Flight from BOS->CDG was smooth (although I didn’t sleep much), complete with 2 meals and a cheesy Jim Carrey movie (Yes Man). Picking up luggage, clearing customs, and catching the Air France bus to Porte Maillot took under 30 minutes. I met Linda at her apartment. It’s in a wonderful area – right next to l’arc de triomphe and the champs elysees. It’s so parisienne – tiny rooms with a cute court yard and a kitchen the size of a small closet. After a 5-hour nap, I walked around the area. It’s incredibly cute. The streets are remarkably clean and all the stores/buildings seem very neat and well designed. I strolled down the champs and had the song stuck in my head: Les Champs Elysees
Rasto/Linda got back from work and we hung out and talked for the rest of the evening. Today, I got up and left the apartment with everyone and decided to take the metro to the tuileries. It’s amazing how you can step out of a metro tunnel and be instantaneously amidst these incredibly beautiful and famous buildings.
I walked around seemingly before all of the tourists woke up – the gardens/louvre were empty. I stopped for lunch at La Creperie de St. Germain in the 6th arrondissement (St.German de-Pres). I had a “lorelei” (whole wheat crepe, raclette, lardons, pommes du terres), a cup of cider, and a confiture chantilly (apricot jam and the best whip cream I have ever tasted). OMG it was delicious, but very rich, and my stomach kind of hurt after. I walked around the 5/6eme and looked at shops, then hopped on the metro to meet the agent at the apartment. I didn’t realize that the apartment isn’t in the 15th or 16th arrondissement, but actually in a suburb just outside of Paris called Boulonge-Billancourt. It’s a lot less lively than the 17th where Linda/Rasto live, but still cute. I did a few groceries at the center of the town. The grocery store was in a mall and seemed upscale and fun, but with reasonable prices. There’s so much to choose from – I’m eagerly awaiting Jana’s help in the grocery department when she arrives tomorrow morning. They have great things – a whole aisle dedicated to chocolate, a full charcuterie, and cool shopping baskets that have long handles and wheels – so clever!
After riding the metro back and forth from Linda/Rasto’s a third time, I feel like I have a pretty good sense of the underground transportation. We’ll see how successful I am tomorrow. Jana’s arriving early in the morning and Emily and I are meeting up at noon to go exploring!
