Well actually I can probably expand a bit more than that. Alex wrote up a short synopsis of his visit, and then I will add on.
After Alex slept, we went to dinner at a great Lebanese restaurant around the corner from me, tabouleh, lamb, pita, eggplant dip, hummus, yum! We each had our own ensemble, and then Alex got a Heiny. Since the Louvre is open late on Friday nights (till 10) and free for people under 26, we attempted to get there in time, but it did not happen... So we walked around a bit and headed home. My older host brother, Romain, had some friends over and he invited Alex and I to hang out with them. After awhile the festivities moved to one of their friend's apartments nearby. I was impressed how well my bro was holding up, considering the jet lag. But maybe a couple of beers and the ecstasy of Paris does the trick. On Saturday we got up late and went to the Eiffel Tower. Alex got a ginormous Barbe à Papa (cotton candy) and we wandered around. Even though Alex has been to Paris 4 times, there were still some key places we needed to get to. Next stop: Montmartre. We walked up the hill and around the neighborhood. Neither of us had been inside Sacre Coeur so we filed in there. That was the first monument/church that I have been to (that I can think of) where you were not allowed to take pictures inside, even with the flash off. It was beautiful. After we grabbed a bit of dinner, we headed back to Boulogne because we were going to go out with Thomas that night. He picked us up at 11 or something and we headed to St. Germain des Prés. It is definitely a lively are on a Saturday night, and we bounced around a couple of cafés until almost closing time (we stayed until 1 and bars have to close at 1:30). Then Thomas drove us back, but we took a remarkable little detour. He HAD to show us the Bois de Boulogne. I don't know if you know about the Bois de Boulogne (bois=woods) , but it is notorious for its prostitutes. They are all male Brazilians in drag. What we didn't realize was the magnificence of the area. When you drive through, they are on either side of the road- strutting their stuff, wearing lots of pleather, colorful fishnets, 3 pounds of makeup (that's what happens when you have to cover up an adam's apple), and so on. There were plenty of shady men walking around, going for who knows what: pimps, druggies, guys wanting to get lucky with another guy...in fishnets. Ahhh Paris. By the way, although it is called the Bois de Boulogne and it is right next to my town, Boulogne Billancourt, Paris claims it as part of Paris. I guess la Pigalle (sex district) was not enough. But really, if you have an opportunity to go to Paris and can get someone to drive you there, check it out one night. Thomas my brother and I would turn and be like "Oh look another one." "Oh look at that one... oh oh oh she's going into the woods with him." It was like a safari, but looking at prostitutes.
Anyway... on a more serious note... Sunday Alex and I slept in again and then we headed to the Marais (which I actually just got back from again because I adore that area). He and I went to one of the famous Jewish restaurant's there called Chez Marianne. The falafel restaurants in that area compete as to who has "the best." Now, before Paris, Alex nor I had ever touched falafel, it just didn't look or sound so great. But it was supposed to be so good at Chez Marianne, so why not! Oh wow, YUM. After our Jewish stint in the Marais, Alex and I headed to another place he had never been to (and I adore), Musée d'Orsay. We wandered around and I could tell Alex was in awe. Afterwards, he told me it was his favorite museum that he has ever been too. It really is a special place. Alex headed back to stay with our family friends' the Zouaris (Thomas's family), and I went home to....study! Even though Alex was there and Chris was going to arrive Monday morning, I had two midterms coming up. My Art and Architecture one Monday morning and then my Translation class midterm on Tuesday morning at 9 (UGH). As a side note, I would like to add that I got an A on both of them.
Monday- Christopher arrived! I met him at the hotel we were going to stay in, in my town. Wow, my two worlds merged. Chris was in Paris, with me! I am so lucky to have him...he flew to France...to be with me. (Or so he says, could just be an excuse to see Paris.) Because it is almost easter the grocery stores, boulangeries, patisseries, and so on are overloaded with chocolate eggs and bunnies and chicks. Especially Kinder eggs. I don't think we have Kinder in the US, but it is a huge candy company in Europe that is everywhere. French can't live without their Nutella and Kinder... Anyway Kinder makes these eggs for easter that are bigger than their usual "kinder surprise" chocolate eggs. Each of them is hollow and has a toy inside. I got both Alex and Chris eggs- Alex got a Tom and Jerry spinning thing (which by the way Alex, is sitting on a shelf in my room), and Chris got a Transformer. Pretty sweet! After Chris met my host sister, Albane, he and I headed into Paris so I could get to IES for my test. He was in awe of the Paris metro, which I normally adore, but then there are those times when it just stops and you have to sit there forever or something. But we had spotless trips the entire time he was here. We got a bite to eat and sat in a park by IES and waited for Alex. Since I had class from 12:30 to 5:30 I sent the two guys off to the Louvre to entertain themselves. Apparently they also hit up a bit of the Champs Elysées. I wasn't worried that they would get bored. After class I raced to find them. They had been relaxing at a local café and had some beers I guess while they waited. I felt good European vibes coming from them. (Chris discovered the wonder of Paris, that beer is often the same price if not cheaper than soda.)
