An American Tourist in Paris

The bakery was nice enough to give me a few days off at the end of my time in Paris to actually be able to explore the city I called home for three weeks.  Though we did not get to see everything...is that even possible...here are some of the highlights that you shouldn't pass up if you find yourself in France's largest city.

1 - Notre Dame Cathedral

This towering Roman Catholic Cathedral has been standing in France since 1345.  If possible, the inside is even more breathtaking than the outside.  There was actually a service going on during our visit which made the whole experience seem even more Godly.  It never ceases to amaze me that architecture like this has been in existence for as long as it has.  If it's a nice out, pay the extra fee to go up to the cathedral towers where you can look out over the city.  It was extremely cold that day, so we skipped this one, but I've heard the views are just as amazing as the church itself.

 

2- Pont de l'Archeveche 

Built in 1828, this is the narrowest road bridge in Paris, but that's not why people visit here.  This bridge is known as the "love lock" bridge.  Pairs visit here and secure a padlock with their names on it to the bridge.  The key to the lock is then thrown into the river below to signify the couple's love to be everlasting and unbreakable.  Today there are thousands of locks connected to the bridge.  Although many people think it is an eye sore, I thought it was cheesy fun.  I convinced the hubs to play along and we paced our lock close the the bottom edge of the bridge so we could find it again...if we ever come back.

3 - The Eiffel Tower

Is any trip to Paris really complete without taking in this beauty?  I got to see it every day on my way to and from work, but standing at the bottom of the tower was completely different.  The tower was built in 1889 to serve as the entrance to the World's Fair.  It is the tallest structure in Paris and has been visited by over 300 million people.  The lil one and I enjoyed an afternoon of exploring the tower and a nearby Christmas festival together.  She took some pretty good pictures!

4 - Christmas Markets

If you happen to be in Paris during the holiday season, make sure to check out a few of the Christmas markets around the city.  The largest can be found along Avenue des Champs-Elysees.  My advice to you?  Come hungry!  There are some tidbits to buy as far as presents go...but the thing to come for is the food!  Lots of traditional French treats both for the savory and sweet tooth.  And don't forget to wash it down with a nice warm Vin Chaud!

A few things we wanted to see bu didn't get to?  The first were the Catacombs.  The Catacombs hold the remains of about six million people, all of which dies hundreds of years ago.  In fact, the catacombs was Paris's answer to "overflowing" cemeteries and has been open for visitors since the late 1800s. We actually lived just down the street from the entrance to the Caracombs, but every time we tried to visit, the line was wrapped around the block.  Pictures online were creepy enough...wonder if the lil one would have been frightened?

The second was the Louvre.  I don't think this museum needs any introduction or history as it holds the Mona Lisa among many other masterpieces.  We had plans to visit here our last day in Paris, but the lil one got sick and we had to cancel.  Hopefully we will get back one day to see this legendary museum.

So ended our time in Paris.  Here's a pick of the apartment we called home...fifth one from the bottom, right above the apartment with the light on.

Now were headed to our green home away from home...Ireland...

Lessons Learned While Living in Paris

For those of you who don't know me, I'm a southern girl.  Not only that, but I was raised in a small town in NC.  Although I live in a "bigger" city now, I by no means live in a big city.  I've always dreamed of what it's like to live in a big city...and here's what I've learned from living here.

1 - Paris is like any other big city.

I know I've never lived in a big city, but I've visited plenty.  You hear all the time about people coming to Paris and being completely overtaken by it so much that they stay for years.  But, I've also heard the same thing about New York City.  Really, Paris is like any other big city.  There are lots of people, it's crowded and expensive.  Sure, there's amazing architecture to look at and loads of history to take in.  Don't get me wrong, I've loved my time here, but it's not so much different than I would expect living in big city USA would be...except more people would speak English, which would be helpful.

2 - Disney Paris is a smaller version of Magic Kingdom.

