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Published: August 8th 2007
Le Parc Monceau
Est-ce que tu veux du pain?It’s official. The guest blogger curse is over. We had to call out OG in Argentina. We had to call out Xandra in Manila. We even called out my mom a little bit, although she never promised to blog in the Philippines. But we’ve been warning Bettina for months, and she’s been feeling the pressure. Once in Paris, we asked for just one - “Just one day! You can pick the day!” - but she gave us so much more. Hooray for Butters!
As an introduction, Bettina has been my best friend since 5th grade, when she told me not to hang out with riffraff in class and stick to her instead. We went to elementary and junior high school together, and stayed close throughout high school, college, and the rest. She lives in San Francisco and is our favorite guest blogger ever. I’ll go ahead and put that out there. What follows is her account of her flight to Paris, including meeting up with my mom and Bob in D.C. Leroy and I have used our editorial might to fill in the blanks (you know, the parts that involved us!).
San Francisco to Paris The trip to Paris
Reunited!
Welcome Mamu, Bob, and Meme to Paris! went smoothly, considering that Orbitz didn’t warn me that my flight to Washington Dulles had changed to an hour earlier; United managed to connect me to my Paris flight. Going to Washington was arduous! I was seated in the middle, and for 6 hours, I managed not to have to use the bathroom. I drank minimally. They showed “Music and Lyrics” (Meli: Hey, I watched that on the plane too! I just can’t remember which flight) which did keep me awake. My goal was not to fall asleep so that the Paris leg of my trip would be spent tired and NOT awake. Soon after the movie, of course, I ended up dozing. Oh wells.
Washington Dulles airport was huge and bustling! It was easy enough, though, to find my gate/terminal. It was there that I met up with Bob and Tita Lut. We sat around for maybe a good 15-20 minutes. Apparently for US$89 each, you can upgrade yourself to "super" economy. This buys you an extra 5 inches. Tita Lut and Bob went for it (they left me!). Thus, they moved up the plane to about 15 rows ahead. I stayed in my assigned area of 36G
- luckily, an aisle seat. I had no pity on the two men who sat to my left...although, neither of them got up once. Ouch.
Anyhow, the flight to Paris felt long, considering it was only 6 or 7 hours! I watched “The Painted Veil.” That movie was beautiful. It was a great love story between a man and a woman who get to know each other in a time of strife and death. It was in their service to the community that they found common virtue and passion for each other. I cried A LOT. I spent most of my time afterwards trying to sleep. I probably managed a mere 15 minutes. I think Tita Lut and Bob were the same. I should have just done what Tita Lut did and watched other movies.
Finally at 715 AM, Paris time, we arrived. We disembarked and proceeded to customs. Except for the one line and two officials servicing the tourists, it was easy. Stamp and proceed. We got our luggage quickly and searched for a taxi. Typically, an unofficial taxi man solicited us for a ride to our destination for 70 euros! That's about US$100. I was just
Le Parc Monceau
Mamu and Bob feeling the love. How can you not? about gullible enough to take it!! Luckily Bob was there and gave him the big NO. Then, can you believe, he dropped his price to 50 euros! Oi vey. We just rolled on to gate 18 where the regular taxis are.
Driving to 86 Rue de Levis was long. At least it felt that way. There was traffic! There was not much to be wowed about. There were a lot of big buildings with huge signs advertising what/who occupied the building. After an hour, I was glad to enter Paris proper. The ride ended up being, as I recall, 45 euros. Between the three of us, that was not bad.
It was in our area that I felt most excited! Rue de Levis had the charm and commerce I felt that Europe would be like. The street was narrow and filled with small shops. The buildings were OLD. It was still early so it was not yet bustling with foot traffic.
