Family Outings

Here are a couple of things that have happened in my absence from this blog:

Parents came to visit, attended a cooking class, went to Madrid, sister and her boyfriend visited, got my late night public drank on by the Pantheon, saw a dance performance, took a day trip to Giverny, sang karaoke, picnicked by the canal (3 times in 10 days...), met Jared Leto, went to London.

But to ensure that you're not overwhelmed (or, more likely, bored), I'll cover the visits from my family and I'll get to the rest of that junk later.

Wednesday, March 27:

After my third class of the day was finally over, I met my parents at their hotel and spent some quality time doing all that cheesy stuff families do when they reunite (hugging, smiling, crying, reminiscing, etc). Then things got even cheesier at the restaurant. But for real though, it was Italian. It was their first night in Paris, and we ate at an Italian restaurant. Whatever, it was delish, no regrets. Plus, they sure as hell got their fill of French food for the rest of their stay. Oh, before I continue, I should let you know that their visit was essentially a food tour. As was the visit from my sister. Hence my last post "This is why I'm fat hot". And I'm pretty sure that post covers 92% of what we did during both visits... So, since I'm cutting out some of the food, this shall be an abbrev'd post. Anyway, our first night together was a success. After dinner, we drank Monacos (those pink looking drinks) on an outside terrace, enjoyed the view of the sparkling Eiffel Tower, and when we were too stuffed to fit anything else in our stomachs, we called it a night.

Thursday:

Okay, I lied. I'm talking about food. But it's for a good reason, I promise. For lunch the next day, we discovered the most amazing creperie in all of Paris: La Creperie de Josselin. We didn't find out until after we ate there that it's actually recommended by my mom's guide book as one of the places you should eat in Paris. These crepes were so good that we may or may not have eaten there twice in one week. But like it was totally justified, look:

Alright, back on track with the non-food related stuff, I had to run to class for a hot minute, so my parents spent time roaming around the Luxembourg gardens, and settled in at a cafe where I met up with them after class. After spending about 3 hours there, we headed back to my area, walked along the canal, and found a peniche, (which is essentially a stationary boat where you can watch performances or grab a drink or whatever). The show was a group of really cool hip looking jazz performers playing the absolute worst jazz I've ever heard in my entire life. But since we're American, it's totally acceptable that we left during the intermission because we "didn't know there was a second half". It was an experience, nonetheless. We continued to walk along the canal until we stumbled upon a bar/restaurant called le Valmy where we spent the rest of the night until about 12:30. I was so proud of my parents, they were out past 10:00, aw.

Friday was my favorite day we spent together. We started out in the Jewish quarter where we drank hot chocolate, ate falafels, walked around, shopped, drank coffee. Then, as we got closer to Notre Dame, we found a family of Americans to take this lovely picture of us (a personal fave):

Then we crossed the bridge, watched a street performer, admired Notre Dame (from afar, even though I'm sure it would have been lovely swimming through the sea of tourists), and finally we ended up by St. Michel, where we once again stopped in somewhere to eat something because why the hell not. We had fondue. And it was to die for. We then went our separate ways so my parents could take a break at their hotel, and I went back to help Ariane prepare some food for a night of insanity--that being, the night my parents and my host family met. 

Not gonna lie, before they showed up I was all omg wtf why am i nervous, but then by the end I was all:

In fact, it went better than better. It was an absolutely fantastic night. Lucky for the Waldmans, we spoke in English, and everyone got along really really ridiculously well. There were nothing other than good times had. Except for food and wine, we had those too. It was truly incredible how quickly everything came together and what chemistry everyone had. Not only through words and story sharing, but through music as well. After the meal, my dad whipped out the guitar, Yves joined in on the harmonica, and Ariane played the piano alongside. It doesn't matter where you come from or what language you speak; music is universal. It was amazing to see that play into action.

Right okay so and then this happened and I don't know why but we're just gonna go with it...

And that about sums up the evening.

