Dad's visit and a whole lotta Paris!

The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things: of trips, and dads, and eating times, of sweet breads and flings… And why the rain is pouring down, and what the future brings…

Dad and I met in front of his small hotel on Boulevard Edgar Quintet which is shadowed by the towering Montparnasse tower. We said our hellos and set off to start dad’s whirlwind week in Paris. First stop was lunch; we went to a crêperie in Odeon and enjoyed sitting on the street watching the busy Parisians dash by. From there we wandered along the small streets of Odeon toward Saint Michele. After seeing the Seine for the first time, we made our way for Notre Dame.

Montparnasse sticking out of the skyline.

Upon entering, dad was quite impressed with the dramatic Gothic architecture. We lit a candle for my grandfather, Luke, warmly known as Dida. From there, we went to the gigantic Louvre to enjoy the architecture. Hundreds of statues looked down on us as we had our first view of the Eiffel Tour from the court yard and as we enjoyed the first pastry, a pain au chocolate, of the trip. We ate under the trees in the Tuileries garden, enjoying the warm sun rays and lively Parisian atmosphere.

From there, dad got a quick glance at the exterior of Sciences Po as he could not enter: they put in place strict restrictions for entering because of the semester-long strike that was going on for most French higher education institutions, except ours (thankfully).

To finish the first day, we ate dinner in the very lively Latin Quarter. I took dad to my favorite kebab shop with very colorful décor and great fries!

My colorful dad in my colorful Kebob shop.

We wandered in the rain towards Shakespeare and Co because it was in the neighborhood but had to expectation of it being open at 10 pm. But, as luck would have it, it was open and was our savior from the downpour outside. We took a long time looking around the dusty, kooky shop and both found great books as souvenirs. We took a quick tour around Notre Dame, which is when we took this dramatic and beautiful photo before falling into bed.

Day 2: I had class until 5pm or so, so I sent dad off into the city all alone with a map and a few key phrases. We met up for dinner at my place later where I head all about dad’s day meeting nice people in the market and exploring the depths of Paris. He had spent the day visiting my colorful open air market which is where he got our fresh fish for dinner and delicious strawberries. We dined chez moi then took a stroll around Montparnasse at night which is filled with people and lights any night of the week.

Day 3: Dad and I met for lunch in the Luxembourg garden after my classes finished for the day. We managed to find a place to sit among the sea of people also enjoying the cherished sunny day. We ate very well: pâté, cheese, bread, salami, and again delicious strawberries for desert. The best part about eating in the garden is that there is no rush… you can stay as long as you like, long enough even for a quick nap which is exactly what we did. Upon waking refreshed and ready for the next adventure, dad and I went to Montmartre, the very ethnic and colorful quarter in the north of Paris with a great view of the whole of the city.

Montmartre!

We climbed quite a few stairs to the top where we explored the Sacré Coeur and the art market just behind. We ate the best nutella crepe while wandering around looking into the shops and, once again, people watching.
A true work of art... for the taste buds.

From Montmartre we hit the metro towards a more posh quarter: Place de la Concord. We walked all around this area, discovering places I had never been before. We saw the Madeline, Galleries Lafayette, and the Grands Boulevards… Oh my! It was quite a tour especially since we ended up in the Marias.

Finally, very hungry and tired from our long day of sightseeing, we had dinner and the Ton Tons, a restaurant recommended to dad by a woman he met in the market. It was late so when we entered I asked if there were still serving dinner. The man answered yes, but asked it we knew what tartar was… for those of you who don’t know what it is, I will explain: raw (100% raw) ground beef mixed with different herbs and spices, maybe an onion or two, and to top it off, it can be occasionally served with a raw egg yolk sitting just atop. I kid you not. Raw hamburger meat with raw yolk. Luckily they had a few other dishes so we decided to stay. The restaurant had a great vibe… very real—translation: kinda of dirty, but in a good way. We enjoyed nice cooked meals and a great bottle of wine followed by a fantastic crème brulé. A perfect French meal in an ideal French atmosphere.

Day 4: Thursday was the only day expected to be beautiful, and beautiful it was. So… dad and I went to Versailles to visit the magnificent chateau. We saw the interior: all of the paintings, the fancy furnishings, everything that was a view into the world of the flamboyant Louis’. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon in the gardens! Sitting in the sun by the canals, having yet another great picnic, wandering around the labyrinth gardens…

After soaking up the sun, we headed inside. We traveled back to Paris and went to the Musée d’Orsay. We were running around that old train station like it was going out of fashion! We saw the whole museum in 2 hours! Woe is me… I was tired!

