Market morning and medieval meanderings in the Marais

28/2/13
Today is market day on Boulevard Richard Lenoir, and I'm excited about exploring Marche Bastille. I look it up in my Lonely Planet guide and discover that, unlike almost every other retail outlet in Paris, it opens at 7am (and not 10 or 10.30 or even 11am like some other places!!!). So although I'd normally have a leisurely morning and leave the apartment at about 9.30am, today I'm out the door at...... oh, about 9.25am ;-)
Another icy morning in Paris and I rug up really well knowing that there will only be slow market browsing and no 4.9km uphill walk to warm me up. But even with my layers and thermals, scarf, hat, possum fur socks (yes, bought last winter in Hobart!), boots and Polartec gloves, there's no staying warm this morning. It's not long before my fingers and toes start to feel the numbing effects of the penetrating cold. Later I check the weather website and apparently it's 1 degree C but feels like minus 2 degrees because of the icy wind - I am not at all surprised!!!
Not to be thwarted though, I browse anyway. I wonder how I'll go with my limited French - I've already practised my standard "Je ne parle pas francais" and "Je ne comprends pas" so that I can trot them out when necessary!! Everyone is very friendly and smiles when, after the requisite "Bonjour", I have to explain that I don't actually speak French (clearly I had them fooled with my fabulous French greeting)!!  Some kindly try out their English to make it easier for me, and so I manage to get by with a few well-placed words, some gestures, pointing, smiling, and watching the cash register for the required amount :-) In the end I feel quite pleased with my first market visit - haricot (green beans), courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), tomates (tomatoes), endive (same in English), filet de perche du Nil (Nile perch) and a lovely bunch of tulipes (tulips, of course) to brighten up the apartment. I nearly buy a couple of goose eggs (I ask the lady if they're duck eggs and she understands the English word and says "no, goss" which I have no trouble understanding is actually "goose"). At 3.80€ each though I decide they'd have to collectively be as good as a whole dozen garden-variety chook eggs, and in the end I decide that's unlikely!

Finally I'm done, and I'm freezing, so I make my way back to the apartment to warm up by the lovely heater that stays on day and night - walking in the door after such a chilly outing is becoming one of life's simple pleasures :-)
Early in the afternoon I brave the outdoors again. I'm pretty sure it's warmed up since this morning - it definitely feels warmer, I'd say it's at least 2 degrees C by now!! ;-)
My goal this afternoon is to follow one of the Lonely Planet guide's suggested walking trails - called Medieval Meanderings in the Marais (no, I can't take credit for that clever alliterative title.........).
The Marais district is literally just "down the road" from the Bastille area and is full of Renaissance architecture. I'm no buff, but I recognise an attractive building when I see one (my idea of attractive, as opposed to, say, the Perth Arena architect's idea - jus' sayin'), so I enjoy following the 2km walking trail that takes in Eglise St-Paul St-Louis, the Place des Vosges, and various "hotels particuliers" which are not, as I first thought, hotels, but in fact were built as private mansions for aristocrats in the early 17th century. These are some impressive buildings!!

The Marais area also houses a couple of museums, not that I'm a big frequenter of museums, but I pick and choose. Unfortunately, the Musee Picasso (one I would probably have chosen to visit) is currently closed for renovations and won't be open again until spring. Since that's actually tomorrow (I wonder if they know?), there's a chance I may get to see it before I leave Paris! :-)
One of the last streets on this particular route, Rue des Francs Bourgeois, is where I find my kind of shops and I can't resist stepping in to a couple - Jo Malone perfumes and Guerlain - to smell their divine fragrances. My favourites are definitely Jo Malone's Wild Fig & Cassia, and Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria range, probably Flora Nymphea or Mandarine Basilic - they are gorgeous!
With that pleasant interlude over, it's time to make my way back home and out of the cold. After my successful market shop this morning, I'm planning to make a pot of vegetable soup for dinner. It's such great soup weather and a bowl of soup will be the perfect end to my fifth day in wintry Paris :-)

