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Published: November 28th 2012
"I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food." W.C. Fields Ahh food & drink in Paris...It's a decadent treat dining out two times a day & best of all, I don't have to cook or do dishes! I don't usually eat this much or so often, so it's an adjustment but darn it, I'll take one for the team 😊
Sometimes I think I hear Miss Piggy's voice ringing in my ears saying, "Never ever eat more than you can lift"! I am also enjoying the rare treat of having a glass of Champagne. Real authentic Champagne!! I could picture my sister Cindy & I being here together, sipping the good stuff! She (my sister) loves the good stuff too!
After a bit of fruit in the morning, we saunter out for a "cafe creme". Marth scoffs at the little cups of coffee they serve for take-out. Nothing like the big whopping cups of coffee she has at home.
The "plat du jour" (lunch specials) run around $10 to $5. Food & wine is a heck of a lot more expensive here than what I'd pay for in Mexico (for $6 we get
nachos AND a margarita!) Oh well, I'll eat off Marth's plate; she gets a per diem!!
We have shared a few charcuterie platters with assorted meats, cheese, and pates. They sure love their pate here. I've never developed a taste for it because frankly it looks too much like cat food to me, & has the consistency of it too. (Not that I know what cat food tastes like...or do I???). I suppose it wasn't great timing to mention its resemblance to cat food just as Marth was about to take a bite. 😉
We've stayed away from "nouvelle cuisine" which roughly translates in English to, "I can't believe I paid $100 bucks for that and I'm still hungry". Hee hee.
We usually stop for lunch around 2 PM, and Marth will do some paperwork for her conference (which starts today) and I'll pull out my mini-laptop (secured in my backpack with a lock) and I check to see if the girls have emailed me. At 2 PM Paris time, it's 8 am Ottawa time, and that's when the girls usually email me before school. I giddily await their emails to pop up! Ava doesn't have email,
so she piggybacks onto Rory's email to say hi which usually entails a whole bunch of flashing hearts and xoxoxoxoxo. Rory never fails to send me an email because she's usually on the computer after getting ready, to write one of her many magical stories. Aww, I miss my gals. Oh, yes there's somebody else I miss. Hmm, oh yeah...you Al!!!
Speaking of backpacks under lock & key, we were walking by the Opera Garnier area, and this guy was bent over, then popped up to show us he had found a "ring" & before you know it he tried to grab my hand to put the ring on it. I immediately grabbed my hand back & was trying to see if someone was behind Marth trying to grab items out of her backpack. I'm savvy enough to know the 'scam's these people try to pull and Paris has some of THE best. There wasn't anyone trying to unzip Marth's backpack thankfully. (We did leave our passports/valuables in our safe & only carried the backpack to store our mitts/gloves/umbrellas & my laptop in.) This scam seems to be that he gives us a "gift", and we have to give
him money for this amazing ring. (That's fake with fake engraving of course). Listen buddy I was born at night, but it wasn't last night, so try to get up a wee bit earlier to outwit me you clown.
He seemed to be working alone, and was more of a homeless drifter than a "grifter" (word for someone who can swindle you while charmin' the pants off of you.) Quite often these pickpockets work in groups, are very strategic & can spot a tourist a mile off based on how you dress, and whether you're carrying a camera etc. According to the guy at the front desk, many scam artists are now teenage girls from Bosnia & once they target you, they follow you & wait to strike. It's like an episode out of National Geographic where a group of hyenas stalk their "prey" & then go in for the kill quickly. Sadly they hit many people who put their items down to pray at the churches. SOB's doing that in Church. Once they do strike, you don't even realize that your wallet/personal items are gone.
This guy followed us for a bit & we managed to ditch
him. That's after he yelled that he was "slave of poverty". If he kept trying to grab me he was going to be a "slave of the pavement"...face down. I may be small, but I'm quick. Take that buddy. But trust me, we're all good, nothing was taken. Hence the mini locks.
Tuesday we went back to the Montmartre area to do some sightseeing and some shopping. This time we we were on foot and not on the "hop on" bus tour. The bus tours were great...until "someone" (who will remain nameless) lost their (insert swear word here) bus ticket, & had to take apart their wallet, their backpack, go through their clothing, then run back to the restaurant where we had just dined, hoping it was there, (it wasn't) then to turn around & check the sidewalk only to realize that the ticket was gone. "Someone" else who will remain nameless again, was fuming on the sidewalk. All that time wasted, "someone" could have been having one of those glasses of Champagne that has been mentioned.
Luckily the one ticket we had, noted that 2 adults bought 2 tickets for a 2 day tour. (God that sounds
similar to Gilligan's Island and how many set ship for a 2 hour tour!!) I digress. Anyhow, I showed it to the bus driver when we boarded & explained about the lost ticket, and he allowed us on, although he gave us a reprimand of sorts. (Without a ticket, one cannot take any of the other included bus tours.) We managed to go back to the office & were able to get another ticket because of the number on my ticket matched their records. Let's just say after that kerfuffle, we won't be having that "issue" again if you know what I mean...
