vanda, Kathy and Kevin was a nice end to the stay in Paris. Shaun and I had lots of loose ends to tie up before we left and these guys were all fairly self sufficient. There were a few things they wanted to do, but mainly they were all happy to just go with the flow. They had an apartment in the Latin Quarter as well, about a 10 minute walk from our house. Their place was very big for Paris and it had an excellent kitchen so we decided as soon as they moved in that we would have to have at least one big dinner there.
The first day and night were classic Parisian fun! When they arrived on Saturday morning it was too early to check in at their place so they came straight to our apartment. After some coffee and croissants, they headed over to check in to their place and we made a plan to meet them in an hour or so. Shaun and I stopped at our local market, Maubert and bought all the supplies we would need for a picnic. We got figs and grapes, brie and goat cheese, french country ham (similar to prosciutto), nuts, olives, wine and a baguette. We met them at their apartment and we all walked down to the Seine where we spread out our feast and had lunch. As the afternoon grew late, we walked them back to their apartment for some quick naps before dinner.

For dinner that evening we took them to Juveniles, one of the places we had gone to with Ted and Gina. At first I thought we had made a terrible mistake. Shaun and I remembered how good the food was, but forgot that it was also somewhat of a stretch for people who aren't very adventurous eaters. Kathy and Kevin's faces seemed a bit horrified as I described the choices for dinner. There was a duck leg, a homemade sausage, a terrine of rabbit, some sort of veal kidney dish etc. Finally, we found a chicken curry on the menu and all was salvaged! Everyone enjoyed their meals and some wine and we headed back out. Our next stop was the Irish Pub right around the corner, Au Caveau Montpensieur. They had given us the original idea for Juveniles so we thought it would be nice to go back and say thanks.

Kathy and I at dinner at Juveniles.

Everyone being silly at Caveau Montpensieur

The same sweet waitresses were working that night, the one from Australia and the one from Britain. This time they gave Shaun and I tips for the UK part of our trip! We had a nice time at the Caveau and then headed off into the night. It was Nuit Blanche and we wanted to see what was happening.

Nuit Blanche literally translates to "White Night", but in this context it means "All Nighter". It started in 2001 in Paris. It takes place every year on the first Saturday in October. It's really an art event, so they have art installations all over the city. They keep many museums, the metro and some bus lines running all night for free. Even the Eiffel Tower had a special light show going for Nuit Blanche. We had no intention of staying up for the real action, which starts at midnight, but the city had already come alive when we were walking to dinner so we knew there would be some action going on now that it was 11PM.

The light show from the Eiffel Tower on Nuit Blanche








The walk back to the apartments was wild. We passed some sort of art installation that took up the entire side of a hotel. There was all sorts of equipment hooked up to the side of the building, presumably for people to rappel down or hang from the sides. We waited a few minutes with the crowd, but finally decided it probably would be starting later, so we continued on. The next thing we came across was a huge parade of drummers. They were all dressed in white, with red bandanas and they were singing and drumming and marching through the streets. As we continued walking, we passed even more things being set up for later, but our guests were beat so we headed back to get some sleep.

The crazy art installation that was set up along the side of a building

The drum parade that came through the streets


The next day we had decided we would do a house dinner at their apartment. As you know from prior blog posts, I love to cook so I volunteered to make dinner. First I needed to go to the market so I asked if anyone wanted to join me. To my surprise, everyone wanted to come to the market! Shaun and I were both glad that they would get a chance to experience what had become one of our favorite Paris experiences.

The market we went to that afternoon was right near the Bastille monument. It reminded me of the Saxe-Breteuil market, only it was bigger! They seemed to have 5 or 6 of every kind of specialty stand. There were fruits and vegetables galore, plus butchers and fish mongers, cheese stands and olive stands, bread and pastry stands. Shaun, Kathy, Kevin and John went off to find Coffees, so Vanda and I ventured into the markets by ourselves. I had already picked up a piece of lamb and some pork tenderloins the day before, so we were on the hunt for side dishes. We picked up some tomatoes and potatoes and green beans, plus some parsley and rosemary. Then we went to see a man about some squash! The huge potimarron is a akin to a pumpkin but has a slightly nutty taste. You have to have the green grocer cut you off a slice after you show him how much you want. It makes for a fun experience at the market!

That afternoon Shaun and Kevin went running, while John, Vanda and Kathy went out sightseeing. I took over their apartment for the afternoon to prepare the meal. I think having the opportunity to do this helps me to stave off homesickness. I've always found cooking to be something that brings me a sense of calm. Even when work was at its worst, I liked to come home and cook to relieve the stress. The repetition of slicing and chopping and seasoning, the sounds of things bubbling away or searing on the stove is the same here as it is at home. The degrees may be in Celcius and the stove controls may look a little different, but I can drift away the same way here as I could there.

