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Les animaux
So while our classmates were off on a fieldtrip, we decided to take a field trip of our own just a few hundred yards down our street to the Jardin des Plantes (Yes, "Garden of Plants" - the French apparently haven't grasped the concept of subtlety.). It was originally one of the king's garden where medicinal plants were grown; it now houses some fantastic botanical gardens and a few museums. We decided to visit the Museum of Evolution, and it blew us away. Everything from the architecture of the building, to the brilliantly presented exhibits all about the evolution of animals and mankind was amazing. The "Circle of Life" was breathtaking.
From up high they looked like little toys.
After seeing the temporary exhibit about underwater mammals, I decided it was one of the best museums I'd ever been to. The display included displays of all kinds of skeletons from a sperm whale (huge!) to a regular dolphin along with explanations of the species and video of them in action underwater. Also part of the exhibit were different areas about the behaviours of underwater mammals (breeding, feeding, playing, etc). Corey was quite enjoying himself as you see here playing with Shamu and playing an interactive "who eats what?" game (I had to kick him off so actual kids could play it).
Note that all French kids are actually jerks anyway.
After a quick trip home for lunch, we returned to the garden so Corey could truly be an "artiste" in Paris. He set to work with his sketchbook and watercolours, while I took a stroll through the fabulous gardens.
The passers-by were all interested in what I was doing.
La cooperation!
After a successful and chilled out Dessert Crepes & Wine party on Tuesday evening, we decided to forge into true dinner party territory. With the Italians Maggie and Marghe at the helm, and about 6 bottles of wine from the local grocery store, we set to work throwing a dinner party for our friends. Okay, well it was really Marghe and Corey doing all the cooking - the rest of us were "helping" by drinking and being social.
La cooperation: Italie et Les Etas Unis
Executive chef and sous chef.
The concierge came by around 11pm to tell us to shut the hell up (all our windows were wide open and we were quite loud, and drunk).
At any rate, it worked out and we were treated to a truly Italian home-cooked meal of fresh Bruschetta, saffron risotto and breaded veal soaked in butter. Delicissio!!! As the clock struck 12, it was our friend Sancha's birthday. Luckily we had a petite "tartino" for our favourite Sanchino!
He's wishing for a nice French chick.
This one needs no description.
Sancha's birthday
So our friend Sancha turned the big 3-2 this week (you heard it here first). As he's getting on in years, he decided on a cosy dinner at a local bistro near the Pompidou centre. We had about 13 people for a delicious French meal.
Happy Birthday!
The big falafel showdown
There's a place in the 4th district called Le Marais, which houses a bit of a middle eastern neighbourhood. As you walk along the streets, you'll see kosher delis, bakeries and falafel stands. Perhaps the most famous falafel restaurant of them all is "L'As Falafel", which Lenny Kravitz once proclaimed as the best falafel in the world. Well, we weren't quite convinced, so we decided to hold a falafel showdown. Contestants: L'As Falafel, and Mi-Va-Mi, which are right across the street from each other. Here's the breakdown:
Lubavitchers hell-bent on having me wrap tefillin.
L'As Falafel: this place is all about its reputation and it's hard not to be seduced by the long line-up. On the plus side, this falafel was stuffed full of fresh veggies and the marinated eggplant inside was superb. Other than that though, there wasn't much remarkable about this place.
Lenny you liar.
Mi-Va-Mi: the underdog always has to work harder to win and there was no exception here. Mi-Va-Mi's actual falafel balls were delicious with a hint of spice and coriander. This falafel also contained eggplant, but a crispier version that didn't compare to L'As'. The clincher though was the special spicy sauce, reminiscent of garlicky kim-chee. Delish!
Verdict: Mi-Va-Mi, thumbs up! L'As, thumbs down (stop coasting on your reputation!)
Pape à Paris!
The Pope came to Paris on September 12 & 13, to Notre Dame (obviously). We had planned to meet up with our friend Peggy to go down to Notre Dame square to see if we could catch a glimpse of him, or at the very least, the Popemobile! Well, we were at H&M when we saw the longest convoy of police cars and trucks go by. We raced out of the store to catch the end of the procession - at the beginning was the 'mobile, which we had missed. Darn!
So we decided to actually go to the square to see what was happening. It was nuts - all the subways in the vicinity were closed, and there were TONS of police officers and security checkpoints at all entry points to the square. We stood in line, had our bags checked and eventually pushed our way into the square. We were greeted by volunteers who handed us our Pope Packages (consisting of flag, prayer book and emergency poncho) and bottles of water. The square looked like a Scouting jamboree. We had no idea that girl and boy scouts troops were religious but there were TONS of them there, all in their coloured shirts and patches.
Except for this one guy who eschewed his shirt in favour of a better one.
Peggy's excited at the emergency poncho.
Pope and pony (which looks like it belongs in Pirates of the Caribbean).
