Paris, J-2

So, what's Thanksgiving without turkey? Well...in Paris, it is a solo scavenger hunt through Montmartre, a chausson aux pommes with fresh coffee, a stroll along a very grey Seine, a bad case of baguette-mouth, and an after-hours trip to the Musée d'Orsay. Not quite the same as eating too much and passing out for a nap, but enjoyable in it's own way.

Walking through Montmartre for the Nth million time on my own was extra-fun since I took along a book of scavenger hunts set in Paris. I followed a set of clues (in French) to observe monuments and special sites to find code words which led me to a secret message at the end. It was a blast! On top of cracking the code, I saw some fresh corners of a neighborhood I thought I knew pretty well and stumbled across the French version of Mood Fabrics (Project Runway fans, you know what I'm talking about!!!). I could have spent all day feeling all the silks, tweeds and jerseys, but I tore myself away...without buying a thing! Anyone who has witnessed my fabric hoarding tendencies will admit that that shows remarkable restraint!

After a lazy afternoon of wandering along the Seine and through the Jardin de Tuileries, we hit the Musée d'Orsay, which happened to be open late on Thursday nights. Even though it was packed, it was great to wander through such an incredible collection of paintings, photos and sculptures. I've only ever been to this museum once in all my trips to Paris, since I'm usually too impatient to wait in the perpetually long lines. Glad I got to see it again after all this time.

A full day on my feet sent me to bed pretty early tonight (just as if I had had that turkey feast after all!), but tomorrow should be an exciting day...off to Chartres for my every-so-often pilgrimage.

L'arrivée

Alright...I owe everyone an apology. Je m'excuse!! I thought that the apartment we rented had wi-fi, but it didn't, so no new posts as I had promised. Désolée! Instead, I think I'll write a retroactive series of posts that follow my trip as I would have done on a daily basis if I had had the means.

Okay...I imagine at this point you've all figured out that I was in Paris for Thanksgiving! Hooray! After an uneventful flight experience on my old friend, Air Canada, we found our home sweet home in Paris, the 18e arrondisement, better known as Montmartre. We rented an adorable apartment in an Art Deco building from a really nice woman I found on the internet. After hiking the hills of Montmartre with our luggage, it was a treat to load them onto an elevator from the 1930's...how cool is that!

Feeling a little low energy after the long flight, but naps being forbidden, we went for a stroll in the one place in Paris with the majority of the residents had even less energy than myself. Père Lachaise Cemetary is wonderfully creepy and the overcast afternoon set the perfect ambiance for some sombre photos. Tons of famous people are resting in Père Lachaise...some of them were even moved there from graves elsewhere in Paris. When the cemetery first opened, it wasn't very fashionable to be buried there, so the powers that be moved a bunch of famous corpses there to entice people to buy plots!

After the sun went down and we got chased from the cemetery by the shadows, we hopped the Métro to somewhere that had the exact opposite energy...the Champs-Élysées. Unbeknownst to us, they were lighting the holiday lights for the first time and the whole street was mobbed! We took refuge under the Arc de Triomphe and then fought the crowds all the way down to Place de la Concorde.

We followed it all up with spaghetti and meatballs made in a microwave and a single hot plate...a lot more complicated than it sounds! Turned out to be very tasty, though, and worth the effort. A tasty red wine that cost only 3 euros (3 euros!!) knocked any last bit of energy out of me and I hit the futon like a rock. Bonne nuit!!