Monday night we had big plans. I had bought us tickets to the Girl Talk concert! Girl Talk in Paris = amazing. It was at a bar/club called La Maroquinerie which is in the 20th so it took over an hour or so to get there. But definitely worth it. Even though his set was shorter than we expected, it was great to just dance non stop. Since I know most of the mash-ups on the CDs I really got into it. Of course he did a lot of stuff, not on the CDs, and switched things up. But thats what he's all about. The only thing was...there were ONLY Americans at this concert. When I say only, I mean only. It was kind of eerie and weird. I mean, I know Girl Talk is not really known in France, but having a whole bunch of other study abroad Americans around me when I was in a Parisian club...was just weird. But I had a lot of friends there (besides Alex and Chris) from IES and some friends of Alex and mine from our Canadian Summer French Immersion program that we did in high school. We cabbed it home since the metro was closed and all went to sleep right away. Somehow Chris and Alex did extremely well with the whole jetlag thing. I woke up (my ears were still ringing) bright and early on Tuesday (7 AM) to get ready for my lovely Translation test. I studied a little bit more when I got back to my house from the hotel, and drank a lot of coffee. I guess that did the trick! I missed my other class at IES so I could be with Alex and Chris. However I did have to go to my Medieval History class at l'Institut Catholique at 3:30. But it was great because I took Alex and Chris to the St. Michel area so we could see Notre Dame. I knew it meant a lot to Chris, but I also think it is important for everyone to see the magnificent gothic cathedral. Since I am taking that Art and Architecture class i realize now how much I know about that stuff, and I could tell them a lot of stuff that I had learned about the structure and statues.
Thomas is in law school down the street from l'Institut Catholique de Paris (we call it le Catho or ICP), so he met up with us and took them to a café and walked around St. Germain des Prés/the Luxembourg gardens while they waited. And I learned about serfs and seigneurs... lovely. Chenault met up with us after I had my class and we all went to another café for a drink (most cafés/bars have "Happy Hour" or "After Work Specials" from 5 to 8 or 6 to 8 depending on the place). Alex went home with Thomas after that and Chenault, Chris, and I took a wonderful walk through St. Germain through the latin Quarter, along the Seine... it was wonderful, and Chris's first glimpse of Paris at night. When Chenault went home for dinner, I took Chris to the one and only... Tour Eiffel! I was not going to let him miss that sparking phallic monument. It was a bit cold out, but it was so beautiful. Chris tried galettes (the non-sweet kind of crêpe) for dinner and we headed back to the hotel.
Wednesday I played hooky all day, but that's ok. It's only so often I have my boyfriend, and brother, with me in Paris. Chris and I lazily go up and got ready. I took him to the Lebanese place by me and he tried lamb, kafta (kind of like a really amazing lamb meatball), blé... I was really happy, and proud. Then we went to the Marais so I could show him the beautiful little area, vintage stores, and falafel. I made him try falafel, which he willingly did- impressive. This time we went to L'As de Falafel (known as "the best") and I must say, I think it has the best falafel from the numerous places I have tried. He loved it! Once again I was really happy, it is a big deal that he tried that stuff, and without any hesitations. After a bit more browsing the Marais, we went to Montmartre (I made sure he saw as much as possible). Alex met us there and we all climbed the butte to Sacre Coeur. Chris was also in awe of the beauty of the old basilica. We went to artists corner, so the guys could see an artsy, bohemian side of Paris (it is really touristy now...but there is not much to do about that but push and shove through the crowds of American and Italian high school students. Artists corner is a square where a whole bunch of artists sit and paint and display their artwork for people to buy. There is some really great stuff there, but we just looked. Alex had to go leave after that and it was hard for me to say goodbye to him so soon. What hadn't Chris seen yet... Arc de Triomphe! So off we went to the Champs, to take pictures and see the looming monument. Thank you Napoleon. I also wanted to take Chris to the amazing pastry shop, Ladurée to get macarons (see my previous entry about my love for it.) We got four to share, and like the first time I had them, he could not shut up as to how amazing they were. We shared a lemon one initially (later we shared a 4-berry macaron, he had a chocolate one, and I had a rose flavored one- it was great.) We walked around the Champs Elysées for awhile until dusk and then Chris and I went off to Ile St. Louis to find a cute very traditional French restaurant for our last dinner together. Ile St. Louis is adorable, it is one of the oldest parts of Paris, along with the Marais, and has one street. (It is the little island next to the big one, Ile de la Cité, where Notre Dame is located.) Some of the doors were open to the courtyards of the buildings so we had a special opportunity to see a few of the secluded "oases" if you will. Each courtyard is so beautiful. Both of us imagined how amazing it would be to live in such a building. Maybe someday..... We found a cute place and had probably some of the most quintissential French cuisine possible: Beef Bourgignon and Coq au Vin. It was wonderful. However, Chris made it very clear, that he loved the Beef but he told me to tell my mom that hers is better. Which it is. (He tried it for the first time when my mom made it for him). Anyway we had our last macarons from Ladurée and it was ecstasy all over again. That night we went back to the hotel, and pretty much had to say goodbye that night because I had class at 9 that I could not miss, and he had to leave to catch his flight at 10:30. Chris fell in love with Paris. I knew he meant it when he said that it was his favorite city (which is another big thing for him to say/do). He is also hoping to start taking French next year! This city will do that to you...
All in all... an amazing time. I loved having them here, showing them MY city, MY favorite things to do, all that there is to do, and just its beauty in general. It is such a wonderful feeling seeing them appreciate it just as much as I do. Well as for my Roma adventure with Chloé, I am going to have to keep you waiting... that will come in the next post. So check back REALLY soon. Especially because as of today, I am on Spring Break! Woohoo (no Cancun for me thanks.) Just to give a short summary of my plans: my parents are coming in Sunday morning, then we leave for Barcelona at noon on Monday, get back from Spain Wednesday evening and spend the rest of the week in Paris. I am so excited. I miss them so much, and once again, I can't wait to show them my city.
À bientôt!
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