"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

Slowly coming in with the pictures

Since blogger has not been nice to me on the uploading photos end, I've opened up another photo account to get the photos up ASAP. For the most impatient of you, here's the link:

http://s818.photobucket.com/albums/zz101/E_Grossman/

Enjoy. The pictures are a mix of nice camera pictures and point-and-shoot pictures. I'll try and post them to their corresponding blog post asap.

The Perfect Saturday Night in Paris

I woke up at around 12:30 today (which is pretty early when you consider that I went to bed at 6am), cleaned up the mess of clothes I left on the floor last night, poured myself a nice glass of orange juice and informed my parents that I was alive.

When Taylor woke up at around 2:30, we decided to pick up some groceries, make lunch, and catch up with eachother's lives. After a jaunt down to Biatrix for the usual 85 centimes Baguette Parisienne, we hopped over to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for omelettes and other things we wanted to have around the apt. We stocked up on corn, peas, tomatoes, and motzzarella (which is only 90 centimes here for a large ball, I love Paris!). Our huge bags of groceries came to only 13 EUR and Taylor picked up the tab since I got the laundry detergent, draino, and the previous round of groceries. After finishing our baguette en route as usual, we came home to make a huge lunch. I was in charge of food prep and Taylor prepared the omlettes in the pan. I think we've mastered the art of cooking in a small kitchen.

We set our beautiful lunches out on the table in my room, right next to the window that looks out onto rue Michel le Comte. It was a beautiful day and the breeze trickled in through the window. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon after a long Friday night. We took advantage of our beautiful surroundings and ate as if we were 2 parisiennes sitting at a local brasserie or café just down the street: we took our time and ate for 2 hours.

After feeling incredibly satisfied, I decided to take the newly draino-ed shower drain for a spin and was very, VERY satisfied that my shower did not turn into a foot bath.

Taylor was getting ready to go to a concert and I desperately wanted to take a walk along the Seine, so I skyped a bit with Jay before throwing on an echarpe and taking to the streets. I grabbed Jay's camera in hopes of capturing a few good shots.


I first trotted down to the Seine and walked along the side of the street closest to the river. Even though it was almost 7:30, the sun was just starting to set and the water looked beautiful. I hiked my way down past the local artists until I happened upon the Louvre, where the crystal pyramid was sparkling in the sunset. Pure magic surrounded me as I began to hear a cello out of one corridor. As I wandered around the Louvre's courtyard, I noticed that each corridor seemed to house the music of a different musician. I heard opera singers, a clarinet, and a cello all playing different tunes from different eras but they all seemed to combine into a magical melody that could have never come out so beautiful had it been planned.

Standing in the center of this virtual orchestra of street musicians, I looked toward the fountain and noticed that I wasn't the only one feeling the magic. Two parisians on velibs shared one of the most romantic moments I have seen thus far on my trip. To be honest, I was kind of jealous of how perfectly they looked in that instant -- just two lovers on bicycles sharing a kiss in front of a gorgeous fountain as a symphony surrounds the courtyard -- their bicycle tires even matched up.

But it wasn't before long that the sun set, the lovers parted, and a man took off his shoes, rolled up his pants, and jumped feet first into the fountain. One second the city is full of romance, the next, it's full of feet. I love Paris, I thought for the 1000th time.

The sun was coming down, so I decided to head back home. As I walked home, I was greeted by the cutest little face in a window of a store: a little kitty! He was so friendly -- just came right up to the window and stuck his little face out. I played some little games with him for a little while since I felt kind of bad that the poor thing was locked up in a store all by himself all night, but then another kitty came up to him and I realized he wasn't all alone.

I continued my walk home but stopped at the rue du rambuteau to get a little snack. When I saw that I could snag a banana nutella crêpe for only 3,50 EUR, I had made up my mind. It was as fresh, oozing, and delicious as anyone could have ever hoped for. I love Paris, I thought again.

I decided to follow the sound of some music down another street where I found some street performers playing a duet on what looked like a home-made marimba. I sat down with my handful of extacy and took in more of the Parisian magic. I had music, a crêpe and the centre pompidou behind me: how can Los Angeles even compare? All I need is to get my boyfriend up here and then you'll never get me to leave!

After my mini concert and excellent dessert, I saw a Monop' (Monoprix's little convenience store) and decided to hop in for some pictures. I saw the Sirop and was enticed by the colors, so I began snapping some photos with Jay's camera until a man in a security suit came up to me and said in a very serious French voice that I was prohibited from taking photos. I apologized profusely in my best French, saying that I wasn't from here and so I didn't know the rules. I thought about it for a second and realized that I really didn't know the rules. Apparently, it's perfectly acceptable to bathe in the fountains at the Louvre and drink in public but I can't take a photo in a convenience store? Tant pis! A little slap on the wrist for being a silly tourist is probably pretty good for me and now I've learned that I shouldn't just assume I can take pictures where ever I want. At least they let me keep the shots. :)


Feeling that my big camera faux pas was probably a sign to end the night, I walked back to the apt for a glass of Cola Light from a bottle that I bought at ED a few days ago. I look out my window and see the parisians out to play but feel totally satisfied having gone to my own concert at the Louvre, having tasted my parisian delicacy, and having gotten in trouble the Monop' police. Who could ask for anything more?

See my photo albums for more photos of today:

Fickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42113654@N07/
Picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/Paris#
and http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/ParisOnAStudentSBudget#

Total Damage today:
Baguette: ,85 EUR
Crepe: 3,50 EUR

Exhausted

Orientation starts tomorrow.

I took Jay's camera out for a walk today and came up with this. It just says "Paris" to me.


For more, go here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42113654@N07/

Total damages today:

Une baguette de la tradition: 1,05 EUR

Pictures

For a collection of all of my pictures, please enjoy both

http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/Paris#
and
http://picasaweb.google.com/aspettami/ParisOnAStudentSBudget#

I'm trying not to duplicate the photos in both albums so please view both.
All photos were taken with my tiny point-and-shoot Canon, but hopefully I'll get some better DSLR pics up soon. :)