Friday during the day we took it easy and got some errand-y stuff done. We checked with a french travel agent about Egypt and its a lot more complicated than I ever anticipated! I never realized that the french holidays would make prices go up so much AND I never realized that if we set up our tour with a french travel agent that 1st we'd have to depart from France and 2nd that our tours/business would be handled in French. So I have some more work ahead of me.....But I shouldn't be complaining about planning trips. Sorry. After errands, Jeff and I headed to Au Bataclan for a fusion of french and american culture when we saw an American band, Medeski Martin and Wood play in a french venue. I love that the french are so relaxed (and quiet!). Everyone remains seated for the concerts and quiet through the whole songs and cheers and claps at the end of each. Jeff and I had a nice glass of champagne and watched the baby bubbles sparkle to the top of the glass until the last sip. I wasn't previously that "into" MMW, but seeing them live was great. They were really funky and the french loved them! MMW even did a double encore!
The next day was a gloomy chilly Samdi, but nothing is better than Montmartre to cure your woes. So, we headed to the 18th, (which of course is the arrondissement opposite ours :( , but still only takes 20 minutes to get to via metro). We explored (very briefly, it was cold!) where the artists (picasso, renoir, Lautrec, etc) hung out and played. It's a charming little nook of Paris. We saw the Moulin Rogue and it wasn't that great, I was a little disappointed.
And ate at Cafe du 2 Moulins where Amelie was filmed and where she worked in the film. It felt a little less romantic simply becasue it turned into (an expensive) tourist trap. But it still had its charm with the garden gnome in the back and Amelie posters hidden around the corners of the resturant. We sat down for a traditional french lunch. I ordered Salad au chevre chaud (which means a salad with large croutons with melted goat cheese on top!) which was great then I had the famous Amelie's creme brulee, (if you remember in the film one of the things she loved to do was to crack the creme brulee) which I'm starting to think is my favorite desert, avec un cafe creme which was the BEST creme brulee I've ever had in my entire life. All of our meal was served on a placemat of Amelie images (which after a lot of delicate work, managed to take home as a souvenir!). The resturant itself was a little disenchanting because of the (loud!) Americans everywhere, hectic servers (one even dropped a large plate of food and broke the dishes on the floor!), and hectic atmosphere (at one point 3 servers were running around trying to catch a pigeon that had wandered inside!) but it was still a lovely lunch nonetheless. Jeff and I even sat where Joesph sits in the film. It was great.
outside the cafe
table mat/cloth thing.
Then Jeff and I wanted to do more touristy things and decided to take Le Petit Train on a tour through Montemarte that went suprisingly fast, had cute french music, and a little automated tour guide (that was always just a second too slow showing us the main sights!) but it all added to its charm. It took us through Montemarte where we saw the artist hangouts, and drove us up the steep climb (which Jeff and I plan to do on a sunnier day) to the Sacre Coeur.
Le Petit Train
where artists hung out
the hike
The Sacre Coeur is another one of Paris's famous churches, which I'm beggining to think are a bit overrated and am very sick of seeing. I also am annoyed that to climb EVERYTHING in Paris you have to pay....even these stupid churches. BUT, I guess this church is famous because it has the largest bell in the world! It weighs 27 tons and when rung can be heard 25 miles away!! BUT is only rung once a year...Easter. The top of Montemartre (means on a hill basically) does have the best views of Paris. I can't wait to go back to Montemarte to fully explore every nook and street.
the view from the hill
Today we went to Versailles again. Luckily we went on our own before because we didn't even get there until 2 because of train mishaps and a late meeting time. So the lines for the palace were super long but Jeff and I were able to skip it and just spend the day in the garden. Unfortunately the weather was horrible. It was about 50 degrees maybe? (most likely warmer but I'm a baby..although it is 45 out right now!) and rainy. But I kind of like the rain, it's sort of nice. I like listening to the sound it makes when it touches different surfaces. But today we had tickets for the fountain show...which turns out isn't a show but you have to pay to see the fountains go on with music for an hour and a half, but was awesome. The fountains are breath taking. I love Versailles, its great wandering around the gardens for hours. Afterwards Jeff and I headed home and relaxed for the evening.
the orange groves
deer stole hahaha.
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