Back to Reality

So the trip home...well, lets just say that I had to keep telling myself to "Get on the plane." :) 

Luckily the plane ride was uneventful (ironically I actually knew someone on the plane) and after a quick layover in DC where I got to spend an hour or so with my Mom, it was back on a plane destined for good old NC.  A friend from school was kind enough to pick me up from the airport and I was pleasantly surprised to see my luggage waiting for me on the conveyor belt....yeah!

After a much needed good nights sleep and a very disappointing welcome home from Emma (she played very coy with me the next morning), it was back to the daily grind; cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping...all in the first day home!

Despite the crazy first week back, its been fun.  I've been able to play a little tennis, get a few (and I stress the word few) things done around the house, catch up with a few friends and get some things organized for classes, which by the way, start on Monday. 

That being said, the next couple of weeks are going to be pretty hectic! But no worries, the bucket list continues......

The Last Day/Night

Aww, I'm so sad! Its my last day/night in Paris and while I wish I would've spent it in Champagne, I had a really good time.

The company who I booked my day trip with was kind enough to compensate me with a complimentary wine/cheese lunch today and while I was hesitant to go, I figured free wine and cheese couldn't be passed up :) It was great! The other participants were really laid back and so was our sommelier and my "date" for later that night, Nickolas, who kept refilling our glasses until all six bottles were empty!  Needless to say the wine was amazing (I've learned a lot), the cheese was to die for (all this food has already begun to show on my hips), and the company was hilarious.

After the tasting/lunch, which was only suppose to last an hour and a half but ended up lasting about 3 hours, a couple of us navigated our tipsy selves to the local post office to ship our purchases.  Yeah, I can't wait...in about a week I'll be reliving my wine experience from over here in NC!!!  Anyway, after that comedy...I'm sure you can imagine 5 tipsy Americans who don't speak any French in a post office trying to ship a whole bunch of wine...I convinced everyone to go with me in search of this particular Chocolatier.  The trip there was just as much fun as the whole post office excursion and about an hour and umpteen chocolate tastings later we were finally on our way back to our hotels.

Yummy and so worth the totally out of the way 45 minute walk

After a quick stop at the hotel for a few Skype sessions and a change of clothes, it was back out again to join Nickolas for my other complimentary event, a champagne cruise down the Seine.  Now I mentioned a change of clothes...well some of you know about the whole red dress purchase... looks like I finally found a place and time to wear it!

Sorry for the ghetto picture but its all I could manage since I didn't care to lug my camera with me this time

After the cruise (which was beautiful but definitely meant for couples, though Nickolas was a very nice "date") we headed out for a big splurge dinner at Le Grand Vefour.  All I can say is "Oh, my God!"  Definitely a dinner I will never forget and the perfect ending to the trip.

Thanks again, Nickolas. You really shouldn't have, but next time I'm in Paris its my treat :)

Boo-hoo

Late last night I received an email letting me know that my day trip to Champagne (scheduled for today) had been cancelled due to a "domestic accident".  Though not quite sure what that means, I was disappointed :(

After a little thinking and a good night's sleep....oh well, no big deal! 

Instead.... I'm off today in search of one of the finest chocolatier's in Paris, some meandering, a complimentary wine/cheese lunch, some more meandering, a complimentary Champagne cruise and of course since its my last night (???) in Paris (I'm getting sad), I'm thinking a red dress dinner!!


**Update: I just received news that our neighbors were able to bring their little girl home from the NICU yesterday! Welcome home baby Reagan, I can't wait to meet you.**

Good Morning, Sunshine!

"Its good for the soul when there's not a soul in sight..."-DMB

Oh, so true! And I'm happy as can be!

(Though you can't tell in the picture...it seems that I have myself a nice black eye?!? Apparently things got a little crazy last night!)

Yummy! (Part 2)

Saturday- Another cooking, or to be more exact, baking class ;) 

I was super excited since I love to bake and although my class wasn't until the afternoon, I was giddy the moment I woke up! I know, I'm a dork!!

Anyway, since I had been up late the night before (this seems to be the routine here), I of course slept in and woke just in time for breakfast.  After breakfast I set off for Montmartre....

