Paris

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On Wednesday we'd decided to go on the free New Paris Tour . I'd gone on the one in Berlin and it was great - a free 3.5 hour walking tour, taking in all the major sites. You tip what you can or what you like at the end. (I do kind of feel bad that I didn't tip the Berlin guy, because he was great - but I only had €5 left, and I needed to get to the airport!). The tour left at 11am and 1pm, and we'd decided to meet in time for the 11am tour, provided it wasn't too cold. At 10am James texted me, to let me know that it was -11 degrees C out. So that wasn't going to happen. Instead I met him at the friend's flat he was staying at, and we drank coffee whilst waiting for the weather to warm up a bit. We left in time for the 1pm tour, although it was still pretty cold (below freezing, for sure). But we were brave!

The tour started out in front of the St. Michael in the Latin Quarter. Our tour guide was a lovely young lady, whose name totally escapes me. She'd move to Paris (from Mexico, I believe) a year or so ago, and she obviously loved the city and knew a lot about it. The tour took in all the major sites, without being too physically demanding. Well, except for two things - one, it was insanely cold, and got worse as the afternoon wore on. There was ice everywhere, and many parts of the walk were quite slippery. Fountains were frozen solid, and snow was frozen on the ground. I haven't experienced a real winter like that in a long time - it's pretty mild in Exeter - and I really wasn't used to the cold. Secondly, I had worn my best pair of boots, which have a pretty decent sized heel on them. They're usually quite comfortable - but I'd underestimated the amount of walking I'd be doing. By the middle of the tour, my feet were killing me. But I soldiered on.

The tour ended on the Champs-Élysées, near the Arc de Triomphe. Normally I would have walked down more and explored, but by this time is was nearly dark, my feet were throbbing, and we were both frozen solid. So we headed to the nearest wine bar we could fine - a very cute little old-school type place, which reminded me of the type of place the Revolution was planned out in in A Tale of Two Cities. Dirty walls, disinterested middle-aged woman behind the bar, cat wandering around.

For dinner we went to Au Trou Normand (9 rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 11e). I'd found it in the Lonely Planet (of course), because I'd wanted traditional French food. The place was small-ish, but very nice - not too fancy, very relaxed. It was rather quiet, but we'd gone around 8 - rather early for dinner, for the French at least. For starters I had bone marrow - something I'd wanted to try every since Anthony Bourdain claimed it as his favourite meal. Delicious! For the main I had steak tartare. I'd had James order for me, in French - and the waiter asked him if I realised it was rare. Heh. I guess I looked the part of the naive American. It was kind of different than I'd expected - almost like a salad - but was quite good. And for desert, creme brulee.

So, not too bad for two days in Paris. I would like to go back when it's warmer - seems like it would be a great city in the spring/summer. James kept saying that it never, ever usually gets that cold - but until I'm there in the warm weather, I won't believe him. 😉

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Photos

James and I at the beginning of the tour.
It kind of kills me that there's a "Claire's" in the background...

Trees?
I honestly can't remember where this was...

A big French park.
I really should have paid more attention to the tour guide...