A walk to Montmartre

27/2/13
One of the things I love about Paris is that it's a great city for walking. Even in this cold weather - and today is truly icy, the sort of penetrating chill that seeps through clothing and makes legs feel like ice cubes (and yes, I am wearing my thermals!!) - it's still a great walking city. So this morning I "Google map" the walk from my apartment to Montmartre - Basilique du Sacre Coeur to be precise - and decide it's definitely "do-able", an easy walk in fact, and by that I mean straightforward. And it is. I only get a tiny bit lost once, when I miss a turn and keep going straight - I get suspicious when, after steadily climbing the whole way, I reach the crest of a hill and the street starts to head downhill again. It doesn't take me long to realise this isn't right - I should still be going up as Sacre Coeur is on the top of a hill. Luckily I haven't gone too far out of my way and it isn't hard to retrace my steps and find the street I've missed. All up it takes me about an hour to walk the 4.9km, including the final steep hike up the steps of Rue Maurice Utrillo. The amazing sight of this majestic church that greets me at the top makes the climb worth it.

Unfortunately, the grey foggy day means that the view, usually magnificent, is almost non-existent. No Eiffel Tower in the distance today. Oh well, another visit on another day, one of the advantages of being in Paris for so long.

Inside the basilica mass is being celebrated, so I sit and listen for a while and try to follow - sit when everyone sits, stand when they stand. I'm able to pick the odd familiar word, but know that I don't need to understand because my God knows :-) The acoustics are lovely - there are two nuns who sing a couple of times and their voices sound angelic - I'm tempted to try and record on my phone but the people in the pew behind have just been reprimanded for taking a photo with theirs, so I decide not to risk it!!!
After the mass, I choose to trust my directional instincts and go back a different way (ie. follow my nose!!) so I wander down the hill through the streets of Montmartre, with its interesting and eclectic array of shops. Along the way I pop into Le Petit Musee du Chocolat (yes, there does seem to be a chocolate theme emerging..........), which has the most incredible array of chocolate options as well as a 1 metre high chocolate Eiffel Tower (not for sale!!!). Now I realise that some, who know me and my chocolate preferences - or should I say preference, singular - would say that my taste in chocolate is not what you would call "classy" but I do consider myself to be quite happily choosy when it comes to chocolate. It's rare for me to find chocolate that I would rate more highly than my "tried and true" good old Aussie Cadbury's, and just because chocolate is pricey doesn't, in my opinion, guarantee its quality. So at 50 euros a kilo (and no tasting allowed so no chance to "try before I buy") I decide it's not worth the risk! So I look, but don't touch, and nor do I buy :-)
A little further along, I come across the first health food shop I've seen since arriving in Paris, and I'm not about to pass up this opportunity - it may be a while before I find another one! As before, I enjoy reading the French labels to see if I can work out the contents, but it's not difficult - I think Quinoa would be Quinoa in most languages (ok, maybe not arabic, which I spent quite some time trying to decipher on my Emirates flights as the text scrolled across my in-seat entertainment screen - major fail there!). To my surprise and delight I'm able to find everything I want - tri-colour quinoa, quinoa flakes, rice flakes, rice milk, and tofu. I consider that a big win!!! :-)
I gradually make my way back towards Place de la Bastille and my apartment, in time for a lunch-time (for me, almost bed time for them) Skype with my lovely husband and new step-children. This time difference requires some planning but it's lovely to see their faces and enjoy a chat!!!
After lunch I decide to explore Ile St-Louis, the island next to Notre Dame's island (Il de la Cite).

I've read in my Paris guide that the main street, Rue St Louis en l'Ile, is a shopper's delight, and it's true. I spend time browsing in a range of shops - cheese, wine, clothing, perfumes, confectionary, stationery, and yes, chocolate.