Saturday:

We got a later start the next day, because my parents didn't leave until after 3:00am. But no time was wasted. We went to the Marche aux Puces de Saint-Ouen which is a ginormous flea market at the northern tip of Paris. It was full of neat antique things! But when we got lured into a restaurant by its live music, which was cool and all until we got to the bathroom. I shall describe the scene for you: You enter into what I will call the sink room. It separates the two stalls on either side of it. If you wish to use the toilets and they are occupied, you must wait inside the sink room, which is about 7 square feet tops, and consists of a sink and a urinal. And if you are a woman waiting to use one of the two occupied toilets, and a man walks in, expect that he's gonna go ahead and use that urinal 2 feet away from you. Needless to say, it was a very uncomfortable bathroom experience.

Finally, after my mom and I finished dying of laughter due to the awkward bathroom experience, the three of us made our way over to Montmartre. We walked through the small cobblestone roads watching street performers, and enjoying the sun. We spent the rest of the evening there, hopping from restaurant to restaurant. First we got coffee at the infamously touristy Place de Tertres, then we got Irish coffee at Cafe Deux Moulins, then we finally decided to stay put at our final restaurant where we had drinks and dinner and a damn good time.

Sunday, we brunched at the famous Angelina's, followed by a visit to Musee d'Orsay, which is my absolute favorite museum. The Impressionist exhibition is stunning, and for all three of us, very moving. Degas, Renoir, Monet, Manet... I honestly could spend hours in that museum. But alas, we finished with a lunch just upstairs in the charming Cafe Campana, and then made our way to the Pont des Arts, that bridge you see in all those cheesy Paris movies where the lovers will put a padlock and throw the key into the Seine. Yes it's cheesy, but it's kind of adorable. Back story: When I studied in London two years ago and came to Paris for the weekend, I put a padlock on the bridge with my parents names, took a picture, and gave them the framed photograph. Yes I'm cheesy, but I'm kind of adorable. Soooo after we took some lovely pictures on the bridge, we decided to be lame and take naps back at their hotel. But well deserved ones of course, because we were busy being tourists all day. After dinner, we took the recommendation from the very nice and charming concierge to eat at La Societe; a restaurant in the Latin Quarter where the atmosphere is chic, the food is delicious, and all of the waitresses have amazing legs that make you want to not eat the delicious food they've just put in front of you. Real talk doe'.

Kay, so then it was Monday. Normally, I would have had class, but, it was Easter weekend, and thus, I had no class. So to deal with my disappointment, I settled on the next best thing; like grabbing breakfast at a cafe with my parents, going on a boat tour of the Seine, admiring the Eiffel Tower, cafe hopping, and shopping on the Champs-Elysees. Ugh, I so wish I had class instead. Buuuut, that night was my parents' anniversary, so while they enjoyed a nice romantic night out in Paris, I was fortunate enough to be stuck inside doing my homework. Awyis. Here, enjoy some disgustingly adorable pictures of my parents:

Tuesday:

We met for crepes at la Creperie de Josselin one last time, and then spent our last hour together in a patisserie called Art Macaron, where we enjoyed macarons and the most sinfully delicious hot chocolate in the entire world. We certainly ended on the perfect note. It was sad to have to say goodbye after such a short visit, but it really was an absolutely fantastic week :')

¡¿¡¿insert Madrid here?!?!

And then it was Ilana and Josh's turn to visit...

