Living the Parisian Life (As a Tourist)

Well I did not ended up stranded on the streets in Paris. I know I was being dramatic, but somehow inconveniences seem like life and death scenarios when in a foreign country at the complete mercy of the few friends that I have here.

My laptop was about to die at McDonald’s, so I headed back to Justine’s hoping she would be home from work. She wasn’t, but I just tidied up all my stuff, and she arrived in no time. She was so sorry for what had happened and immediately called her friend to ask if I could stay with her, who said yes. I called Jerome immediately after, and he told me Nico had said yes as well, so I chose Nico since I knew him better.  Justine arranged for Nico to come pick us up, and he gave us both a ride since her friend lived close by to him. It was nice seeing the city by car again… who knew I would be in a car again so fast. I thought it would be a while.

Nico and I took an apéro that night, but stayed in. Which, for those who don’t know, is an occasion where people get together and drink and eat appetizers before having a meal or going out. It is a great French tradition! I told Nico that I wanted to try “weird” food while I lived in France, and he took this as a chance to introduce me to some French dishes. I tried pâté, homemade from his grandmother. It looked and smelled like wet cat food, but apparently it is a delicacy in France, so I tried it on a baguette. I wasn’t in love with it, but it did grow on me. I also tried a cheese of his village, Roquefort. It had dark areas in it, which he said was the best, so he gave me a slice. It did not taste very good, and then he proceeded to tell me I had just eaten mold. Wtf Nico!! He laughed while I was utterly shocked at what he had done to me. It is funny now to think about, but I really was stunned I had eaten mold. A lot of French people don’t like it he told me, so I don’t feel too bad for disliking it. I then ate something I thoroughly enjoyed!!

I had seen Nico eat it back in Raleigh once, and it looked completely gross back then. He had soft-boiled an egg, and then ate it by the spoonful (you’re supposed to dip bread in it, but he didn’t have any at the time). But I wanted to try it now because it is an easy, simple dish. Maybe I can make it for my kids someday (which meeting them is rapidly approaching!). It turned out to be fabulous tasting, and was really good with bread; especially when you got the yolk part. I forgot to mention, after you soft-boil the egg, you have to tap a knife around the top to cut the top off to dip the bread in, which is a delicate art within itself. Nico thought it was funny that I hated the delicacies while loving the easy, simple, not-a-big-deal meal.

We went to sleep at 2am that night, and by the time I woke up the next day it was 1pm! I looked at my phone and was flabbergasted. I NEVER sleep like that, but I guess my body needed it. The blinds completely shut out light too, which helped I am sure. I leisurely took a shower and decided what I wanted to do today—alone, since Nico had work. Then all the sudden, the doorbell rang, and I let Nico in. He told me he forgot his work key for his computer, which I had because I had the apartment keys. He had come by before, but my dead sleep did not hear the doorbell. I felt bad he made the 50 minute trip back to his apt and then I didn’t even answer.

He left soon after, and I got ready to plan out my day alone. I decided to go to the Arc de Triomphe because it is impressive to see and I could easily walk down the Champs-Élysées. The arc was magnificent, and I looked at the crazy 8 lane wide traffic circle around it and watched the traffic battle for their lives it seemed like. I walked down the Champs-Élysées and popped into H&M and Zara, but didn’t buy anything. I bought a baguette with ham and mayo and continued walking to near the Eiffel Tower—I really don’t know where I was, but it had been hours at this point, so I decided to find a metro and go home. It took like an hour to get back, and then I went to a super marché to buy some cereal, fruit, and wine.

The girl rang me up, and it was 11 euros 17 cents, so I gave her a 20. Then she started talking to me, and I just froze up and acted completely retarded. I had no idea what to say or do, so she then reached into my wallet to get a few coins. My mom later told me she probably did that so she could give me a 10 euro bill back to not deal with more change, which makes sense. It is so difficult to be able to have a simple conversation—that instance was so scary to me just because I don’t feel comfortable speaking French.

