Karate at the hôtel de ville and swans on the Seine

Just when you think you've figured her out, Paris throws you a curve ball.

After waking up early this morning to a mad homework and cookie snacking session, I decided it was time to get out of the apt. I am in Paris after all. Good thing I live in the heart of the city -- dragging my little lazy butt downstairs and the 2 blocks it takes to get to hôtel de ville was about all I thought I could handle. However, as the story usually goes with my walks into the city, I was seduced by everything that was happening around me, and decided to spend the afternoon as a flâneur.

I brought along my camera, and boy was I glad I did. There's clearly always something happening in Paris. Today a festival to stop some disease I had never heard of brought out a full group of brazilian musicians and dancers as well as a karate demonstration. The brazilian drums were beating so wildly as the karate demonstration went on, it almost felt like taiko.

Karate demo.
Brazilian band on stage.

I stayed and listened to the music long enough to decide that I was going to see what else was happening near by. I crossed the bridge to île st. louis where I saw a great crowd of street performers. I almost squeezed my way past the spectators to see what the fuss was about until I saw an even more amazing sight -- swans! On the Seine! I had to go over and take pictures. It was pure magic.
I enjoyed many other sights along the way, too. The smells, colors, and sounds here are amazing. The art of spectating is well rewarded with interesting people, shops, and skylines everywhere.

Some chocolates I found in a window on île st. louis.
They reminded me of Sarah's chocolates.

City of wine.

The light purple + green combo is one of my favorites here.
There's something so Marie Antoinette about it.

My mom sometimes asks me if I go see films. To this I reply, "Why would I ever need to see a movie when I have the whole city to watch for free? Paris is my cinema!"

Interesting people watching by the Seine.

Large scale poster art on the river.

The only bad thing about city watching is that, between the long walks and windows full of chocolates and pastries, you tend to work up an appetite. I satisfied mine with a baguette from biatrix accompanied by the last of my first wheel of brie and some blackberry jam. Yum.


Some budget tips for the day: some of the more expensive supermarkets can surprise you with randomly inexpensive items!
Today I found out that there is an even cheaper brand of fake nutella than the one I've been buying at Franprix! Surprisingly, they only sell it at a store that is usually more expensive (G20). However, they don't sell it at all of the G20s, so I didn't know this was available until I went into the G20 at St. Paul. G20 also has this brand of products called 'ep' that is as cheap as, if not cheaper than dia (ED's brand) but they don't always have 'ep' products at every store. From now on, I'm going to check out this G20 in the St. Paul area for nutella and some other cheap-er items.

Total Damages today:
baguette from biatrix: 85 centimes

"Ça coûte seulement un sourire"

The sign for the festival (la fête des vendanges),
hanging out under Sacre Coeur.

As I found out today at the fête de vendanges in Montmartre, having no money to spend on expensive cheeses does not stop one from being able to sample them.

Example conversation:
"Madamoiselle, est-ce que vous voulez goûter quelque chose de magnifique?"
(Miss, would you like to taste something wonderful?)
"Oui, bien sur, mais je n'ai pas de l'argent."
(Yes, of course, but I don't have money.)
"Ne vous inquietez pas, ca coûte seulement un sourire. Pour moi, ça suffit."
(Don't worry, it only costs you a smile. That is enough for me.)

Then this man handed me 8 or 9 samples of crazy expensive cheeses from pays basque. He told me he wanted to send me on a "voyage" to where he grew up. I must say, based on his cheese, he must have had a fabulous childhood.

But it wasn't just this man, many other people were happy to serve me samples of their expensive cheeses, even after (and sometimes especially after) I told them I couldn't afford it. It's almost like they got more out of watching me enjoy something that they've worked so hard on, than they would have gotten out of my euros. There's something still so magical about Montmartre, and I think this is definitely part of it.

The beginning of the line of vendors (see the pointy, white tents).

The festival today also included a section that was intentionally free to visitors. Metro, a company under the same ownership as Carrefour and Walmart, put on a series of free dégustations. You better believe I took advantage of every single tasting I could.

I started with the olive oils, which were very interesting. I didn't know that they varried so much in taste. Some of them had more of a kick than others, while some tasted quite sweet. After learning how to taste-test olive oil (which is much different than taste-testing wine), I moved on to the epices (spices) and sirops.

Some premium olive oils waiting to be tasted.

The sirops bar, unsurprisingly crowded.

