They had been renting an apartment as part of their European vacation this summer, and already spent a week and a half or so in Paris by the time I arrived. This meant they had all of the neighborhood highlights scoped out--and by neighborhood highlights, I of course mean a patisserie/boulangerie, the best crepe location, and the closest places to hit up for shopping and open air markets. Ehhhh, life is rough!
I arrived on Friday morning after moving around some obligations (thanks to all of my very understanding employers/students) and an extremely easy train trip. It's still a little funny to me that I can get to Paris in less time than I can get to Berlin. My handy dandy $.99 iphone app helped me sort out exactly which subway line to take to get to the apartment, and I met up with my cousins and aunt. We spent some time catching up at the apartment, and then headed out to meet their step cousin, Juliette, for tea. She grew up and studies in Paris, and showed us a lovely promenade hidden above the street before taking us to a Moroccan cafe for tea and delicious treats (hello baklava). My uncle met up with us there, and then we parted with Juliette to head off, do a little bit of shopping, and find a delicious restaurant for dinner.
We succeeded when we found a lovely small place called L'Atlantide, where we ordered a variety of tasty French fare. We sampled fish, onion soup, beef, lamb, chicken, escargot, creme brulee, apple tart, chocolate mousse, some lovely wine, and kir, courtesy of the owner! I tried escargot for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised to find that they essentially taste like mussels saturated in garlic butter. Who would have thought! I'd always wanted to give them a try, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I will definitely be having them again!
Waiting for our first of three courses to arrive. Notice Emily and I are already strategically placed to share our desserts. We have our priorities straight!
On Saturday morning, my Uncle Jamie and I headed out to an open-air market for some dinner ingredients. It was really nice--not too large, but providing an ample array of fresh, beautiful produce. We hemmed and hawed and finally settled on a large bag of fresh mussels, sea bass, trout, potatoes, fennel, and an unbelievable softy, parmesan-style cheese. The man at the stall handed us a sample and we were sold! We also got to try some algae plants as a snack; the guy who sold us are mussels encouraged us to try them as he was bagging them up, and we both gave them a go. They were a bit twiggy-looking with a texture similar to green beans and a deliciously salty flavor. Nature's potato chips!
About 2/3 of the enormous fish selection--we had quite the difficult time making a decision
Perusing the cheese options. And we had to limit ourselves to one!
Juicy, juicy mangoes!
After a leisurely late breakfast and some coffee back at the apartment, we headed out to see the Parisian catacombs. The line was ridiculously long, and the nice people at the front advised us the wait had been about 90 minutes. We split into two groups, and the first of us headed for a little stroll to check out the neighborhood, and wound up with a delicious Greek sandwich, filled with some kind of meaty falafel, hummos, and tabouleh. We returned, swapped out our groups, and were in the catacombs about 30 minutes later--piece of cake! I had no idea these existed, but the catacombs run all over subterranean Paris like a maze of access tunnels. We toured through the part that is open to the public (though people--cataphiles--spend time in the parts that aren't necessarily set up for tourism, or access at all), which consisted of an introduction to the history of the underground tunnels, as well as a geological explanation of the formation of the area and where exactly we were going to be within the earth. Overcoming a little bit of claustrophobia, we pushed bravely on to the catacombs themselves, including the area that houses the bones of thousands of bodies removed from deconsecrated cemeteries and some casualties of the revolution. Slightly creepy; very cool. I kept being reminded of my visit to Newgrange in Ireland; I was all hunky dory inside the neolithic passage tomb until someone asked about how much earth and rock was on top of us (the roof is corbeled, meaning its held together by the pressure of all of the continuously overlapping stones that make it up, coming to a point like the top of a bee hive, and then covered in a mound of dirt). When our tour guide happily produced the figure, I suddenly had a horrific image of the whole thing coming down on top of me and experienced a totally unexpected wave of dizziness. I knew I didn't like extremely tight spaces, but I didn't know the fear extended beyond that. At any rate, a few deep breaths and a reminder that the Parisian catacombs hadn't experienced cave-ins in decades (hah) was a fairly solid remedy.
The bones are artfully displayed on the surface, but are apparently a jumble behind the nice facade.