We stayed for about an hour and watched the big screens outside which were broadcasting the processions going on inside the church. I swear one of the screens was HD too. There was a camera on a big crane panning out into the audience and whenever the footage cut to the crowd outside, there was a ton of flag-waving and cheering (see video).
On our way out, we saw that we had been lucky to get into the square. People were jammed all along the Seine, watching the processions on smaller-but-still-big screen TVs. Nuts!
You&I™ turns 2
Yes, it's official, we are 2. We celebrated the anniversary by having a very Parisian day. We strolled through the Jardin du Luxembourg where we watched part of a free outdoor Jazz concert. We also sat in the garden on a few of the seemingly thousands of free chairs the municipality provides. And we're talking loose, portable, real metal chairs. In any other country, these A) would have been chained down to something, and B) would have cost at least 2 Euros an hour to rent. Ah, France, land of pleasure - we bow to your ways! After our park-break, we went in search of the pony and donkey rides that the Park map promised.
Look, isn't that the mini-boss from Kid Chameleon? I know my brothers will remember this one.
Just another castle in Paris.
Real ponies. Oh snap!
We also caught our first glimpse of the grande olde French sport of Pétanque. Yes, it seems that this is where all middle-aged Parisian men disappear to on weekends: the petanque grounds in the local park. These guys, chain-smoking in their eighties-themed windbreakers, were all business. You would have thought this was the World Series, the pomp, precision and arguing that was going on!
The definition of hardcore: playing petanque and smoking at the same time. Just look at this motley crew.
We stumbled upon some kind of potato festival/promotion...
but they had free samples of French cuisine.
It was a cold day, so we decided to grab some pastries and head home for a coffee break to warm up. After having coffee in a café the other day, I've actually decided that if you want a REAL coffee, you either have to go to Starbucks or go home. You see, here "Café" means an espresso. As in, a thimble-full of coffee. When you're cold and tired, that just won't cut it. And sadly, a "Café Crème" (coffee with milk, served in what we would consider a small mug) costs 4.50 euros at a café. So then the 2.60 euro Americano at Starbucks seems like a bargain in comparison! And apparently, that's why the Americano is call that - it's the "big" type of coffee that Americans order when abroad.
Thimble of coffee.
Lady Liberty hanging out in the park.
Saint Sulpice from the Da Vinci Code (where Silas kills the nun).
One very expensive penthouse apartment.
After a pastry break and a movie, we headed out in search of dinner. We tried to find this one place in our guidebook, but turns out it didn't exist! So after a one-hour walk, we finally got to this little hole-in-the-wall French restaurant near our place, which was also mentioned in our guidebook. We had a delicious meal (me: foie gras and seafood with wine, corey: lamb with gratinéed potatoes and a beautiful apple pie for dessert). We then headed over to the Eiffel Tower, which is perhaps one of the most romantic spots in Paris. We made it just in time for the twinkly light show! Awwww!!!
Our second night-time visit, but we still haven't ascended it yet.
Dance-party mode (on the hour for 10 minutes).
Playing with exposure times.
Chinatown, La Defense
Today we headed to the district south of ours to check out Paris's Chinatown. While it was filled with its share of cheap and tasty restaurants, along with some giant and not-so-giant food stores, I don't think this Chinatown holds a candle to the one in Toronto. We tried to check out the famous Tang Brothers store, but after almost being squashed by the crowds we quickly got out of there. $1.50 noodles just weren't worth – it even to Corey!.
The bus: because it's scenic.
Some Vietnamese take-out we ate.
It's funny right?
We then headed over to La Defense, which is the business district of Paris. There's actually only one skyscraper within the 20 districts of Paris proper - the Montparnasse tower. They built it in 1973 and then quickly realized it was the worst decision ever because it was hideous and ruined the spirit of the local neighbourhood. So the city of Paris decided no more skyscrapers in Paris proper - anything new must be built outside the city. And hence, La Defense was born. It's a virtual city of giant skyscrapers all confined to one area and this is where most of Paris works (we know because this is where the commuter train empties out). Even though this is where the skyscrapers were allowed to be built, there were still restrictions: the community had to be aligned with the "historical axis" through Paris, which goes from La Bastille, to the arch at the Louvre, to the Arc de Triomphe. So La Defense has its own modern arch, which continues the horizontal line through Paris so that it is indeed a part of the city.
Look at me, I'm a tourist.
You can see the Arc de Triomphe in the middle, far far away.
Check out this massive panorama of La Defense.
The architecture is in such sharp contrast to downtown Paris.
Beautiful art behind La Grande Arche
We also learned a lesson about Sunday shopping: it doesn't exist. On our way home we were so excited about the food we were going to buy and the meals we were going to make and no such luck. So this evening we suffered with bread and cheese and peach champagne. It's not as fun as it sounds, I promise.
Week 3 photos on Flickr
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