It worked out nicely that they booked their hotel just a short walk away from my house, because I had the opportunity to meet with them at their hotel before I headed to my class. We hugged and rejoiced and caught up over a carb-filled breakfast. Then, while widdle Josh decided to take a widdle nap (lol sry josh), Ilana and I claimed a bench by the canal and had some much needed sister bonding, which unfortunately had to be cut short due to the fact that my classes are still a thing that exist. But, whilst I was in class, they hit up the Eiffel Tower, and I met up with them just after in a cafe just around the corner. There, I actually got the chance to be a translator, which has never happened to me before! The French waiter and an English speaking customer were having trouble communicating, so they asked me to translate for them! And not to toot my own horn or anything, but I totally nailed it. Anyway, I'd asked Ariane for dinner suggestions for the evening, and after narrowing it down to a few, Ilana, Josh, and I finally decided on a restaurant called Le Laumiere, solely based on its close proximity to the hotel. As we got nearer the address, we began to find ourselves in a rather sketchy area, and I started to question where the hell Ariane was sending us........but low and behold, the second we walked through the entrance, we were faced with the most unexpected (but without a doubt pleasant) surprise. The place was beautifully decorated with lots of greens and yellows, a courtyard garden, and an overall light and elegant feel to it. We were greeted by the friendliest group of servers I've ever encountered, oh and don't even get my started on the food. They didn't hold back on portions at all, and they made sure to make the dishes look like a work of art--not too much, though, that it stopped us from devouring them, that's for sure. I can't speak for Ilana and Josh, but I for one slept like a baby that night.

We set off to get our fill of Jewish stuff and falafels by starting our day off in the Marais, like I'd done with my parents. (So I'm an unoriginal tour guide, sue me). Here's a lovely picture of Ilana enjoying her falafel:

Before we made it to the Notre Dame, however, we stumbled upon the cutest cafe, called Cafeotheque. Did we have room in our stomachs for coffee? Absolutely not. Did we go in anyway? Obviously. The cafe was broken up into a few very different rooms. One was very bar-like, with leather and cowhide furniture and no windows, another had a bunch of couches and pillows, plenty of natural light, and filled with students on laptops, and yet another, (my fave), was composed of colorful, yet slightly used-looking wooden furniture, cushions made of coffee sacs, and plants everywhere; including an entire wall of plants. The atmosphere was very cozy (and I'm pleased to inform you that I have indeed been back there since).

Then we reached the Notre Dame, where I finally had the opportunity to climb the 400 some steps up the bell tower. My legs may have been jello afterwards, but the view was fantastic. The gargoyles were pretty cool, too.

We walked around Saint Michel, lined with bar after bar, which we conveniently reached the moment it started torrential down pouring. We took that to mean we were destined to stop for a couple drinks by the window and watch the poor soaking pedestrians scatter. So we did just that. It decided to be sunny again soon after, so we set out to explore more of the Latin Quarter, and more specifically Rue Mouffetard. We ended up at a corner café soaking up the sun and enjoying the beautiful aftermath of the downpour, in the form of a rainbow. We did dinner at le Valmy that night, whose food, thanks to the dinner we’d been spoiled with the night before, now seems mediocre. Although I wouldn’t be one to ever turn down their Camembert and honey fondue…

So since I’ve failed miserably at avoiding talking about food, I’m just gonna stick with it. Ilana and Josh came over the next morning to meet the fam. We all had breakfast together, and Ilana and Josh were introduced to the infamous oeuf a la coque. I cannot wait to make that a thing in the states, so get the eff ready. The morning was once again a success, and it was so great to be able to share one very important part of my life with another. Breakfast lasted for about 2 hours, and it was nothing short of entertaining. Finally, after a fantastic rendezvous, we headed out to pay the good ol’ Creperie de Josselin a visit, and after stuffing ourselves full of buttery-amazingness, we found a bus to take us to the Louvre. There, we did our thing, took our pics, and hit up Pont des Arts afterward so the two of them could be horribly adorable and put a lock on the bridge. Then we walked back to the louvre, through les jardins des Tuileries, and all the way up the Champs Elysees to l’Arc du Triomph. It was a rather exhausting trek, but a great way to become further acquainted with Paris. And for their last night on the town, we made our way over to Montmartre, which, I must say, is enchanting no matter what the weather is like. So despite the light rain, we enjoyed its charm, (and its beers and its food), and called it a night.

We met up once more the next morning before they had to catch their train to London. We sat outside a café terrace overlooking the canal drinking coffee and eating warm croissants. The weather was perfect, the coffee and croissants were just right…and the company wasn’t half bad, either. :P  Once again, it was sad to have to say goodbye after such a short visit, but we definitely enjoyed ourselves and made the absolute most of it.