Alicia visits: a 3 hour crash course on Paris

So I picked up Alicia at the gare de l'est after having picked up a morning baguette with some jam and brie.

Alicia wanted to see Paris with me for 3 hours before her friend Lucy arrived, so I did my best to take her walking around the part of the city I've come to love. After showing her my apartment and the local places I frequent, I took her down Beaubourg until we hit the Seine and Notre Dame. Alicia's reaction really pleased me as it reminded me how I had felt merely 1 1/2 months ago. Notre Dame has become such an essential part of my skyline now, it was nice to be reminded how truely lucky I am.

We continued the walk down into the St. Michel area and dipped breifly into the tip of the latin quarter. I showed Alicia some places she could grab a huge 3 course meal for 9 - 22 EUR with some excellent people watching and then brought her to Ile st. louis for a tour of the ice cream lines.

We continued back across the Seine for a mini-tour of le marais that took us to rue des rosiers, bustling with the sounds of falafel stands and their proprietors beconning us to come inside. Swayed by a free sample, we ended up going to one and had the BEST FALAFEL IN PARIS. I realize now why they charge 5 EUR for these. It is so much more than a falafel. There's cabbage, and grilled eggplant, and hummus, and cilantro, and tomatoes, and this amazing red sauce and probably about 10 falafels all wrapped in a delicious pita. Wow.

Alicia: "What is that red stuff he is putting on it?" Me: "Deliciousness"

The guy lurking behind us in the blue shirt is the proprietor, who not only gave us a free sample but saved us the two seats right in front of the store. Prime seating real-estate in Paris.

After sitting with our massive falafels and doing some people watching, we headed down to the rue rambuteau and the centre pompidou. I took Alicia up to the top of the centre pompidou (for free - yay for being 26 and younger!) and took in the view. It was kind of a foggy day, but you really can't beat the skyline here.

Alicia on the 4th floor open-air terrace at the centre pompidou.

After dropping Alicia off with her friend Lucy, I returned home to the apt to finish up some homework and crash. Naps are amazing.

À demain, Paris!

Total damages today:
baguette: 80 centimes
falafel of my dreams: 5 EUR

Lundi: grocery expedition round 2

Having finished off the chicken breasts, almost all of that jar of pasta sauce, 1/2 of the brie wheel and the final bits of cucumber, I decided it was time to schedule in "grocery shopping take 2." It was cold and rainy this morning, but I made the trek to Biatrix and then to my local supermarkets to stock the fridge.

Having learned that the chicken breasts, though delicious, were kind of pricey when I could get a full prepared meal at the Resto U for 2,90 without lifting a finger, I opted for the cheapest meat that wasn't meant to go straight into the microwave: sausages. I also opted for a lot of canned veggies this time -- though I really enjoy having fresh tomatoes on hand, I really don't want to prepare my own spinach or corn. Canned veggies are cheap here, and they last for a long time so you don't have to worry too much about the "date limite." I grabbed 2 fresh bananas, a jar of berry jam, and some sauce basilic for when my current pasta sauce runs dry. I got all of this for under 6 EUR.

My trip to Franprix was just to fill in the blanks: a 2 EUR bucket of chocolate ice cream (to fill in the sweet spot) and a microwaveable sachet of medeterranean rice for 1 EUR (I thought this would go well with some corn, ratatouille, and sausage).


While there, I eyed the tomme but resisted. I also noticed some massive cans of tuna (which I thought could make some mean tuna melts with my tomatoes, brie and baguette) and a jar of chili (which would be so great with a dolop of crême fraiche). I might return to supplement this grocery trip with these items.

Estimated time until grocery trip "round three": 14 - 18 days. First person to guess the date on the nose wins a crappy Eiffel Tower key-chain.

Tonight I assembled some of my groceries with some other groceries I still have from my last trip and created the most amazing dessert I've ever made at a very friendly price: under 83 centimes.

Directions to the do-it-yourself nutella banana crêpe with chocolate ice cream:

1. take out your pre-made crêpe and cover it generously in your faux nutella

2. pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds before cutting thin slices of banana onto the nutella covered surface.
3. back in the microwave for 10 seconds.
4. fold the crêpe up on itself and top with some chocolate ice cream.
Voilà -- a gorgeous crêpe for less than 1/6th of the price at a restaurant.

Tomorrow I have no class but I've got some plans to go to the 15th and sign up for the Bruges and Brussels trip. I've also got a bit of reading to do. Alicia is comming this weekend to see her friend, but I'm hoping to grab a french onion soup with her at au pied du cochon!

Total damages today:
Groceries at ED: 5,98 EUR
Groceries at Franprix: 3,03 EUR
Baguette at biatrix: 85 centimes
Hot chocolat during the coffee break at school: 40 centimes