The de Neuville Chocolat Francais shop gets a big rap from Lonely Planet for their hot chocolate flavoured with your choice of ginger, cardamom, chilli or anise. I decide to give ginger a try and it adds a delicious flavour to the chocolate drink so thick it clings to the side of the mug. Truly decadent!!!
Time to get out of this bitter cold and head back to my warm cosy apartment for the evening. But along the way I have another win - I finally have my vegie peeler!!! :-)

Getting my bearings

26/2/13
Day 3 in Paris, and the weather is kinder. Still cold, but not wet at least. Today my plan is to take the Metro to my language school, to make sure that 1. I can find it, and 2. I know how long it's likely to take to get there. My course starts on Monday, and as always, I like to be prepared (yes, I hear you laughing.........again..............)!!

I've Googled "how to use the Metro in Paris" so I know that I'm best to purchase "1 carnet de 10 tickets T+ Metro, Bus, Tram" and that I should be able to do so with my Travel Money card at a ticket machine. I'm ready to give it a go and quite prepared to get it wrong, but it turns out to be incredibly easy - greatly helped by the fact that the extremely accommodating ticket machine allows me to choose "English" instructions!! As much as I'm keen to learn French, it's a relief not to have to struggle with this task. I achieve my goal and retrieve my 10 tickets and my receipt, and follow the signs to the correct Metro line for my destination. The train is quite full (it's about 9.10am) and I have to stand, but I don't mind. A man gets on at the next station, and begins addressing the carriage loudly (and in French). I wonder if he's some sort of official, most likely a ticket inspector, so I get mine ready to display. I watch the commuters faces for some clue. Everyone is averting their eyes and ignoring him. He finishes his monologue and moves down the carriage. Some commuters get off at the next stop and I sit next to a lady and ask her if she speaks English. She replies "a little" so I ask her what the man was saying. She says "oh, he wants your money". Ah, well, he wasn't very successful with that particular strategy :-/

Suddenly some quite loud music begins and I look around to see a young man standing near the carriage door playing a trumpet to a backing track. Again, he is largely ignored by the crowd. Clearly what is a novelty to me is a mundane every-day occurrence to everyone else. I quite enjoy the entertainment, although I'm sure the musician didn't intend me to do so for free!
I get off at my stop and locate the correct exit - this is getting easier! Once out on the street I'm not sure which direction to walk, but it doesn't take long for me to find a landmark and from there it's simple. I locate my school and it's taken me about 30 minutes from the time I left my apartment. That should be no problem at all, I'm very happy to say!!!
The school isn't far from the Galeries Lafayette, familiar to me from my first visit to Paris in 2005.

This is a beautiful shopping complex with a delightful ornate glass and steel dome and a terrace on the 8th level that provides a lovely view over Paris. The terrace is almost deserted when I get up there - it must be something to do with the icy wind..............!!!!!!

I stay out there just long enough to snap a couple of photos of La Tour Eiffel (in the distance) and the Opera Garnier (right next door), then head back inside the warm shop. As lovely as this building is, and it does have lots of high class designer items, it's really not much different to any large department store back home, so I decide to keep wandering.
A street away I notice a "hop on hop off" bus and on the spur of the moment decide to get on board. The driver says I have two options - an "all day" ticket that allows me to get on and off as many times as I like until 6pm (it's only 10.30am) or a 2 hour ticket that gets me one loop around Paris and 40 of its main landmarks. I choose the latter option as a good way to get reoriented to the city, and it turns out to be just what I need. Two hours later, after a whirlwind viewing of the Pyramide du Louvre, Pont Neuf, Notre Dame, Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, Arc-de-Triomphe and La Madeleine (to name but a few), and some very interesting commentary along the way, I feel as though I have my bearings again and much more confidence to navigate my way around independently from now on.
Fortuitously, as we pass along Boulevard des Capucines heading back towards the Palais Garnier and the end of our tour, I spot the Fragonard Perfumery. I did a tour of the perfumery last time I was in Paris, and bought some lovely perfume samples. I'd remembered that it was in this vicinity but without the exact address (I'd forgotten to Google it before I left the apartment) I knew I'd be lucky to find it again just by chance. Well lucky chance it is, and I now have it marked on my map for future reference.
From the Fragonard shop I feel confident to walk, so I head off in the direction of the Seine, knowing that with the river on my right I can simply keep going and will eventually find my way home. I head along the Rue de Rivoli, enjoying the visual delights in shop windows - the many boulangeries and patisseries - and stopping to read the menus in several restaurants. My goal on the way is to find, and buy, a typical Parisian macaron, having never had one before. Just a little further along I come to a window displaying a veritable rainbow of macarons - they're so pretty!!