Knowing that I had a bit of time before my class I thought I'd do a little walking and shopping around the area.  First up, another stop by the Moulin Rouge and a quick glance at the Musee de l'Erotisme though I wasn't willing to shell out 5 euros to see a whole bunch of sex toys from decades past.  Another quick run by Cafe des Deux Moulin where Amelie was filmed and of course a stop by Van Gogh's house, or should I say Van Goghs brother's house.  I was also able to see the famous twinned windmills and Jean Marais's statue of a man walking out of a stone wall (it was pretty neat).  Next it was off to see Close du Montmartre, a small vineyard dating back to 1933, where I was really tempted to buy some small bottles, but not for 11euros a bottle :(

During all this I was always able to stop off in some small shops along the streets and will say that Montmartre has some of the best shops I've seen so far!  Unfortunately these shops took a lot of my time (yet I claim I'm not a shopper) and before I knew it, it was time for my class...hooray!

I wish I had been able to take more pictures but unfortunately this class required a lot of "dirty hand time" so it just wasn't feasible :(  However I did take some "end result" pictures....

Croissants

Pain au Raisin

Twists with apricot jam in the center

the French equivalent to Focaccia bread

We also made pain au chocolat but those were eaten so fast that I never had time to take a picture ;)

Overall, the class was great and I can't wait to try these recipes on my own!!!

On the way home I stopped to watch some street performers, caught the last little bit of a Vivaldi concert in a park and oh yeah, saw a dead guy on the bank of the Seine!?!

Walking Tour

As I said in my last post, I had the opportunity to just walk my neighborhood the other day and it was great all the little places of history and stories that are around. Plus, it was a great way to work off all the great French food I've had while here :) Anyway, more pictures and less words....

A popular hang out spot for Sartre and de Beauvoir

Okay, so this little apartment actually is gated from the public and pretty far back from the road but luckily the nice man, John Paul, you see in the picture was willing to let me in through the gate just so I could take a few pictures.

The second floor flat where James Joyce finished editing Ulysses

Mentioned in his book, A Moveable Feast, Hemingway's apartment in 1922

Above this little cafe is a hotel where Paul Verlaine died and also where Hemingway wrote

A favorite hotel of Jack Kerouac

Pablo Picasso's studio

Both Henry Miller and Auguste Comte lived here

The Hotel where Oscar Wilde died

Where Hemingway spent his first night in Paris and a few doors down is where Franklin, Adams and Hay met to sign the treaty recognizing American independence

Gertrude Stein's home

Along the way I also saw bigger tourist spots such as St. Suplice, the church filmed in The Da Vinci Code....

(Unfortunately the church is undergoing major renovations so I just shot the fountain in front and the one side that wasn't covered by construction equipment.)

...and yet another church, St. Germain des Pres....but too be honest I wasn't impressed with the church itself so I took this instead....

Still part of the church, just not the main entrance. I have this thing with red doors so I couldn't resist :)

Now, for those of you who know me, you know that there is no way I could walk to all those places and not get lost.  And this is true but it proved beneficial since I just happened to get lost in an area where nothing but little art galleries line the street so I spent a great deal of time wandering in and out of these as well!  Have I

 said how much I'm in love?

More later?!?

Rodin, Monet, Manet, Degas, Van Gogh...

Musee Rodin

...some of my favorite men and yesterday I was luckily enough to be able to spend some time admiring their work at the Musee d'Orsay and Musee Rodin.  These museums are absolutely amazing, especially Rodin's which has this unbelievable garden and the weather was perfect for spending some time outside.  Unfortunately the museums don't allow cameras, except for in the gardens of Musee Rodin, so those are the only pictures I have.

As for the rest of my day.... A simple French lunch and then touring the Latin Quarter, the neighborhood where my hotel is located.  Its amazing the places of interest just near where I'm staying. Of course there's places like St. Suplice where they filmed a scene from The Da Vinci Code, but also places where Sartre and de Beauvoir hung out, a flat where James Joyce finished editing Ulysses, the boarding house where George Orwell stayed and then wrote about in Down and Out in Paris and London, Picasso's studio, the hotel where Oscar Wilde died, and so forth and so on.  Unfortunately my WiFi is acting up again so I'll have to try and post pictures of these places and more later tonight.

Plans for today....right now I'm in Montmartre doing a little exploring and some shopping before heading to another cooking class at 4p.  After that, we'll see.....