To compound my absolute joy (and suck even more from my rapidly diminishing bank account - thanks for the boost, Mom and Dad!), I was visited this weekend by the dynamic trio of Julia and her two good friends Alex and Breanna. Alex is Julia's roommate from University of Puget Sound as well as her roommate in Prague, and Breanna is Julia's friend from high school who's currently studying in Seville, Spain.
I apologize for the lack of pictures - having four cameras means that everyone has about a quarter of the good pictures!
THURSDAY: I had just gotten home from London late Wednesday night, but I woke up early and unpacked before meeting the girls for lunch. Because their flight had been delayed (fog in Dusseldorf!) Julia and Alex literally walked off the metro from the airport, dropped their bags, and we headed out. It was the greatest feeling to have Julia there - I'm not homesick in Paris, just sad that I can't share it with everyone at home! Definitely a soul-lifting hug after being separated for a couple of months :)
After lunch we walked from their hotel on rue St. Honore near the Louvre to my apartment, which is a bit of a hike across the Seine and almost the entire Latin Quarter, but it was a beautiful day and a chance for me to give a tour of my neighborhood as we walked by Notre Dame, Shakespeare & Co. and the Sorbonne. We weary travelers hung out around the apartment sipping Bordeaux for a bit while catching up and resting our tired feet and sore backs from traversing airports and public transportation all over Europe. Determined to feed them the best representation of Parisian food, I walked the group over to rue Mouffetard for savory dinner crepes and gelato in the shape of a rose (Breanna's request!). It was delicious and I think everyone enjoyed their first buckwheat galettes.
FRIDAY: The girls met me at the apartment in the morning so I could introduce them to my friend the baker down the block and feed them his amazing pastries. There was not much conversation as we all savored our cinnamon croissant, pain au chocolat and pear pastries! The boulanger was excited to hear about my friends and I got to practice my conversational skills as I told him about who they were and what they were doing in Europe. He is just so incredibly friendly, I never leave his store without a smile on my face!
Continuing the requested tour of "my Paris," we walked through Luxembourg Gardens, admiring the fountains and fall colors. Julia hadn't yet had her coffee, so a caffeine injection was necessary and the perfect opportunity to visit Cafe Doucet and my mocha-brewing bartender friend. Unfortunately he was just going on break when we got there, but we sat at the counter and enjoyed some warm drinks. Breanna spotted Sadaharu Aoki, the artisan Japanese patisserie, and we admired the beautiful desserts while she picked out a blackberry and chocolate layered pastry and packed it for our picnic at the Eiffel Tower. Our next stop was Laduree, a Parisian institution whose French macaroons are considered the best in the world and whose four tea salons in the city are always full of tourists and locals enjoying the beautiful and refined atmosphere and delicious pastries and tea blends. I had walked by one salon a short walk from school but had never gone in, so this was the perfect opportunity! Even the store windows were breathtakingly decorated, and we were salivating before we even walked inside. Macaroons were laid out in columns of different flavors, each a different vibrant color, and were kept company by a tantalizing spread of pastries and gourmet desserts. Realizing that if we bought at least 6 macaroons each we could all get beautiful (and definitely useful!) boxes in our choice of color and design, we stepped up and chose assortments of the flavors. At 2 euros each for a macaroon that measures about 1.5 inches in diameter the price is nothing to sneeze at, but we would soon forget our lightened wallets!
To compare quality, we had stopped earlier at Pierre Herme, a smaller but no less famous of a pastry and chocolate shop down the street. There is an ongoing debate over who makes the best macaroon, and so we each had to pick one up in order to do our own taste test :)
On our way to the Eiffel Tower, we stopped in Eglise Saint Germain-des-pres. I hadn't been able to get in last time because of a funeral, so it was great to be able to see the interior. It was very dark and very old - it was partially ruined during the war and is definitely not as well preserved as other churches in the area - but still quiet and beautiful.