I skyped my mom for a bit, and then Nico came home. I was excited because Wednesday was a bank holiday, so that meant no work for him the next day, so we could go out! We took an apéro and drank a bottle of wine and then headed for the Latin Quarter around 10pm in search of dinner (they eat so late here; I am constantly hungry, and I feel so fat). We found this restaurant that serves only one meal (steak and frites), but since they serve one meal, they do it very well. It was yummy and they even refilled our plate once; we also drank more wine. We then bar hopped a little bit, and Nico and I had a long conversation in French! He says I talked like a drunk French person since I was so slow, but I am proud. I barely asked for words just tried to use what I knew. He said I was better than he thought I would be, so I am happy with myself.

I also had a long conversation in French the night before when he asked me to talk about my first day in Paris. I am painfully slow, but he is patient, so I don’t feel self-conscience.

We then decided to head home at some indecent hour, and I really had to GO. So I became a full, authentic French person and peed in the street, which Nico was very proud about and proceeded to tell our cab driver and later on, some of our mutual friends. Whats done is done…it needed to happen. I guess it is nice since it’s legally not an issue here to do. I have a feeling this will happen more than once…

We got home and drank more wine and went to sleep at 6am. I crashed till noon, and we chilled out and slowly got ready. We headed toward the city center took the metro of course, and on the way there, one metro train was incredibly full, but I last second decided to pile in. I turned around to face Nico, and he was on the other side of the doors. I was like, “No… Nico…!” I must have looked pitiful, and he just half-laughed and looked exasperated. I had managed to separate myself from the one person I need in this city! Ahh… I was super stressed to say the least. I didn’t know where I should get off—the predetermined spot way ahead or the next stop. I decided the next stop and PRAYED he would too. He did think the same way, and we were reunited in 5 minutes. Boy, I had a scare though. So much crap has happened to me since I have been here! Nico thinks it is mildly funny because everything literally feel s like life or death, when it really isn’t.

Anywho…the plan was to go to Paris Plages (beaches) near Notre Dame, but we never found it. It’s an area with sand along the Seine. I asked if you could swim, but Nico just laughed and said no. Later on, when he sat along the Seine for a bit, I could see why—it’s nasty.

Another plan was to eat gelato from GROM. My friend Elizabeth loves this ice cream place and says it is the best ice cream in the world. I never could find it last summer, but I did this time! I was so excited to finally try it. It was tasty; I had pistachio, raspberry, and crème de grom.

We then went to La Défense—the business district of Paris, where Nico works coincidentally.La Défense was great! It had futuristic skyscrapers, and I felt like I was in an American city; not Paris the fairytale city. It also had La Grande Arche, which was MASSIVE and beautiful. I was in awe of its size… it is way bigger than the Arc de Triomphe. We went into the mall, which was huge (like 5 floors), and had a coffee and relaxed a bit. Then we walked around the area. We found a giant sculpture of a thumb, which was cool. We just walked and walked around… I was so exhausted. We then took the 50 minute trip back to Nico’s apartment, and stopped to buy ingredients for dinner. He made a really good salad, and I made these potato fry things. We watched funny videos on TV and just hung out having a chill night.

We went to sleep, and I woke up at 9am. My first normal sleep here, and I decided to go for a run this morning! I found a park relatively close by, and it was so pretty. There are parks everywhere, and this one was beautiful. It had a lake, waterfalls, and countless paths. There were lots of runners too, so I felt at home. I felt weird in my workout clothes in the metro, everyone looks so effortlessly put together here, but oh well. I ran and feel so GOOD. My body needed that so bad.

Now I am sitting here writing this. I need to go to Justine’s, where all my suitcases are, and pack my mini suitcase for my trip to Nice. I leave tonight! …and I see Jerome. Very excited. It has been over 3 months since we said goodbye, so our reunion has been long awaited. I can’t even imagine how I will feel when I see him, but I know I will be super happy. I just hope our plane flight goes smoothly. My last time in CDG was a mess, but thankfully, Nico is driving me to the airport to meet Jerome, so at least, I will be with someone who has a cellphone.