After finishing up at the Catacombs, we headed over to the Musee Marmont Monet to get a dose of impressionism without the hectic, afternoon crowds at the Musee d'Orsay. I'd never heard of this museum before, but was really glad my aunt and uncle had planned to go. We saw some beautiful pieces of Monet's work, including a selection from the time at the end of his career when he was losing his eyesight; the canvases were much sparser, with a lot of blank space between his brushstrokes, but the color and movement of his lines were still stunning. My uncle pointed this out so we could keep an eye out for it, and it was a pretty moving thing to behold. We also saw an exhibit on Berthe Morisot, Impressionism's most famous and influential female painter (and up there with the greats, male or female, in general). I had never heard of her before, and really enjoyed seeing her absolutely stunning work, especially all of the paintings she did with her daughter and niece as the subjects engaged in varying activities.
That night, most of us sat around exhausted while my Uncle Jamie made us an unbelievable meal with the produce we'd picked out at the market. We started with delicious bread and cheese, then moved on to some of the best mussels I have ever eaten (don't dare go accusing me of hyperbole, I am very much serious), and finished off with our fresh fish, heads and all (to the delight of some, and disdain of others). Emily and I engaged each other in a friendly game of cribbage, and there was also some fairly competitive Bananagrams action. Who won? Who's to say, it's all just good old family fun ;)
In the park near the museum, enjoying some lower key, Parisian family life
Still wondering if Ash and Whit were hugging, or secretly trying to strangle each other!
With some gift shop purchases after the museum
Using our mussel pincers to eat our mussels. This is my favorite new skill!
Emily cooties!
Proving that not all fish faces are bad
Emily takes our cribbage playing very seriously! She's also whooping my butt, here.
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| Apartments off Place des Vosges |
We woke to a gray, rainy day on Sunday, and decided to start things off with our typical sampling of pastries and some lazy time. There may or may not have been more Bananagrams. Like college visits, all the times I beat my uncle are starting to run together. (Whoops, did I just say that?). After a while we headed out for some crepes, a little retail therapy, and a visit to Place des Vosges, one of the oldest squares in Paris that just happens to house the home of Victor Hugo. I had a thing for Les Miserables when I was a wee one (and still consider it an absolutely fabulous musical, just not an obsession), so this was very cool indeed. We checked out a few art galleries and shops, perused the recreated apartment, and then decided our best option might be a movie. With somewhat of a dearth of English options, we settled on Moonrise Kingdom. I think I was the only one who had heard anything about it, but everything I'd heard said it was excellent. We grabbed a croque monsieur with frites to share and a coffee while we waited for the movie to begin next door, and then gave it our professional, critical perusal. Verdict: Great. Very funny, very offbeat. Even the cousins agreed that, though it was weird, it was good and they enjoyed it. Two thumbs way up from the Steidl clan!
Here's the trailer
Given our tired legs, we headed back for a quiet evening in the apartment filled with falafel, silliness, and Bananagrams. Emily and I teamed up to rock the house, and then I taught her that I am allowed to tickle her, but she is not allowed to tickle me. I learned this lesson from my brother, so I had to pass it along. Maybe we can blame our older cousin, Nick, for this one, too?
Enjoying my Nutella-Banana crepe. Does it get much better on a rainy day? This thing was so chock full of melty Nutella and bananas, I could hardly contain it inside the crepe. No complaints.
Emmy's feeling pretty good about hers, too!
All good Europeans know; never leave home without your umbrella!
At this point, we needed our coffee...
(why yes, Mom, that IS one of my new scarves!)
This girl will be a star on the professional cribbage circuit, mark my words
I threw together a small, reconstructed model of Stonehenge during a break in the Bananagrams mayhem...may have taken a little artistic liberty here, but hey, everything can be improved, right?
On Monday morning I had to head back to Tuebingen, but I didn't leave Paris without procuring some of the world's greatest cookies--my beloved macarons. I had my birthday coming up, plus the birthdays of my good friend, Sera, and my babysitting mom (and another good friend) Christine. I thought these would make suitable gifts, and I think everyone was pretty pleased. Plus, the best part is, you have an excuse to eat them all in a short span of time, since fresh is best, in my humble opinion. I leave you with my 'personal item' on the TGV home...yes you see three boxes of macarons.
I had an absolutely wonderful weekend, and it was such a treat to get to spend some family time with people I don't often get to see. I have vowed to remedy this, though, and may spend my first American spring break in four years doing something leisurely, and not in Florida. Yes, I am referring to drinking copious amounts of California wine and losing to Emily at cribbage. Also quite possibly Bananagrams. I'm gonna stay sharp, Emmy D, watch out!
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