John and Vanda at Luxembourg Gardens

So after a few hours of cooking, everyone arrived back at the apartment and we sat down for the feast. There were wonderful wines and the meal came out great, so I was pleased. We laughed and talked and enjoyed each other's company. At 10:15 that night the Patriots game was coming on and Shaun and the rest of the crew were planning to stay up and watch the game. (John had an internet feed via a service called Slingbox). I was tired from the long day of shopping and cooking, so I decided to head back to our place shortly after the game started. I fell asleep full and happy and contented by a day well spent!

Lamb and Pork Tenderloins, potatoes, squash, green beans, tomatoes with basil and some lovely wines.

Everyone sitting down to our fun group dinner.

The last few days in Paris were a blur of activity for me and for Shaun. We had a bunch of loose ends to tie up before leaving the city so we left the rest of the crew mainly to their own devices. Kathy had brought an extra bag so we needed to figure out what to send home with her. We also attempted to mail some things to John and Doug but the woman at La Poste told us it was "interdite" (forbidden) to mail the jams and mustards so we had to scrap that plan. Since we had already purchased the prepaid mailing box, we sent a bunch of clothes and a few books home instead to make Kathy's bag lighter.

The last night we decided to have a big group dinner out in Paris. We were all taking the train the next morning and we needed to be out of the apartment by 9AM, so it was important that we all got a good nights sleep. So of course, we partied like rock stars instead.

We started the evening off with dinner at Au Fil des Saisons. We had gone there earlier in the trip with John and Doug and loved the meals, the service and the prices. I was really pleased that the same waiter was working when we arrived as he had been so friendly and nice. I went over the menu with everyone, and then we asked him a few questions about the meals and the wine. It became clear by the way he was answering us that he was more than just the waiter. His name was Luic and as it turned out he had bought the place the year before. He was single-handedly running the whole place while his chef took care of the meals. I was even more impressed by how attentive he was now that we understood how much he was doing. The food, once again, was terrific so everyone was really pleased with our final dinner.

The whole group after dinner at Au fil des saisons

The ladies hanging with our new buddy Luic outside his restaurant


From there we should have all parted ways and gone to bed, but instead we ended up at the Galway pub. It must be something about last nights, because it was very similar to Ted and Gina's last night. We had loads of laughs and took a million pictures and chatted up all the people around us. We also stayed out too late and had beers we didn't need to have. Luckily we had all gotten our bags mostly packed that afternoon, because morning would come fast and it would be a rough one!

The whole crew at the Galway Pub about 9 hours ebfore we had to be up!

We should seriously lock up the camera when we go out.

Since each couple had made train arrangements for the 10:50AM train separately we decided we would all just go to the train station on our own time and meet up at the Lyon train station if we didn't see each other beforehand. Shaun and I left our apartment at exactly 9AM, after saying goodbye to Bernard, our landlord. We took a bus to the Gare de Lyon train station and had a little breakfast of Coffee and Croissants. I went to check the train schedule and as I was coming back I ran into John and Vanda. We all went to wait for the train and realized as we chatted that even though we had booked our tickets weeks apart, their seats were right next to ours! After a long morning of lugging bags through the city and the station, the four of us settled in happily for the 2 hour train ride. We were off for a quick visit to Lyon and then it would be on to Avignon.

As we started the train journey, I was thinking about how different every day was in Paris and how I would remember this part of our journey so fondly in years to come. I really feel like I've come to understand this city differently now that we have "lived" here, even if it was only for a month. We've seen the good, but also the ugly side of the city. Just like London and New York, every big city has its dark side and Paris is no exception. I chose not to write much about that because it hasn't played a big role in our visit, but it is part of being a traveler in a strange city. There are beggars and gypsies and your run of the mill drunks. There are some street corners that smell like urine and sometimes you may feel unsafe late at night. There are things you would expect, like homelessness, but even those things take a Parisian twist. In Paris for some reason, all the homeless people have dogs and sometimes more than one. In one case a homeless man even had a dog and a rabbit. So yes, Paris does have its dark side and it is not something you can overlook if you come here.

However, I will probably forget most of those things when I think back on the trip because the beautiful memories will certainly overwhelm those memories. What I'll remember most is Shaun and I going to the markets, and then coming home to cook in our kitchen. I'll remember running in Luxembourg garden and the afternoon we spent at the zoo. I'll remember quiet moments when we laid next to each other in a park and read books and those crazy nights with our visitors when we partied like it was 1999. I'll remember how unbelievably beautiful the weather was for this part of the trip and how every night the sky seemed to turn a beautiful shade of pink like some kind of Monet painting. And I will think again, as I so often do, about how fortunate we are at this moment in our lives to be taking this journey together.

Au Revoir, Paris.

Shaun and I on one of our last nights in Paris. We'll always have Paris...