Here is a Rodin sculpture inside the Museum, which is an old train station.

Day 5: Friday was a national holiday which means in France that everything closes and everybody goes outside. This was our Friday… full of people. We first went to the Rue de Mouffetard which is a great area full of life and food. We bought some goodies and went for a picnic in the Luxembourg garden once again. After lunch we went to the Marais again because it really is a great place. We wandered around the area, practically swimming through bodies. We finally freed ourselves of the crowds and made our way to the 10th arrondissement where I showed dad my beloved Canal St. Martin. We decided to see Wolverine (which had just come out that day) so with an hour to kill we had a quick bite to eat on the canal. Then we saw the movie, which we both enjoyed, then headed home.

Cafe livin'

Day 6: On Saturday, we had a very long lunch with my roommate and his girlfriend. It was really nice. Anas cooked a lovely meal, which we had with good wine followed by cheese and more wine. After digesting a bit from this 3 hour repas dad and I decided to hit one more landmark: Hotel Invalids. It was just before closing time, so we practically ran through the exhibitions which were extremely interesting. I must return there before I leave…

Here are all of the soldiers... a bit intimidating!

And here is dwarfed Dad next to a awesome alter, in typical Napolean fashion.

(sorry I forgot to turn it... and it's too late now!)

Later in the evening we had dinner plans with an American friend, Michele R., living in Paris studying at the Cordon bleu and a French friend Michel H. Michele R. needed to practice for her exam so she was going to cook an excellent meal for us and we were to critic. A tough job! She prepared margaritas with a fun amuse-gueule. We then, over the course of several hours, enjoyed a sea bass entrée, then a plat of pistachio covered veal, beat flan, sweet bread shish-kabob (which is not the same thing as the sweet bread everyone re-gifts during the holidays), followed by cheese and deserts. Here a few photos from this phenomenal meal:

Don't ask what it is... but, yes, we ate it.

Day 7: the final day, Sunday. Dad and I slept in a bit then head over to the art market new my house. It is really a great market; there are dozens of local artists who make beautiful masterpieces of all kinds. We walked up and down and one thing caught dad’s eye which he got as a very nice souvenir for himself.

After the market, we went to the Centre Pompidou because it was the first Sunday of the month when all national museums are free to all. I was slightly under-whelmed by the museum. It was confusing and gigantic, and full of people (which I expected on the free Sunday… We’re all radins!). But we managed to find an area which had some really beautiful pieces of art which we lingered around before heading out.

Dad in the escalator tube thing...

And that was that. Dad left early the next morning. Thank you dad for a great, action-packed week! À la prochaine!

Life.

Some time has passed, thus it is time for an addition to the story of my life…Well, I have done a lot and seen many things. I’ll start from February, when this chapter began... I had a break between my two semesters so I decided to spend some time in Paris just exploring the small corners that one can’t find with a Lonely Planet. I also spend 5 glorious days in Barcelona filled with sun and fun on the beach (with a scarf and jacket of course!)

I managed to find some really cool café’s… it really takes getting away from the very heart of Paris to find real cafés with style: in the cooler quartiers say goodbye to snobby waiters, tiny tables and rushed cafés. Say hello to purple velour sofas, comfortable cushions and friendly lesbian waitresses… My favorite quartier for these real cafés is in the 12th and also in the 10th near the Canal St. Martin. That’s where you’re going, dad!

With no friends left to travel with I ventured to Barcelona on my own. I left a grey, cold city and arrived in a warm, colorful city where the sun burned my baby blues made unaccustomed to such light by the tall Haussmann buildings in Paris. I made a bee line from the bus station straight to the sea where I sat in the sun and read for a while, an activity I greatly missed during the winter months. Mmmm... Sangria!



I walked along the coast until I found a very nice (a nicely located) hostel where I took the last bed (the VIP bed). Settling into my VIP bed, VIP because it was 8 feet above the ground and I had to climb up very high to get there, I set out to explore the city. Walking along Port Veil, I stumbled into the Gothic quarter: full of tiny, windy streets filled with cafés, boutiques, and tapas bars. Wandering along the Ramblas I bumped into the “parade of the Giants” where a giant princess and frog waddled by… While winding home, I met a man from Cameroon and he invited me to a tiny bar with fried fish and great cheap wine… then we moved onto another bar where we enjoyed cool cider from a barrel (from which I got to pour my own glass which was quite a science.)


The next day, Valentines Day, I work up early and went to do a Gaudi Tour: it took us to the Sagrada Familia, Güell Park, and two other buildings which he designed. It was really interesting to learn about Gaudi as I didn’t know very much about him before I went to Barcelona.

