Breakfast in America

Breakfast in America

4 Rue Mahler

Metro: Saint Paul

Comments: Well worth the wait. 7.95 Euro for a 2 eggs any style, toast, bacon/sausage, home fries!

Tartes Kluger and More

Once again, Sam Toh found a delicious place to go for lunch. Tartes Kluger only does tarts (more like quiches). They more three types everyday and you can order a generous slice with salad and soup for 10 euros. I had chicken and ratatouille with vegetable soup. Yum!

Tartes Kluger

6 Rue du Forez

Metro: Temple or Filles du Calvaire

Other places, tried and true:

Le 138

140 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine

Metro: Ledru-Rollin

Comments: amazing coffee drinks and desserts, very kitschy theatre like ambiance, reasonably priced, fun to go and read a book or study

Café du Temple

160 Bis Rue du Temple

Metro: Temple

Comments: This placed is decked out Marilyn Monroe, mardi gras beads, and leopard decor, there's almost a diner feel here; espressos even come in marilyn monroe garb and madeleines!

Cafe Chinois

7 Rue de Bearn

Metro: Chemin Vert

Comments: very zen atmosphere, great tea and vietnamese coffee, a little on the pricey side if you go by yourself, but sharing a pot of tea is pretty economic

Le Cordonnerie

28 rue Greneta

Metro: Réaumer-Sebastopol

Comments: Very bustling place, free couscous on saturday nights!

Happy Nouilles

95 Rue Beaubourg

Metro: Arts et Metiers

Comments: BEST noodles in paris and cheap, too!

Dishny

25 Rue Cail

Metro: Gare du Nord or La Chapelle

Comments: Great Indian food right in the heart of Paris's "Little India", 9 euro dinner menu includes samosa, chicken/beef/fish/veggie korma, and dessert

Places I Want to Try:

Patisserie Lenotre

44 rue d'Auteuil

Metro: Michel-Ange Auteuil

Expectations: Apparently they have amazing tarte tatin!

Bambou

70 Rue Baudricourt

Metro: Tolbiac

Expectations: Pho!

La Queue de Boeuf

70 rue Rébéval

Metro: Belleville ou Pyrenées

Expectations: Lyonnaise cuisine, warm environment

Les Fils de Maman

7 bis rue geoffroy Mari

Metro: Grands Boulevards

Expectations: Cheeseburger and tarte au toblerone!

AND MORE!

Art is Paris

One of my favorite photographers, Elliot Erwitt, was being featured at Musée Européene de la Photographie in the Marais. He does wonderful stuff with juxtaposition. See below.

"Dogs are basically people with more hair." - Elliot Erwitt

Balloon art that I found on Rue Saint-Martin not too far from Centre Pompidou

A couple of us were invited to the Art Paris! Exhibition opening where modern and contemporary art galleries from all over paris show their works in this huge space.

Airplane Food

Trust Air France to have edible (very edible, delicious maybe) airplane food.

1. A whole grain baguette
2. Pesto pasta salad with goat cheese
3. Plum tartlette

It's March

It's already March and I can't believe I've been here for two months already.

Well, I can and I can't. I can believe it because:

a) I've gotten to know Paris fairly well (it's a pretty big place, so I don't know if I'll ever know it really well, even after six months)...I have a pretty good sense of direction and I can tell you how to get to any neighborhood by metro and in certain neighborhoods, by walking.

b) My french has actually improved. Speaking more than writing, but still! I can now carry conversations with French people and not be socially awkward or virtually out of the loop the entire time. Sometimes, I even make jokes. And today, some woman asked me for directions and I was able to give them to her in fluid French.

c) I have favorite places.

- Le Jardin du Luxembourg for a quick lunch stroll

- The cheap boulangerie on Rue Vavin

- Eric Kayser for the best almond croissants ever

- Happy Nouilles for my Asian food fix

-La Musée d'Orsay to study/read/write in

- Le 138 Café in the Bastille

- Bar Dix near Odeon for fabulous Sangria

- Le Caveau des Oubliettes near Saint-Michel for some great jazz

- l'avant comptoir for the best, freshly-made gauffres in town

- Le Piano Vache for cheap drinks and gypsy, Django Reindhardt-like jazz on Monday nights

- UGC Gobelins for cheap movie tickets during the week

...and the list goes on.

d) I've stopped being harassed so much. In the beginning I was getting whistled at, propositioned, etc. A LOT. And honestly, I think it was because I stuck out like the sore tourist-looking thumb I appeared to be. But now, I must carry myself differently because I haven't had much interaction with these hommes louches.

Strasbourg

On a whim, Emma and I went to Strasbourg up in the northeast part of France in the Alsace region. We took the TGV so it was super zippy and comfortable getting there and back. It borders Germany, and you can definitely tell when you look around at the architecture and taste the amazing food.

The cathedral there is famous since it used to be the tallest cathedral in Europe. It's always windy there, however, and we were told that there's this myth that a woman was being chased by the devil, and when she ducked into the cathedral to hide, the devil couldn't go in. So, he waited for her to come out, running around the church even until today. That's why no matter what temperature, no matter how calm it is elsewhere in Strasbourg, there is always wind by the Cathedral.

Strasbourg is also a really international place since the Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, Eurocorps, etc. all have headquarters there. When we went to a bar to watch the last game of the winter olympics, there were americans, english, canadians, irish, french, and germans.

Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art

An amazing tarte tatin à la mode by Mark Gorey

Hanging out at the Gorey apartment

More contemporary art

Emma saying she can't make pizza while making pizza

Beautiful architecture that's been there for hundreds of years (miraculously, it wasn't destroyed in world war II)

Foos Ball Tournaments galore. Intense wrist exercise.

Amorino ice cream. Get as many flavors and they'll shape it into a flower for you!

Petite France

I absolutely love the colors on these houses!

Much love and thanks to the Gorey family for hosting Emma and myself. We had a fabulous weekend filled with good home cooking by Mark, fooseball tournaments, movies, lots and lots of tea, art, and tours of the city of Strasbourg!