Yesterday was my first "real" day in Paris as I was actually awake and conscious of my surroundings. I did what everyone actually tells you to do to combat jet lag which is get acclimated to local time immediately after arriving. I basically stayed up for 24 hours and fell asleep as soon as it started getting dark here. It actually works if you can do it. So...my adventures begin.
I decided that day one would be spent exploring my immediate surroundings. Energized by Via and a lot of sleep I thought I'd find Marche des Enfents Rouge which is a the oldest covered open air market in Paris. I took out my handy walking tour card and carefully mapped my route. I walked and walked until suddenly in front of me was the Hotel de Ville. Wait a minute....that's not on this walking tour. That's on walking tour card #7! I obviously took a wrong turn but decided to stay and enjoy the sites. Paris does not wake up until around 10am. The streets and businesses are silent at 8 which is the time most of us working folk (or formerly working folk) start our days. I did a lot of window shopping and realized that my neighborhood is in some kind of wholesale accessories vortex. There are a zillion shops that carry all the same bad jewelry and fake pashmina. They all say wholesale but are open to the public - must mean something different here....
I wandered back to where I began my journey and decided to go the opposite direction that my instinct was telling me to go. Lo and behold, I found the market. And it was sad. I may have been too early but there were only a few stalls open and there were no shoppers but me and another early-bird special couple. The market had a flair for mediterranean and I would have been really lucky if I was in the mood for shwarma or couscous. However, I did find a gem of a shop behind the stalls. There was a beautiful olive oil shop with an equally beautiful young shop keeper. After speaking to her in my broken French she let me off the hook and started speaking to me in perfect English. I make it a point to always start by speaking French and thankfully, usually by the end of the conversation we are speaking English. Back to the olive oil....this shop was highly designed and nothing like its rustic surroundings. Each olive oil for sale had information about the olive grower as well as the qualities of the oil. I tasted a few oils and decided on one based solely on the fact that I could not taste any more oil. Mandarine was my selection which is an oil from Provence flavored with skins of mandarin orange. Yum. I also got a jar of picholine olive paste which I will whip into something good when Larisa arrives....maybe with a piece of red mullet from the fancy fish market across the street?
I also found a great jewelry shop nearby which was nothing like the wholesale shops I saw along the way. I of course purchased a couple items and experienced my first snotty French lady. Even after I said my "bonjour madame" and several "mercis" she was not interested in engaging with me. Whatever - first and only one so far. I also found a very fancy coffee shop and by coffee shop I mean that they only sell whole bean coffee and don't make drinks. I think I impressed the lady by asking specifically for an Indonesian coffee - she liked that I knew my regions. I walked away with about a 1/2 lb of Sumatra (it is in grams but I have no clue on how many equals what) ground to my specification (paper cone). The packaging was superb as is most of the packaging in these artisinal shops. Beautiful handwritten tags on self sealing bags - love these touches. I then wandered into a rose store. Yup, this gorgeous shop was all about roses and only roses. I purchased a rose candle for my apt and after the shop lady wrapped and placed it in my bag, she cut a fresh rose and added that in too just for flair. Along the way I ran across a shop that sold chicken and all things poultry. I knew it must be good b/c there were folks waiting in line to get lunch emporter (to go). It had one of those fabulous rotisseries out front with chickens roasting round and round. However, the French have gone several steps beyond our average grocery store rotisserie chicken. They place a tray of whole peeled young potatoes on the bottom of the rotisserie that catches the juices of the roasting birds as they twirl above. Yes, they are basically roasted in chicken fat and yes, they are freakin delicious little salty orbs of goodness.
I made it back to the apartment by wandering through the tiny side streets and taking note of all the places I want to find again when Larisa arrives. I've already forgotten all of them. I used to remember everything and every detail of everything. I have noticed lately that my memory is not what it used to be. Oh well, I dropped my treats off at the apt and after a short rest and lunch of the chicken lovingly described above, I decided to find Mariage Freres. This is a famous and fancy tea shop that Jen and I tried to visit last time we were here. We wandered until we found it and right as we got there they stopped service. I vowed I would go back and alas I did. It took me a long time to find it as it's on a tiny side street. I wandered for a good hour or so and ended up at the Hotel de Ville....again.... As I was reviewing my map trying to figure out how I ended up back here, my cell phone rang with Jen's ring tone! I was so excited to hear her voice and even more excited to learn she called me using Skype! It felt like she was right next door and not a zillion miles away - very comforting. She of course wanted to go into research mode for me to help me find my way around better and true to form, by the end of the night here she had already sent me links to Paris apps etc. She's a gem. OK, back to my day - long story short I FINALLY found the tea shop and it was open for service this time. The shop has a retail space up front where they sell fresh scooped tea leaves from beautiful giant metal tea bins. There must be a thousand varieties stacked floor to ceiling with only one guy carefully scooping and weighing tea for shoppers. They also sell already tinned teas in gorgeous packaging (of course). No tea bags here, you wouldn't even dare to ask for them. Whole leaf only of course. There is a small dining room in back where they serve these teas + tea like treats. The waiters all wear off-white linen suits and ties and all are very cute and very gay. The tea menu is a zillion pages with tiny type - every kind of team you can imagine except no tisanes (herbal teas). I didn't want caffeine so my choice was limited to red tea which is not my usual cup of tea (pun intended). I had the rouge avec vanille et agrumes which is African rooibos red with vanilla and orange. It was served in a big porcelin tea pot covered with a metal jacket to keep the heat. It was delicious and worth the 9 EU just for the experience. I know that spending over $10 for a pot of tea is preposterous but I loved it. After that experience I didn't need to buy any tea although I was very tempted to get a couple tea tins...
I was getting geared up for a long walk home and started wandering in the general direction of my apt. Lo and behold after turning a corner I recognized the street ahead was Rue Rambateau (my street). This place is basically around the corner from my apartment and I had gone in a big giant maze of a circle trying to find it. Now I know, I can get there by foot in under 5 min. Whatever
I decided to go out to dinner and tried the sushi joint down the street. I just didn't feel like eating a lot of meat and thought it was a good option. Well, it was and although I was very worried about eating sushi in France it was actually pretty good and the miso soup made me feel at home. Folks here don't really eat dinner until 8:00 or so - which I love. I ended the day with a long soak in the unusually large bathtub for this tiny apt. Read my depressing book (more will come on that later) and fell asleep by midnight. Ahh....the French life feels good.
Still haven't figured out how to post pix. I have them all on my iPhone and don't know how to upload them onto my computer. Of course Jen is researching this for me and I'm sure will have an answer shortly. So...pix of these adventures will eventually follow.
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