We caught the metro to the tower and the girls were quite in a tizzy with our first view! With cameras out and desserts in hand, we grabbed a bench on the Champs de Mars and proceeded to delicately taste our purchases. I think a conservative assessment of our discovery is that WE LOVE MACAROONS! Never have I tasted such a fantastic combination of light and crispy wafers with rich and flavorful ganache filling - it was a life-altering experience to be sure. In my mind, Pierre Herme's macaroons were completely equal to Laduree's, and they cost 1.85 each instead of 2 euros... but Laduree's boxes are prettier... the jury is still out :)
I'm sure that everyone thought we were absolutely crazy dancing around with our macaroons taking photos and squealing with every bite, but it was truly magical!
Not to be slowed down on our quest for all things yummy in Paris, I took the girls to the Mosquee de Paris where I had previously enjoyed delightful mint tea and baklava. Happy tummies, happy girls, check! I think it was a great off-the-beaten-track stop and everyone loved it :)
We headed back to my apartment for a rest stop before going to the Louvre. Friday nights are free for people under 26, regardless of student status or nationality, so it was the perfect opportunity for the girls to visit. We made the obligatory journey through the Denon wing and visited the Greek sculpture gallery, Winged Victory, and the Italian Renaissance painting wing (and yes, the Mona Lisa). After seeing Louis XVI's coronation crown and the Venus di Milo, we of little patience and grumbling stomachs called it a successful visit and headed out to dinner at a nearby sushi bar. Another big YUM and the perfect antidote to a lunch of macaroons and coffee. We headed back to the hotel and piled on the bed to watch an episode of Friends on Julia's computer before I caught the last train home.
It's big...
The Mona Lisa mob
Afterwards, we walked to the Marais (Jewish, Middle-Eastern, and gay districts all in one!) by way of La Maison du Miel (The House of Honey) and quickly realized how many kinds of honey there are in the world. Honey is my new obsession, so it was quite overwhelming to see not only honey, but honey soap, honey baked goods, honey candy, etc!
We walked past the Centre Pompidou, Paris's modern art museum that many Parisians consider a visual blight upon the city. I think it's kind of cool - it looks like a McDonald's playplace turned inside out! The fountain in the square also has a sculpture by the same artist as Sun God at UCSD, so that's always fun :)
We were in pursuit of the city's best falafel at Chez Hannah, and were greeted by a huge line of adoring fans at the walk-up window. Deciding that the extra expense was worth it, we took a table inside and enjoyed plates of the most delicious falafel I have ever tasted, hands down. If you are ever in Paris, promise you'll make it here - it's a religious experience! I could have eaten ten more, but we were saving room for our next stop, tea at Laduree (our new obsession).
On the way, Alex and Breanna grabbed their first ever Nutella crepes from a sidewalk vendor and oohed and aahed at the simple but delicious creation. Another Parisian staple, check! At Laduree, we were seated upstairs at a beautifully set table and handed beautiful menus to choose from their beautiful teas and pastries. We chose vanilla tea and I decided to splurge on a chocolate "religieuse," a small chocolate cream-filled puff stacked on a larger one that's supposed to resemble a round religieuse, or nun! Although my dessert was fantastic and richly chocolatey, the tea was the true revelation of the afternoon. As soon as each of us took our first sip, we let out a little gasp. Needless to say, we stopped at their shop after our meal so all three girls could buy a canister to take home :)
We had a wonderful dinner at a Middle-Eastern restaurant next to my apartment that I've walked by every day for a month and always wanted to try; the proprieter was very friendly and came by to make conversation (in French, of course, so Julia and Alex were a tad lost) and meet us. The restaurant is often very quiet, so I think he was just glad to have customers!
Grabbing a bottle of wine and waddling to the metro, we headed back to the Eiffel Tower for the nightly light show on the hour. We popped the cork and shared drinks and conversation as we watched the tower light up and sparkle for about 15 minutes at the start of each hour. What a treat - thank you French government for splurging on light installation!
SUNDAY: Julia and Alex had to head out at 10am to get to CDG, but I met them for breakfast and coffee. What we didn't count on was that today was not only Sunday but Toussaint's and literally NOTHING was open! Luckily there was one brasserie open that served a delicious cafe creme, but they only had tartines (baguette and jam) and no croissants because all the boulangeries were closed! It wasn't a sad goodbye at the station because I know I'll be seeing Julia and Alex for Thanksgiving in just three short weeks :)
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