Back to Montmartre which has a character of its own which is home to the infamous Moulin Rouge known for its Cabaret and Cancan. So of course it's a colorful, lively (bourgeois) area of Paris with a totally different vibe, lots of cafes, live music and a lot of Irish pubs too! I LOVE it!!
We had lunch across from the Grand Rex; the biggest cinema in Paris. It's like being across from Times Square; lots of moving pictures & color changes etc. Very cool. Everywhere you look there is something interesting to see and
digest, being in the theatre/cinema district and all. In fact there's so much to see I need to clone myself. (Al just went screaming from the room; please not TWO OF HER!)
During our stroll about the Montmartre, I was thinking I'd like to buy a new pair of boots (in light of the fact I almost wore the heels off my boots our first day here 😊
So we went in and out of a few stores, and circled back to this one store where I had noticed a pair of boots to my liking. I was looking at all the boots, when I pointed to a pair in the window display. All of a sudden the owner flips out & yells, "DO NOT TOUCH THE DISPLAYS".
We were both so startled that Marth who was standing outside jumped inside the store as she thought that's what this lady was angry about. So I turned around & politely replied, "I did not touch the display, I was just pointing to the boot in the window to show my friend".
She then she quickly walks up to me & sticks her finger in my face, and
rudely says, "Well you might not have touched it, but other people do". HUH? I felt like I'd been hit with an idiot stick cause none of this added up.
So I tell her again, "I didn't touch the display, since the display is way out in the window sill, and the store is built-up three feet away". I'd have to have gorilla arms to reach that boot display.
So she starts yelling, "I know you (or your type) you have trouble in your eyes". I was thinking, "You don't know trouble yet lady" but that was my inner voice.
Anyhow I told her she'd lost a sale & the other shoppers were inching towards the door. The lady clearly had lost her marbles (if she had any to start with). Marth stood there in disbelief of course. When we left, Marth coined her famous phrase, "What a cheese-head". Or in this case, "fromage tete"! (For those of you that know that Walmart story & the "cheese-head" incident I had with Marth, I know you are laughing right now!) And for those of you that haven't heard the story, drop me a line and I'll tell you.
After we were done musing over that incident, we took a subway ride over to the shopping part of Champs-Elysees which is beyond-decorated for Christmas. It's so amazing to see, and we walked a long time, seeing all the high-end stores like Mercedes Benz (built in the mall!), Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, and many high-end gastronomic restaurants that are situated there. We went back to the Christmas market & bought some more items, and I have to say, it is just a fun place to be at night. We didn't get dining till near 9:30!! Wild gals aren't we???
BTW, at dinner Marth ordered a bottle of Pellegrino, & when she squeezed some lemon into her glass, well next thing you know, the seeds of the lemon start doing this Mexican jumping bean dance thing. One would rise, one would go down, and this was a repetitive cycle. So the staff were all inquisitive as to how Marth managed this trick... (she had no darn idea). It just was the fizz of the water, shape of the glass & some willing seeds. Now if she could just make sure bus tickets don't go disappearing, well that' would be
a trick I'd be willing to pay for ;😉 (Able to laugh about it now)
I don't think I sent a blog yesterday, so you guys just got double-blogged! Sorry!! And if you get this twice, it's because some people haven't been getting the blogs so sending it twice usually works.
PS Marth's conference, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation & Development) started this am at 9:30. She's a key note speaker at one of the world's largest think tanks. She's one of those head-honchos attending, and this has been all over the news here. Sheesh, I'm traveling with a dignitary!
So that means I'm on my own today. Huh. I wonder what trouble I can get into? Usually Ethel, my side-kick is with me.
Actually, I've got a hankering to walk back over to that boot store & run in, knock the whole boot display over, and then run for the hills. (Well in all honesty, she did say she saw 'trouble' in my eyes...)
WAHOOO! Wild in Paris.
(see pics below by arrowing alllll the way to the bottom) Oh and...PS hey, haven't heard from many of you sidekicks from home? Snow cause
your power to go out????
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Sandy Burwash
non-member comment
behave yourself over there!? lol
Hey there! My friend Tiffany at work lived in Paris & says some of the nicest areas to just walk around are Saint-Germain (6th arrondissement), good restaurants & little boutiques. Very français. The 1st Arrondissement is also nice. Nicest bridge - Pont Alexandre III. She also says if you have time, go to Pierre Hermé for some macaroons....best in Paris. Here are two of his most famous locations: 72 rue Bonaparte 75006 Paris 4 rue Cambon 75001 Paris She says if you cannot get to either store, there's a little stand in Galeries Lafayette (department store) in the food hall. Keep on enjoying all that is Paris! Hang on to Martha and her tickets! I hope her Key Note goes well! That boot story, OMG! I'm surprised you didn't deck her, but I guess an international incident is not wise!? Not a bad idea to knock it over and run tho'...'just sayin' (teehee) Hope we don't hear from Interpol lookin' for a character reference! lol Hugs! Sandy