The 17th Arrondissement: Our New Playground Leroy, who arrived a day earlier, surprisingly met us right when we were just about to enter our apartment. We stayed on the "first" floor -- that means second floor
Le Parc Monceau
Bienvenue à Paris Bettina! in the US. The apartment was quaint - aka small. It was lovely, nonetheless. Preston, our greeter, was there to show us the place and give us our keys. It took all of 5 minutes. Heh! I would guess our apartment was 300 sq ft. It comprised a tiny kitchen, small living room that fit a loveseat, which turned into my bed, a modest bedroom, and bathroom. The bathroom, I have to say was nice. It had a neat contraption - a towel warmer!! None of us used it, though, because we thought we would blow a fuse. In addition, there was orange toilet paper...and it was supposed to be "citrus" scented. It did have a hint of orange.
The four of us proceeded to take a quick walk down Rue de Levis. Four doors down or so was a patisserie! We had our first pastries (well me, Tita Lut, and Bob). I had an amandine croissant. Leroy and Tita Lut had chocolatines (pain au chocolat, or chocolate croissants), and Bob a pear tart (“This is unbelievable”). I was immediately in heaven and I hadn't even devoured my crusty, flaky goodness croissant.
We stopped at SHOPI for some other random odds and ends - wine (there was definitely cheap wine happening there - two-buck-chuck cheap), more tp, plastic cups, water, Perrier for Tita Lut. We also stopped at our fromagerie! Gruyere and crackers!!
Rue de Levis is definitely a perfect playground for us. It has all that we need right outside our door. Vegetable/fruit stands, boucheries, patisseries, restaurants, clothing stores, wine shops...SHOE stores.
I felt lucky to be somewhere not only convenient but also central.
After an hour (around 10 AM) we walked back up to our apartment and devoured our pastries. Leroy suggested you heat chocolatines - so that the chocolate would be gooey. I didn’t bother as mine was almond. I just scarfed it down as it was.
He left soon after to meet Melissa at the airport. I pondered for two seconds whether I should accompany him...NAH! I needed a nap! And that we did, until 4 PM!!!! I felt refreshed and revived, though.
Strolling through Parc Monceau Melissa and Leroy showed up and we all took a short stroll through the area. We ended up at Parc Monceau. It was reminiscent of Golden Gate park - smaller. It had lush gardens, a koi pond, people just chilling or exercising, children, etc. Playing. This excursion ignited our photo taking, of course. Tita Lut found pretty purple flowers to take pictures of and with. There was a man near us doing the same who apparently had a volunteer/stranger ask him to take her picture. He was amused enough to agree. I thought she was asking to be peddled by creepy, molestor type photographers. It was funny, I know. I just thought she needed a friend or something.
A little after 7 pm, Leroy and Melissa headed off to Hubert's, Leroy's French brother, for dinner. Tita Lut, Bob, and I continued our very short search for dinner. We decided on a random Indian restaurant. The garçon was very friendly and accommodating to us non-French speakers. We ordered butter chicken, lamb curry, salmon curry (I think it was curry), rice, and garlic naan - they were not messing around with the garlic, btw! Oh and a lovely bottle of Sancerre - Tita Lut even drank an inch worth!! This also led to a Sancerre craze - it will be noted later what I mean.
This leads to the end of our first day in Paris. After dinner, we headed home and unwound some more. Bob and I tasted the bottle of red he bought at SHOPI. It was NOT C'EST BONNE! It tasted like a bottle that had sat under heat for too long or remained opened. Ah well. There will be many more days for other wines for us to taste.
Good night. Bonne nuit! Until our first real day of adventure begins.
Meli Finally Makes It Let me continue here since our paths diverged. At about 7pm, we left Bett, mom, and Bob at a corner near Boulevard Malesherbes and went back to Maman’s to change for dinner. Leroy studied abroad while in college and his homestay mother was Maman, and he got to know her three children (Hubert, Domitille, and Quitterie) quite well. He has visited his French family since those days, but this is the first time I will meet them. Bett and my mom rented an apartment near theirs for this Paris vacation, and Leroy and I will be staying at Maman’s. Her children are grown and no longer live there, but there are many students or former students boarding there.
