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Published: October 1st 2015
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The Eiffel tower was way better than I thought it would be. The structure was amazing and we walked up to the second platform where the view was incredible. We also stood on the glass floor and by we I mean Eric and I as Jackie was trying to not have a heart attack looking down. Then Eric made me lay on the glass floor for a photo op. He knows how I feel about germs and teases me because I don’t like touching the poles on the metro, and yet I had to comply with this one time request and opportunistic moment.
After taking in the view and appreciating the engineering minds behind the Eiffel Tower, it was time for lunch at a café in Les Halles. It was wonderful there. Lots of culture, food and fashion. The men dress better then a lot of the women. I noticed as well that people in France don’t walk around glued to their phones in one hand and coffee in the other. They are intentional and relational when they move around. If they stop for coffee, it is to connect. They stop and talk and enjoy. Apparently an hour for lunch
is standard in order to have time to actually converse with another human being.
After lunch, (and Eric and Jackie taking off on me to see what I’d do while they laughed at me), we took the metro to Sacre Coeur cathedral. It was a beautiful building, but personally I was disappointed at the commercialism in the church. You are not allowed to take pictures inside but there are about four gift shops you can purchase pictures and souvenirs from. The feeling was completely different there then in Notre Dame. There were many vendors all the way up the stairs and I could tell it was a very different part of Paris on a socially economic stance. The view however was spectacular and the architecture was still amazing. It was a newer structure so to speak- Early 1900’s. After a quick walk about the inside of the Church, we went down a side street so we didn’t have to pass through the vendors again and saw a really traditional style Paris. Food vendors, lots of café’s, open markets and of course a man playing the accordion in French attire. After some time exploring down cobblestone streets, we headed back
to the Metro. We passed some street people sleeping on mattresses at the bottom of the stairs to one of the main streets. There were people asking for money and a lot more garbage in this part of Paris. Social issues certainly do not know borders.
The drive back to Cernay La Ville took a long time with the traffic…The traffic….it’s a culture on its own. Scooters and motorbikes rule the Paris streets. It was stunning to watch as they did everything illegal in Canada. They weave in and out of traffic, down the middle of the lanes separating the traffic, cutting in front of…well…everyone. There are often only centimeters separating the bikes from cars. There was even a peddle bike that passed us this way and even cut in front of buses. It looked kinda fun to the dare devil in me actually and if I lived here I would consider getting a scooter/bike. It is the only way to get through the confusing congested streets. Although I did appreciate Eric's detour through the Louvre to get around traffic lol! Now I can say I've been there.
After almost two hours of this, we headed straight to
dinner at Le Petit Chalet in Dampierre and met another member of Jackie’s family, Ab. We all sat and shared about our days over cocktails, and then…they convinced me to try….steak –still mooing-on-my-plate- Tartare. Now when I say still mooing, what I am meaning is raw ground beef and to my surprise, raw egg yolk on top of the raw ground beef. It comes with potato circles, fry style and salad. I tried not to react when I saw what was the raw ingredients for the makings of North American meatloaf on my plate. Luckily Sylvie was gracious and helped me understand what to do with this pile of meat - did I mention it was raw. I followed Sylvie’s lead and instruction and added salt, capers, onion, pickles, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and Dijon mustard. It is apparently a French cultural dish that is well loved by many, and all six of us ordered it. I was the only one to stare at it for a while. I mixed it up really well as directed, thinking ‘Oh My God this is when I’m supposed to bake it at 375* for 35 min’s isn’t’ it?? I had to get
out of my head, and understand that even though I was taught from a child to never eat raw meat, I would live and not be sick, right? I tried to not anticipate what the textures would be like as I put a small amount on my fork. I looked around the table and saw everyone eating away and looking like they were enjoying it. I put it in my mouth, without touching my lips, as all eyes were upon me. And…not so bad! It had good flavour, it was just the texture I was struggling with, and the thoughts in my head about what I was doing. It was a great experience to challenge preconceived ideas and taught beliefs about what is good and what is bad. I broke through the battle in my mind and ate most of it. I was greeted with congratulations and praise, which of course I love, and then passed the rest to the family to finish. After this experience it was back to the house for drinks and looking at old pictures. Another lovely evening.
Tomorrow, we are off to Brussels.
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