In case you haven't heard, the French LOVE their sirop. It goes in almost anything, or often by itself, and comes in almost every flavor imaginable. I tired some unusal ones (like ginger, and green bananas), and some classic ones (like hazelnut, and crême de cassis).

For wines, they were offering 2 reds (a bordeaux and a cotes du rhones) and 1 white, which I sampled along side some fresh baked breads. I felt like a princess, sipping my wine on a beautiful day in Montmartre, listening to a couple sing "La Bohème" in the background.

The final dégustation was THE BEST. Metro had a professional chef come and cook up some meals, giving out tips on how to turn up the "wow" factor. I tried her risotto and nearly died. It was so delicious. Watching her tend to the risotto was like watching a mother care after her child -- she never slipped up, her spatula work was like art. I really do believe French cuisine is an artform. This was my museum.

I continued my stroll about Montmartre, checking out all the local wineries and their offerings for the day as well as the amazing cheese and sausage stands that were kind enough to offer me free samples all the time. The fruit places were very kind, too. I tried some great apples and even found some bananas at only 89 centimes the kilo (of course I had to buy 1/2 a kilo).

Local wineries pour glasses of champagne.

Tourteaux fromages that the vendors were calling, "cheesecake."

A vendor heating up some raclette.

Escargots for sale.

Some of my favorite stands were the candy shops -- I expected to see all of the gorgeous macarons and gorgeous chocolate confections, but I had no idea how beautiful the multicoloured sugar candy could be.

Gorgeously colored rope candies.

The pistachio nougat looked amazing.

A child's dream.

An adult's dream: the macaron bar

I also enjoyed the giant sized pans in which vendors were cooking everything from sausage to cheesy potatoes. I've never seen pans so huge, but the smells the omitted were unparalleled as well. If the crowd wasn't packed together like sardines, I could have just stayed there smelling these concotions for hours.


I journeyed around the butte for a while, looking at local artists as well. I really wish Jay could have been here -- it was just such a great day with such amazing food.


I returned home and decided I would stock up on some cheese (clearly I was inspired) and butter. I also got myself 12 eggs, hoping that this would supplement the other day's grocery trip sufficiently.


I adore France -- this place seems to be a permanent celebration of everything I love in life, and I can already tell it will be a hard transition back to the United States in January. Until then, I am going to soak in all the cheese this body will let me!

more photos at: http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/

Total Damages this morning:
3 bananas: 53 centimes
1 huge wheel of brie: 2,92 EUR
1 stick of chevre: 1,24 EUR
1 block of butter: 1,19 EUR
12 eggs: 1,75 EUR

Le vieil accordéoniste

On the metro this morning, an elderly man and his accordion got on the ligne 4 at Cité. His frail fingers lifted up in anticipation of the first note and then hopped magically along the pegs and keyboard like young dancers. His choice of songs was perhaps cliché, though I prefer to call it classic. Something inside me longed to burst into tears as his wrinkled eyelids closed for Edith Piaf.

He didn't stop playing or ask for money until St. Placide when a woman pressed a 1 EUR coin into his hand before two policemen escorted him off the train. When I walked up the stairs at Vavin, I could still see their hands coaxing the frail elbows of the still-smiling man off the car, waiting for him to put away the accordion that made him come alive. As I made my way to the top of the stairs, the skies were gray.

I thought of the accordionist's lingering smile and hopeful melodies but I felt that a world where an old man got punished for a 1 EUR coin was not "la vie en rose."

Paris is still a mystery to me. Part romance, part tradgedy, she's like the girlfriend you could never figure out, the Emma Bovary of cities. I may never understand her.

______________

Budget tips for the day:

I packed a lunch to-go today. Just picked up a fresh baguette and filled up tupperware with some goodies: brie, salami, jam, cucumbers, grapes.


A good way to save money on tupperware containers is to reuse the containers from ice cream. The tupperware here is really expensive -- like 4 - 9 EUR per box. Why not just buy the ice cream for 2 EUR (or 4 EUR if you want the expensive kind) and get the tupperware for free at the end?


Total Damages today:
Salami package: 1,10 EUR
Fresh baguette from the wednesday boulangerie (Biatrix is closed on wednesdays): 80 centimes
hefty bag of red grapes (at 1,29 the kilo): 74 centimes
month of october on the navigo: 56 EUR

Mardi gras!

Ok, it's not really fat Tuesday, but it is Tuesday and I did make some amazing food today (on the cheap, of course).