I manage to ask in French for "un macaron pistache s'il vous plait" and am rewarded with a smile and a gorgeous green macaron. It's delicious :-)

Before too long I see my helpful landmark, the Place de la Bastille, ahead of me in the distance, and then I'm back at my apartment feeling very pleased with my navigational efforts. All in all a great day!
Time to Skype my wonderful husband :-)

Franprix, Monoprix & Orange

25/2/13
No, not oranges, but Orange, the mobile phone provider. The plan today is to get a French SIM to make it easier (and cheaper) to stay in touch with those at home by text message and phone calls. The nearest Orange store turns out to be in the next street, a mere 5 minute walk.

The concierge is very helpful, speaks quite good English, takes my details and asks me to wait on the (orange) couch. A few minutes later his colleague calls my name, and then cheerfully tells me that "no" he doesn't speak English! Oh dear, well I am in Paris after all......... So, with a mixture of key words (both of us - it turns out that he does actually have a few useful words like "no data" and "prepaid"), pointing at the computer screen, smiling and nodding - well I AM an augmentative communication specialist after all ;-) - we manage to set me up with a prepaid SIM that will serve the primary purpose.
Today the weather is wet and cold, after starting off with some lovely snow that doesn't last but turns to drizzle from a dreary grey sky. I'd originally planned to go a little further afield to orient myself to my French language school, but in the end I decide to explore a couple more supermarkets closer to home and wait for a kinder weather day to venture further. After my success at Carrefour yesterday, I've made a list of additional things I need, including a vegetable peeler (how does one peel a carrot without this??) and something in which to brew my kukicha tea (yes, for those who know what I'm talking about I brought my sticks with me).

My first supermarket stop is the local Marche Franprix, just a small store where it becomes quickly obvious that I won't be finding what I'm looking for. I do enjoy browsing though, there's something quite satisfying about reading the French labels and descriptions and successfully working out what's inside the packet or tin!!
Later in the day I try the Monoprix, a much bigger supermarket with a wonderful variety of food, but alas no kitchen utensils. Again, I enjoy browsing and choosing things to buy for dinner. A chicken and mushroom risotto is on the menu tonight (taste.com has come to France with me!!!), and I'm sure I'll manage to whip that up in my little kitchen with no problems at all.

On my way home I spot a homewares store, and pop in to see what I can find in the way of kitchen utensils. Surely here I'll find what I'm looking for........... I could buy a teapot but it doesn't quite work for kukicha tea, which needs to be boiled, so what I end up getting is a cute little non-stick milk pan that holds about 300ml. I also find a perfect little tea strainer. And with that success, I promptly forget about the vegetable peeler!! Oh well.
Back in my apartment, and after a Skype with my beautiful husband, I make the risotto as planned and it turns out to be delicious and very satisfying on a cold night :-)
And there ends my second day in Paris. I'm starting to feel more at home in this beautiful city, now I just need to master a little more of the language (and find a vegetable peeler)!!!

Home away from home

24/2/13 11.15am
After about 30 hours door to door, I've finally arrived at my tiny Parisian home away from home. My host is overseas so she's arranged for her friend to meet me and help me get oriented to the apartment - it really is very cosy and lovely.

