The second half of my Parisian adventure has begun. Larisa arrived yesterday morning! After a long flight she arrived at the apartment chirpy and happy - it was so nice to see my old friend. Unfortunately her cabbie scammed her by charging too much for the ride - I told her to think of it as her initiation to the city.
But...before she got here - I had a couple of final solo adventures. Adventures like cleaning the apartment top to bottom and having a full on cooking day at home. I went back to the Grand Epicerie to do my "weekend shopping" and was an old pro at getting my shopping cart AND getting all my produce weighed and priced before checking out. I also discovered that there is no non-fat milk in Paris - or at least at the shops I had been to. Oh well, we would have whole milk while here. It was actually nice doing domestic chores and readying the home for someone. I cooked the French Onion Soup I learned about in class as well as prepped a lot of veg thinking we would try eat healthy while at home because I know what eating in restaurants here is like (meat, cheese, meat, cheese, fries....).
After settling in to her room and then making me show her every single purchase I have made so far, we headed out to see the city. As you know from previous posts, Sundays are very quiet around here. We walked down to Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast and wandered around the neighborhood for a bit. And then it started raining. A lot. We tucked into another cafe on Ile St. Louis with a view of the river. This is where Reese had her first taste of wine in Paris (Sancerre) and we watched the rain pour and pour and pour. We made it back to the apt and arrived soaked and cold. Reese was starting to fade soon after and gave in to a nap. I took the time to finally finish my book - and as we all know it has a happy ending as all the hostages are rescued. I then went online to see some of the news around Ingrid's release and was interested to see some of the other prisoners accounts of what happened. They really didn't like her...
After Reese's nappy we decided to head out again and have a drink and find a dinner spot. I took her to the Beaubourg area near the Centre Pompidou as it's usually hopping up there even on a Sunday. We found a very casual cafe up the street and had a lovely dinner with a very nice waiter. We met a very cute boy who is now living in Toronto but has an apt in Paris. He is half Tunisian and half Maltese (which made us laugh afterwards). Do the people from Malta really call themselves Maltese like the dog? He said that when he comes to Paris he always comes to this particular cafe and sits in the same table because that is where he met his partner many years ago. How romantic is that? Yes, he was gay as are most of the cute boys in this neighborhood.
I am very excited for Larisa to see the city when it is open and alive On her first real day we will venture to the Marche aux Puces de St. Ouen flea market which is the largest open air flea market in the world! This in the 18th arrondissement near Montmartre - a new area for me. I suspect many photos and hopefully treasures will follow.
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