Back to Paris Part II: America is my country and Paris is my hometown

Thursday 19 June 2014

We got up early today and had a quick breakfast provided by the hostel. It was actually pretty good…coffee, croissants, butter and jams, cereal. The breakfast room was very crowded and I felt like I was back in a college dorm :P

We jumped back on the train with all our bags to find our Airbnb apartment in the 15^th arr. We were supposed to meet with the owner last night to get the key, etc because she is leaving town, but with our train delay…that didn’t happen, so after many worried texts from the owner...we got the key out of the mailbox.

The funniest thing about this new apartment is that it comes with a cat!! The Airbnb ad was upfront that the owner leaves her cat and you just have to let him out during the day, in at night, and make sure he has food and water. I think I’d feel weird about leaving my pet with total strangers, but I was excited all the same. I love cats!!

Crapule, the cat (I asked Mara---it has no French meaning. Is the cat crappy?? Hehe!!) was super cute. He met us at the door in the courtyard and led us up the stairs to show us the apartment.

Crapule!!

I forgot to take a pic, so stolen from Airbnb

We showered and got ready to head to Mara’s to meet Slavko, Pam, and Christina.

It was SO nice to meet up with friends in Paris. Paris has begun to feel like coming home. Gertrude Stein said, “America is my country and Paris is my hometown”. I can agree with this sentiment. I still find Paris somewhat intimidating because of the language barrier, but I feel comfortable here.

Luckily, we were only 2 metro stops from Mara (I’m the best ;)), so we were there quickly. Preston was really excited to see one of his best friends. It was for Pam and Slavko’s wedding that we returned to Chicago in May.

Mara was at work, so Slavko, Pam, Christina (Pam’s sister), Pres and I headed out to a busy pedestrian street for Slavko’s favorite crepes.

Like Mara, Slavko attended the American University here in Paris and so speaks the language and really knows his way around.

Choosing our crepes

Agree :P

We got our crepes to go (it’s about half price to do it this way!!) and enjoyed them on the steps of a church. Gosh, they were magnificent…feta cheese, egg, tomato, onion…yum!!

Our little group continued walking cross the river and up to the Champs de Elysees so that Slavko could change some money at a place he knew gave a good rate.

All of a sudden, it's crazy crowded here

Without knowing our plan to walk so far (Preston thought they’d be tired), I mistakenly wore my Toms-the totally wrong shoes and after a short while…my feet were throbbing!! I’m actually quite disappointed in the Toms brand. I know that they are a good company that donates shoes, but they aren’t all that comfortable and mine started falling apart way back in New Zealand after only a couple wears.

Walking walking

We took the metro (Thank God!!) to Notre Dame and snapped some photos. It was a gorgeous, clear day. Preston and I were marveling at the change in weather. Most of our time in Paris has been cloudy, rainy, and cool.

After sitting a while along the Seine, we continued across the river, again, into St. Germaine. We weaved through the busy streets of restaurants, cafes, and shops before making our way back in front of the Invalides to Maras.

After a quick stop at the store for snacks, we continued our tradition of gorging ourselves with wine and food at Mara’s. This has truly been one of my favorite parts of Paris---hanging out at Maras…eating, laughing, talking, and leaning out the window to peak at the Eiffel Tower.

Mara joined us after work and we headed down to sit with the throngs of people along the Seine. Again, Preston and I can’t get over the difference a few weeks has made in Paris. It’s so warm and CROWDED. We could hardly find a place to sit…on the ground!! :P

The six of us sat along the river in a cramped space as the sun went down. We formed our own little circle and enjoyed some wine and good conversation.

Around dark, we headed back towards Mara’s. Along the way, Preston and Slavko found a soccer ball and had fun kicking it in the street. We are sooooo European ;)

We found a little bistro and had a late night dinner. On the walk back, Pres and Slavko kicked the ball violently back and forth until they lost it over a wall. I think Preston is SO happy to hang out with a dude :P

Pres and I said goodbye for the night and caught the metro home to Crapule.

Friday 20 June 2014
We had planned today to go and see Les Catacombes. I was reallllly looking forward to this burial ground beneath the city, but by the time we got going…it was after 2pm ( I blame the late night and the hazards of trying to organize 5 people).

After a bit of a mix up as to where to meet at the metro, we finally found Slavko and co. and jumped on a train.

Unfortunately, we arrived too late. The line was so long that the attendant told us that we’d end up waiting and not get in. Boo :(

Saddened, we walked towards another nearby metro. On the way, we wandered through the old cemetery that Preston and I had passed a few weeks ago. It was cool to see all the old elaborate gravestones and monuments.

We hopped back on the metro to Montemarte. We chose a station that had over 100 steps to exit. Challenge accepted ;) It was dizzying to go up and up and up in such a tight spiral.

Recovering

We came out into the artsy village and grabbed a quick crepe for a snack.

From there, we walked down the steps and enjoyed some time in the sun-so different from the last time we sat on these steps with Gavin in the rain.

The guys bought some beers from the dozens of men selling beer, wine, and water from plastic bags full of ice. It’s funny, because whenever a policeman comes into the area, these guys SCATTER.

Life is super rough here

We walked through the church and then headed back down the hill to meet Mara at her friends place near the Bastille.

Mara called down to us from the balcony (so cute) and we went up to the home of Cyril, Coralie, and their adorable puppy Hutch. In their French accent, Hutch sounds like “Etch”, so we thought they were calling the puppy “H”. Too funny.