My host has left a few staples in the fridge, and some helpful instructions which her friend walks me through before she leaves me to get settled. After she's gone, I feel tired and a little homesick, but I know that after a good night's sleep I'll feel better. I have about an hour to find one of the local supermarkets before the closing time of 1pm (Sunday) so I make that my first mission, after which I can relax and take the rest of the day as it happens.
I have a quick bite to eat, then I rug up and set off to find the supermarket. I realise when I get down to the street that I was so anxious not to forget the entry code and my doorkey (visions of locking myself out gave me the shivers!!) that I've forgotten to bring the map with the supermarket locations clearly marked by my kind and helpful host. I could trek back up the stairs to retrieve it, but I decide to have an adventure instead! I walk in the general direction I recall from the map, turn left at the street that I think is correct (it's name looks to be about the right length.......... does that sound like your kind of strategy my lovely husband??) and then follow my nose. One thing I know about myself is that I'm good with maps - not so good at locating myself without one, but if I've looked at a map and have a visual memory of the location, then I can usually rely on that memory and orient myself fairly well. Et voila! After walking for about 10 minutes I come to the local Carrefour supermarket - my second directional success and a big confidence boost!!! I manage to decipher enough French labels to get some things for dinner and breakfast, and am able to pay easily with my Travel Money card, so another win!!
Back at the apartment, I could easily crawl into bed and sleep, but instead decide to go for a big walk to get the vital daylight I know is necessary for minimising jetlag. I admit to being a little nervous about getting lost, so make sure to take the map with me this time. As it turns out, this is completely unnecessary as Place de la Bastille is only about 2 minutes walk from the apartment and is a great big unmissable landmark and roundabout with many streets converging, so I figure if I take one of those streets and then just head back in the reverse direction I can't go wrong.

I head up Boulevard Richard Lenoir, and serendipitously find myself in the midst of what looks to be a huge and amazing outdoor market. I've only caught the tail end of it, as everyone is packing up their stalls, but I ask one of the stallholders how often the market is held. Despite his minimal English and my almost non-existent French, I manage to establish that the market is held on two days per week. I then ask an obvious tourist (hmmm, I wonder if I look like that too) and she confirms that the market is indeed held on Sundays and Thursdays. Once I get back to the apartment, I look it up in my Lonely Planet Paris guide (thank you my lovely son) and discover that this market - Marche Bastille - is considered one of the best outdoor fresh food markets in Paris. What a bonus, right on my doorstep - fresh fruit and vegetables, seafood, olives, cheese, bread, and much more - fantastic!!! I'll definitely be a regular visitor.
3pm
Not wanting to go home and be tempted to bed too early, I decide to walk towards the Seine - about 5 - 10 minutes at the most, it turns out. At the Pont de Sully I spot a familiar spire not too far away, and after another 15 minutes or so I find myself on Il de la Cite with Notre Dame looming majestically before me.

Again, a thorough visit for another day, but I take a couple of quick snaps. As I discovered earlier, finding my way back to Place de la Bastille is easy and the walk does me good. A light snow is falling the whole time, which is wonderful and romantic - hmmm, well it would be if only.........................
Back on my "home turf" I pop into an amazing and cosy chocolate cafe and treat myself to a take-away hot chocolate, which is nothing like the traditional watery hot chocolate with which I'm familiar, but more like mostly chocolate melted into a little milk, so decadently thick it's hard to drink it through the hole in the take-away lid, and I need a spoon to finish it off properly!! I feel so much better for having it :-)
Having not worn my thermals, by this time my legs are feeling icy, so I decide to head back to the warm apartment for a hot shower. Note to self: wear thermals tomorrow, they really do make a difference!
After a 5pm dinner cooked in my tiny but perfectly adequate kitchen, I'm ready to head to bed to watch a movie and read for as long as I can manage. Turns out this isn't long at all, and I think that unsurprisingly I am alseep by 7pm. The end of day 1 in Paris!! :-)

J'arrive!!!