Before getting to Paris, I was sleeping on airport seats at Madrid’s Barajas airport and trying my best to get through some French lessons. I must admit that French came in second to Barack Obama’s “Dreams from My Father,” which I picked up at the Borders in Orlando airport. I had gotten the book for Bettina a couple of months ago, but decided I wanted to read it too. I finished it before getting to Paris, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. I hadn’t known he had spent so many years as a community organizer in Chicago. During my MPH year at Berkeley, I took a community organizing course and loved it. I just may jump the Hillary ship for the Obama camp, but in all honesty, I’d love it if they were on the same ticket. I think the U.S. needs a little history-making, in a positive way.
Back to Madrid. Although empty at 4am, Barajas was downright busy by 7am, so I got up and had breakfast and looked about the shops. I must say that nostalgia overtook me like a freight train. Ten years ago, as a college junior, I fell in love with Spain and it’s appreciation for life and “the now.” I let go of the rat race and materialism that tends to pervade my American life. At Barajas airport, looking at the legs of jamón serrano, the tetas of Galician cheese, and the red table wine, I just couldn’t help missing those carefree days. My life in Madrid was beyond blessed… it was life changing. I suppose my love for Madrid equals Leroy’s love for Paris, although Madrid might be a little harder to get to know. It hides its beauty behind austere, grey edifices. But it is down to earth, and it is mine. Even the Castillan accent of the españoles made my eyes water. Oh, how sentimental! But it was great - something to look forward to. A note to Edgar and Eric who flaked on a 10-year reunion in Madrid - no sabéis lo que estáis haciendo… en el pasado, nos comimos España y qué lástima que no estaráis aquí para hacerlo de nuevo.
My Iberia flight was awesome. I was bumped to business class and given a lovely breakfast of omelette (not overcooked!) and three different meats, including jamón serrano. Just perfect, down to the miniature bottle of olive oil. At baggage claim, I could see Leroy through the glass, and then I knew that I had finally arrived in his beloved Paris. We took the RER from Charles de Gaulle airport into the city, and after a couple of transfers, I met the city at the Villiers metro near his maman’s Hausmannian apartment. I met Maman and her lovely 12-year-old dog Lotus (pronounced “loh-TOOS”), and then Quitterie (pronounced “Kee-TREE”) came over for lunch (quiche lorraine and quiche with leeks, delicious!). Quitterie is very fashionable and I enjoyed our conversation about shoes. I am now decided that, like Quitterie, perhaps my feet are only meant to fit Italian shoes, and that paying the beaucoup bucks might be worth saving the pain. I am so happy to be in France… even if I don’t speak French. I somehow manage to understand some of what everyone is saying. At the very least, in the shops, a little bonjour and merci with a smile will take you a long way.
Dinner at Hubert’s We left Maman’s at 7:30pm and got on the metro for our trip across town to Cité Universitaire, where Hubert lives. By the way, that’s pronounced something like “Ewe-BEHR”. Dinner was to be at 8pm, but we arrived “French time” at 8:30pm and Hubert followed us five minutes later. His girlfriend Élodie had let us in, and then began all the catching up while Hubert made us a lovely Asian beef salad (fusion style) for dinner. They both like to travel and they had pictures up of their destinations - Chichenitza and Palenque in México, Thailand, China, Egypt, and more. In fact, they are headed to Lebanon in four days. I was so happy to meet Hubert having missed out on the opportunity when he was studying for a semester in San Francisco in 2003. Élodie is also beautiful, nice, and friendly, and even though she says her English isn’t so good, it’s very good (especially compared to my French). I am thankful for their multilingual abilities, and I’m particularly fond of Hubert’s British English - like when he tells stories and he says that some guy “fancied” a girl. I wish I could pull off using fancy as a verb, but I don’t think I can.
After many stories, our watches informed us that it was 1am on a weekday, and Hubert and Élodie had work the next morning (not everyone is on the 35-hour workweek, you know). We called a cab, which never came (or that came and decided they didn’t like us). By then, we were downstairs and quite reluctant to walk the six flights up to Hubert’s apartment to call another cab, so we ventured into the dark and empty streets and somehow found a cab willing to take us home (and give Leroy a recommendation on where to get his hair cut). My first day in Paris was action-filled - I was quickly surrounded by family and friends, even new ones, and my lonely 40-hour journey was but a memory.
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bett
non-member comment
i feel like a celebrity!!!
am i superstar?