This morning I got a French wake up call from Madame R-G wanting to change our apt. time to earlier in the afternoon. I stumbled to remember my French in my sleepy haze and stumbled out of bed with just as little ease. I decided to wake myself up with a little walk down to the local ED where I picked up a six pack of eggs and some mustard to keep on stash. Now that I'm going full force with this cooking at home thing, I figured I should have some of the "basics."

I came home, got myself all cleaned up, and began to prepare lunch. I remembered the delicious crêpes salées I had at the farmer's market by the grove in LA and wanted to duplicate one of my favorites. Here's how I did it:

Ingredients:
1 ready-made crêpe (you can get a pack of 12 for 90 centimes at Franprix)
2 eggs (you can get a pack of 6 at ED for 1,19 or a pack of 12 for 1,89)
1 tomato (my 2 kg bucket cost me 1,49 at ED)
some slices of brie (2,99 for the wheel at ED)
olive oil
dijon mustard

Preparation:
1. Cut up tomatoes and put in a hot frying pan with some olive oil. When cooked to desired consistency, add 2 beaten eggs and cook as if an omelet or frittata.
2. While eggs and tomatoes are cooking, spread some mustard on the crêpe. Distribute slices of cheese evenly on crêpe. Toss into the microwave for 20 seconds.
3. When eggs are done cooking, take crêpe out of the microwave and put the omelet on the crêpe. Season with salt and pepper before rolling the crêpe up on the omelet like a burrito.

Bon Appétit!


I think that crêpe didn't stand a chance. I've rarely gobbled up anything so fast. I was very satisfied -- very filling meal. It was so cheap too. Let's do the math: the whole thing cost less than 80 centimes.

Feeling pretty proud of myself, I began preparations for tonight's dinner. I wanted to marinate my chicken breast but didn't want to break out fancy (and expensive) spices in order to do so. I now present to you the "paris on a student's budget marinade."

Directions:
Turn a plastic bag inside out and rest the chicken breast on the bag. Rub dijon mustard all over the chicken generously. Ground pepper over each side. Turn the plastic bag inside out again so that the chicken is now on the inside of the baggy. Pour some balsamic vinegar on the chicken. Seal the baggy. Throw in the fridge.

After inventing my very own cheapo marinade, I headed over to pay rent for October and have my first "tutorat" with Madame R-G. Looking for a little snack for the road back, I grabbed a pack of the famous "petit ecolier" cookies for 87 centimes at franprix.

Remembering the chicken marinading in the fridge, I grabbed a 12 pack of Stella bottles, hoping that the beer would pair well with the chicken. Since the beer here is cheaper than most sodas, I didn't feel bad opting for what would be a "special occation" beverage in the US. And since Stella is a belgian beer, it was also one of the cheapest beers on the shelf -- 1/2 the price of a six pack of bud!

I took my beer home and began preparing my meal. Boy was it a feast. The cheapo marinade turned out better than I expected. The balsamic gave the chicken a sweet and glazed taste while the mustard gave it a little bite. I paired my chicken with some ratatouille that I got from a can, peas, and a stella -- I was surprised at how large of a meal it ended up being.


How to make the chicken:
Before cooking: prepare some extra marinade mixture in a separate bowl (just mix some mustard, oil, balsamic, and pepper together).
Heat up some oil in a frying pan. When you see steam, add butter. When the butter begins to bubble and turn brown, add the chicken. Sear both sides before coating generously with extra marinade. Cover with lid and cook for 6 minutes on each side or until done.


It was so delicious. Do I need to mention butter again?

The chicken cost about 1,10 per breast, the ratatouille was 89 centimes for the jar but I only used about 1/4 of it (and still couldn't finish it), the peas were 70 centimes and I used maybe 1/6 of the jar. In short, the meal cost: 1,44 EUR. If you include the stella, we're up to a massive 1,86. I'm still under the Resto U price and enjoying every minute of it.

I've also been craving Tomme ever since that salad at le parc aux cerfs. They have it at Franprix. It's only days now until I cave.

On a side note, I've been thinking of going to Bruges and Brussels on a side trip for the weekend of the 17th and 18th. This student's international club offers discounted (and I mean discounted) student trips. It will cost 100 EUR including travel, lodging, a guide for both cities, all museum entrance fees, and breakfast. I have to decide before Oct. 9th. What do you guys think?