24/2/13 8am
Touch down in Paris, in the snow! As we descend, all that I can see out the window is white, until the very last moment and then some buildings appear, with snow all around, not thick but lovely nonetheless, light flakes falling still. The outside temperature is a balmy zero degrees :-)
We taxi for a long long time before finally pulling up at the terminal. In the airport, I find my luggage and am waved through customs without a second glance - no declaration paperwork to complete, unlike in Australia. My next task is to find the Les Cars Air France bus stop which, according to my apartment host (a flight attendant for whom CDG airport is like a second home) is near exit C2. I can see many exits and signs, none of which could reasonably be described as C2. Uh-oh!!! I take a moment to retrieve my winter woollies from my suitcase then, more suitably attired, I venture outside the main doors to look for a sign. And there it is, not very far away. No getting lost "adventures" for me today - yet anyway - relief!!! A short wait and then finally on the bus and heading into the city. Next stop Gare de Lyon, where I lug (so maybe that's where that word came from!) my luggage down the steps to the Metro ticket booth. Thankfully an easy transaction to purchase my ticket, then just a quick ride and I'm at my station and looking for the correct exit. A fairly long walk, another set of steps (up this time) and there in front of me is the landmark shop, just as my host described. I take the street as instructed, and locate my building. Before I left home I'd searched on Google maps for the street view of my apartment, as suggested to me by a friend who'd found it a helpful preparation for her trip. What a great idea!! As I walk I recognise buildings I'd viewed online, so I know I'm heading in the right direction (thanks for the great tip Eleanor!!). A couple of minutes later the bright red door is right in front of me and, even better, the door code I've been given works and I'm in!!!!

The adventure begins

24/2/13

Well, after a bit of a nervous morning finalising my packing (and wondering what on earth I've done), followed by an 11 hour flight, I find myself at Dubai airport at midnight. My body thinks it's 4am and is seriously berating me for depriving it of sleep (those who know me and my dubious sleep habits may scoff and laugh at this point), however I know this 24 hours will be a bit of a write-off and I'm prepared for the potential jet lag to follow (but cheerfully optimistic about my capacity to recover quickly)!!!

Dubai airport is a bustling melting pot, even in the wee hours of the morning. With another 3 hours before my next flight I have time to ................. browse the many shops, send a couple of text messages to my lovely husband, file my fingernails (what? TMI???), search out and try a few power outlets in the hope of adding a bit of charge to my rapidly depleting phone battery (alas, it seems that electricity outlets in Dubai require a UK adapter and as prepared as I am I only have European), people-watch, write a blog entry (to be published later), and walk endlessly up and down, which is actually a relief after sitting on a plane for half a day. Another 7 hour flight ahead of me before I get to Paris.
One thing to note about Dubai airport - you don't need to have the local currency to make a purchase but can shop with your Euros, USD, AUD, whatever you have on you, it seems. Very handy! But don't be surprised if you're given an eclectic mix of currencies as change - oddly quirky :-)
A flight to Australia is called at about 1.15am and a part of me wants to change my mind and get on board, fly straight back home and forget the whole thing. But I reason that I'm tired and a little disoriented, my body and brain think it's 5.15am, and I haven't slept for almost 24 hours, so I know that in a day or two, after a good sleep, I'll be very glad I kept going.
My brand new husband sends me a text message saying that he can't wait to hop on a plane and join me (3 weeks and counting.........) and I realise again how much I miss him. I need a sugar hit (a poor substitute I know) so I buy some familiar fruit Mentos. Ever the cautious traveller, I decide not to buy anything to eat or drink that's not in a sealed packet or bottle (yes, my beloved husband and my Bali travel buddy, I can hear you laughing - you know me well..........). I sit for a while to people-watch (there's only so many laps of Dubai airport terminal B that can be done before boredom sets in).
In that same cautious-traveller vein, I spend a bit of time rehearsing the directions that my apartment host gave me for getting from Charles De Gaulle airport to the apartment. By then I will have been awake for the better part of 36 hours and I'm expecting, not surprisingly, to be less than fully alert, so it would be nice not to get lost at that final juncture!
I sit for a bit and wonder how many hours the average person spends each year hanging around in airports. At 1.30am I remember I'd be waking up about now, if I was at home. At 2.15am I go to the departure gate for my flight to Paris. Nearly there.......... :-)

Anticipation..............

In less than 24 hours I board the first of two flights that will take me to Paris for my long-awaited and much-anticipated long service leave. Two months living in Paris, learning the language, and (hopefully) loving every minute!