We enjoyed a GIANT bottle of champagne and headed down to a pedestrian area full of people to watch France play in the World Cup.

Mara found a pub with a huge table and an open window for people to also see from standing outside. It was perfect. We settled in for a GREAT game!! France played wonderfully and it was an exciting game with many goals. The energy in the pub was electric and we had SUCH a fun time.

We had a fun time teasing the four Swiss people good naturedly about their loss. It was a perfect night. :D 

Back to Paris Part I: The French train system is quite lacking in ALL the things

Wednesday 18 June 2014 Happy Birthday Mark!! <3

We were up early and caught a taxi to the commuter station to catch our train to Hendaye-a French border town, where we could catch our train to Paris.

The commuter train was uneventful, but we arrived at the station in Hendaye to find that our train wasn’t on the board!! 

Unbeknownst to us…the French Rail System was in the middle of (another) strike. Mara had warned us that this happens ALL THE TIME, but we didn’t think to check. Not that checking would have made much difference...there was only ONE train leaving for Paris anyway. Unfortunately, this train was leaving in EIGHT hours. Blah!!

We considered renting a car and driving to Paris. I walked up the street in search of an internet café, but was unlucky in finding one. I settled on a coffee shop across the street with an insanely rude barkeep, but there was wifi. I discovered that while we could be refunded for our train tickets, the drive to Paris would be very long and that all the cars in town were sold out. Boo.

I returned to the station to wait it out with Preston.

I gotta say…we have traveled on trains in Italy and they were sleek and modern and on time with easy e-tickets I could show from my phone, convenient schedules, and mostly (night train cough cough) comfortable rides. We have traveled on trains in Spain and they were amazing and easy and efficient. But, France?? NIGHTMARE. It’s ALWAYS something with these French trains. Someone was hit by a train…there’s a strike…the train is late…the trains are crowded…the conductors are rude. Fail. The French rail system really leaves something to be desired.

Luckily, I could still get the rude bar’s wifi from the train station, so we camped out and I worked on booking the UK part of our trip.

In the late afternoon, an incredibly smelly homeless man sat next to me :-/ I ignored the smell as best I could and breathed through my mouth, while he drank beer in a brown bag.

At one point, a young English guy with a bike noticed I had internet and asked if he could please use it to make a reservation because someone had stolen his phone!!

I, of course, obliged and he sat down with me to use the computer. We started chatting only to be surprisingly joined by the homeless man who turned out to be a well spoken and educated Irish guy!! What the heck?

The Irish man was VERY drunk and kept repeating the same questions, but we had a good time talking. I was very amused that he told us he was ‘traveling’, as if he was on vacation and NOT a hobo. (He was CLEARLY a hobo). I mean, he had a filthy bag full of beer and clothes that smelled like pee. More power to him, I guess :D

FINALLY, we could board the train. In fact, it had been sitting there allll day.

We were first on board and the train was empty. We asked the conductor where we should sit, since our train had been cancelled. He chuckled and said to sit anywhere we could find a seat and good luck!!

We were confused, because the train was empty, but we soon came to find out what he meant.

The train made multiple stops in our 6 hour journey back to Paris. At every stop, more and more people boarded the train. Finally, after about 2 hours…the train was nearly full. A young French couple boarded and told us that we were in their seats. We explained that with five trains being combined into one…that EVERYONE was in someone else’s seat and we’d been told to sit where we could. They accepted this and moved on.

Within minutes, the girl was back and I finally got to see some of that infamous French attitude. I was SO grateful that Preston was with me, because I hate confrontation like that.

The girl got kind of nasty and was like, “So you expect us to sit separately so that you can sit together?” and Preston said, “Yes, that’s exactly right. Why should WE sit separately so YOU can sit together? They are our seats as much as yours. We’ve been on this train for hours” The girl got angry and said she would get the conductor, so Preston said…”Great. Go get him. HE told us to sit here. If HE wants us to move, we will…but we are NOT moving for you.”

Lol. Oh my Gosh. I had my head down this entire time. If it had just been me, I would have stood in the hall for the remaining 4 hours :P I was glad to have my strong husband with me.

Conveniently, the conductors would conspicuously disappear at every boarding and left the conflict to the passengers. Amazing. These same confrontations happened again and again all over the train every time it stopped. Many people did give up their seats for newcomers boarding the train and many people pointed to Preston and said “He didn’t move…so I’m not!!” haha. Oh my goodness.

The angry French girl found a seat at the front of the train facing us and proceeded to glare in our direction for a while. I think it was the most stressful and anxiety-filled ride of my life. It was a tense and uncomfortable all the way to Paris.

At least the views were nice.

Hasta Spain!!

It was close to midnight when we did arrive in Paris. We made our way through the GIANT Montparnesse train station and to the metro.

Since our original plan was to leave Paris the following day, I had booked us in a cheap hostel for the night. Our plans had changed and I found us an apartment for the rest of the week, but we still had to honor our reservation at the hostel or lose our money.

The hostel was in Montemarte and we arrived at 1am. It was very much a hostel…loud twentysomethings in the common area and lots of colored lights and posters. 

We found our teeny double room and headed to bed. Unfortunately, I found that I had a UTI and spent a miserable night running to the shared bathroom. Luckily, we had the forethought to be prepared for nearly every illness prior to our departure, so I had the antibiotics I needed on hand.

We are back in Paris to meet up tomorrow with one of Preston’s best friends-Slavko, his wife Pam and Pam’s sister Christina. Slavko happens to be Mara’s brother.

We are thrilled for the fun times ahead!!