Total Damages Today:
6 eggs: 1,19 EUR
jar of mustard: 50 centimes
cookies: 87 centimes
12 pack of stella beer: 4,98 EUR

Le Parc aux Cerfs and the walk back

So I'll preface this post by informing all of you that Blogger is being evil and not letting me post pictures right now, so I can't show you all the gorgeous photos that I took yesterday and today until their system gets unclogged or I find a better way to upload photos.

That being said....

It was a beautiful day in Paris. So beautiful that I wore a sundress. Word on the street is that this will be the kindest winter in Paris yet -- they expect the sun to stay out until December. Wishful thinking or not, this brief optimism turned Paris into a sea of smiling sunbathing hopefuls stocking up on what could be the last few summer rays.

I, too, wanted my share of sun exposure, so I went over to the jardin de luxembourg to hang out with Balzac for 30 minutes before my lunch at the Parc aux Cerfs on rue Vavin. The jardin was gorgeous -- they were having a "honey festival" and it was like the sweetness rubbed off on all the parisians around me. Everyone was so happy -- it's funny how the sun can do that to you.

When it was time to go to the Parc aux Cerfs, I gathered up my appetite and met my group at the door. The Parc aux Cerfs is a great little place on rue Vavin that, like La Closerie de Lilas and Le Selet, was frequented by artists and writers when Montparnasse was where you went to be an artist or writer. The Parc aux Cerfs remembers it's custom of letting its talented customers pay via painting or drawing by letting its current customers draw on the paper tablecloths (except, we don't get exempt from paying). Luckily SLC was paying for our food today (a 35 EUR meal was a nice way to end orientation), so we were able to indulge like the artists of another age.

The first course was a choice between a cucumber soup with goat cheese, a tomme (a type of cheese) and candied cranberry salad, or a poached salmon. I chose the Tomme salad and was very happy. I think this was actualy my favorite course, though I didn't get a picture of how beautiful the cheese was displayed before I gobbled the whole thing up.

Next came the plat: a choice of chicken, salmon or duck. I chose le canard and was very pleased. The sauce was a lavendar sauce, but had a sweet citris like tang to it that enriched both the duck and the mound of snap peas it was sitting on. I must say, the French really know how to cook a duck. Maybe they put it in butter -- who knows -- but it melts in your mouth.

For dessert, we could have a berry dish, a orange crême brulée or a chocolate molten cake with salted caramel ice cream. Being torn between the chocolate cake and the crême brulée, I remembered that I didn't have an oven and should probably eat cake at every opportunity I get. Plus, it sounded to perfect with the glass of red wine I was having. I was not dissapointed.


I must say that the crême brulée looked very good, too, though. It was not a little dinky thing like I've found at most restaurants. It was pretty sizable. I would try it should I ever go back to le Parc aux cerfs.

The meal finished, like any good French meal, with a café. I took mine décaf, not wanting to be wired for the rest of the beautiful afternoon.

Taking advantage of the clear skies, I walked home via a slightly different route today. I wanted to go to the île st. louis, which is the island on the Seine next to the île de la cité (the one with Notre Dame and all the fancy stuff). My new route took me along the Seine and gave me an incredible view -- all the parisians were out on the seine like it was a beach. What a great idea for a cheap lunch, I thought, noticing a couple sharing a picnic on the left bank.

Being as hot as it was, I wasn't surpised to find that many parisians were out looking for ice cream, but I had no idea how many of them would wait in ridiculously long lines for what seemed to be the most popular ice cream label on the île. Many cafés and stores boasted this label on the canapies and I noticed that the ones who did not serve this type of ice cream had literally no customers.

The ice cream seemed kind of pricey to me at 2 EUR a boule (scoop), but for the ice cream connoisseur, this could be the best deal of a lifetime. I think that's about the same price as a coldstones in the US, right? The prices also get cheaper if you buy larger quantities, so if you really like the stuff, it might fit well into a student's budget.

My trip to the cute little island was a great, but I found an even more exciting pitstop on the other side of the river -- a flea market! It was like all of the 4th was having a yard sale right along the Seine. I looked around for a while and talked to some French people before asking someone how often this happens. Apparently, for one sunday a month, you can pick up someone else's parisan treasures on the cheap! A great idea for souveniers. They also have cheap clothes and anything else you might expect at a yard sale. I highly reccomend it.

I finally got my full belly and tired feet home at about 5pm, and began to work on my homework. Classes start tomorrow!

Total Damages today:
0,00 EUR!