Here is one of the tops on one of the many towers of the Sagrada Familia... Gaudi incorporated a lot of mosaic pieces into his architecture and was inspired by nature. His works are incredible!

This is at Park Güell with a very famous lizard.


More of the park (above) and one of his building... As legend has it it is the design of a dragon (see the spine on the roof and all of the scales?)

That evening I went out with a roommate from my hostel to a very cool, small, red bar with artsy pictures of naked ladies and its menu on records. It was really cool, the kind of place on would imagine the locals hang out… however, every other tourist thought the same. Regardless that it was all Anglophones, Andre and I met some other Germans (in their mid thirties) had fun with sangria and mojitos before we all moved on to a disco with great 50-80’s music upstairs and ghetto rap under ground. It was quite an odd valentines day: dancing to swing with a bunch of older Germans… odd but fun all the same.

The photo below is of one of the women I was with... I think it is pretty awesome!

I also got the chance to go to Montserrat for the day: however it was quite cold so going up into the mountains effectively brought me into the clouds. Arriving up on the mountain during off season, one asks one self, what now? The little city they have up there was deserted, save a few high school boys playing hacky sack (that still exists?) I wandered around, took some photos then headed to see the Black Virgin Mary, the only thing to do there on a cold day. The room that housed her was one of the most ornate I have ever seen. Jewels, treasures, glittering gold that covered the walls… the works!

After returning from my break, I began a new semester full of French. My classes are very interesting, but also very challenging… go figure, learning completely in a foreign language would be difficult!

The photo below is from a quick weekend trip I did to Bordeaux... I was with a girlfriend and we had the most amazing time! Lots of great wine (Bordeaux 2005 is a secret treasure!) and food, sun and relaxation. We went to their most famous wine bar, Masion du Vin, and as you can see in the photo... it is practically a masion built out of wine!



So, after several weeks of life as usual in Paris… métro, boulot, dodo (a saying in French: Métro, work, sleep) I had my spring break finally (it was just last week)! Straight from class I hoped on a train to Hyeres in the South of France where David picked me up and whisked me away to le Lavandou, a small city right on the Mediterranean. There, we met up with David’s parents and sister who spent a week on vacation there, with David, before me. Sitting poolside in the last, golden rays of the day, I relaxed… far from the métro and the boulot, and very close to the dodo. My first day on vacation we awoke earlier; after a typical French breakfast (lots of Nutella and fromage blanc) we set off to the beach to watch a boat race. After learning that the castle-of-house on the cliffs belongs to Carla Bruni’s family, President Sarkozy’s wife, we set off to Bourmes-les-Mimosas, a very charming village in the hills with the best home-made soap and lotion. Wandering around the small rues, ancient and overgrown with charming wild-flowers, we made it up to the top of the hill for a magnificent view of the city.
Later that day David’s family returned to Germany and it was just me and David for the rest of the week… and what a week we had! For Easter, we ate lots of chocolate and did a hike to a small chapel that overlooks the sea. The days have all melted together in my memory as they were all very similar… I would wake up earlier to do yoga poolside which was sea-side. Up on the cliffs I would stretch and contract with the early morning sun beaming down on me (as well as curious eyes… what is that crazy girl doing on her vacation?!?). It was amazing. Then I would pick up a baguette or two and David and I would have breakfast on the terrace. Next, we would head down to the beach and would just “be” there all day long. Reading, napping, swimming (yes, I actually swam in the sea despite its chilly disposition), and eating were the only things on the menu for us. It was really incredible and I already wish I were back on the sparkling beaches of the Cote d’Azur. Here are just a few of the many pictures from the trip:

The cute town...

This was my view while doing yoga... definitely the reason I felt so inspired to do it!

Spring time is here!

Me in my very cool beach hat!

Some fun pictures on the cliff...

Hello!
The little chapel on the cliffs!

A great view!

Just fun stuff.

Here is the very beautiful Bourmes-les-Mimosa:

cool

Now, we are in the present. I just had an expose today that was… interesting. Class lasts for 2 hours, so normally there are several oral presentations or debates to take up the time. Well, the other presentations of the day did not show so there was just our presentation (me and my partner, Michelle). So, thanks to all this extra time, my professor decided to critique every thing we did, for the good of the class. For a 15 minute presentation, we stood in the front of the class for over an hour trying to melt away…. No such luck.

Well, glad that’s over. Now I am making plans and very much looking forward to when my dad comes… just 4 days.

I hope you are all well. Thanks for reading. Until the next time…

Love, Nikki