Thanks to the help of a sorority sister from college, we were able to take the little one to Disney.  It was her first experience there, and she loved it!  She warmed up to the characters quickly and made tons of "new friends" waiting in lines for rides.  I had a blast too, but I have to admit, that I was a bit disappointed not to see many different rides.  I did get to meet Jack Skelenton though, and that was INCREDIBLE!

3 - Christmas time is just as crazy as back home!

So there isn't any Black Friday shopping, but it's still pretty nuts.  Christmas markets line most major streets (and are always packed with people), stores are over flowing and everyone is out to get their hands on Christmas goodies.  However, I did find out one interesting tid bit.  In working with my new French friends, we constantly compare stories of Americans verses the French.  Would you believe that EVERYONE celebrates Christmas in Paris...and most of France for that matter...no matter what religion.  And it's not "offensive" to say Merry Christmas to anyone.  Even Disney displayed those two words proudly.  You go France!

4 - Food and wine here are really cheap...if you're not eating out.

Restaurants are going to mark up food wherever you are, but the grocery stores here are much more affordable than back home.  Produce, for the most part, is very affordable (as is meat) and bread is dirt cheap.  Wine is crazy inexpensive...it's not unheard of to find a really good bottle for under 3 Euro.  Cooking has been a blast and cost efficient even without coupon clipping and comparison shopping.  Still...there was one food that I had really missed...BACON.  Bacon over here is sold already cut into small strips, lardons as my fellow culinarians will know.  Then today I found actual bacon...hello breakfast paradise!  Now...if I could just find the makings of Buttermilk Pancakes...

5 - No matter how much fun your having, you get to a point when you miss home...

It's been the last week that's been really hard.  Working in a kitchen all day where you can barely communicate with the people you work with gets very lonely.  I'm thankful that my family is here with me, but I've gotten to a point where I miss the little things about home...like driving a car, or calling a friend, or working in a kitchen where I can shoot the sh#t with the rest of the guys.  Soon our time in France will come to an end and we'll travel to Ireland for the holidays.  I don't want to rush that, but a part of me wants to get back home...sleep in my own bed...cook in my own kitchen...do laundry with an actual washer AND dryer! 

I'm sure it will happen before I know it...

Getting Back to Paris

I know I'm a bit behind...so here's time to play catch-up!

November 22 was my official last day in Le Cap d'Agde.  Given the difficulties we had driving down from Paris the first time, we decided to take a week, do some more exploring and take our time getting back to Paris.  Since we were having to transport all our stuff, we traded in our little white box car for a small SUV.  Seeing that the car held one of my friend's bikes in the back seat, I thought we would have no problem getting all our stuff into the car.  It was a tight fit.  And by tight I mean the hubs was the only one that could drive since there was stuff on the floor board in front of my seat giving me just enough room to slide my legs in and the poor lil one was packed in between all the luggage and boxes.  Next time we travel this far from home, I'm bringing one carry one piece of luggage...I don't care how long we're gone!

First stop on our trip was Toulouse.  The guy checking us in at the hotel was full of very helpful information and some pretty useless info about the states.  The hubs thought he was a bit creepy, but I didn't mind.  For the most part, we had fun the day we were there exploring the city...though we did get stuck in a very crowded street market.  There were nice sights to see, but after one day we were off again.

Our next stop was St. Emilion...which turned out the be a complete bust since the wineries we wanted to go to were either closed or we couldn't find them.  Such is our luck...moving on.

Bordeaux was up next and come hell or high water, I was going to a vineyard.  It seemed that wasn't going to be so easy with the lil one who, by this point, was having a hard time with the in the car out of the car trip we were taking.  Makes me glad that we had to re-plan our last few weeks here.  I'm not sure how she would have taken to training around Europe for almost three weeks.  Anywho...I book myself a tour of the country which ended up being a private tour after the couple that was suppose to come backed out at the last minute.  Some pretty scenery and some yummy wine too!

 

Still, the thing I loved more than anything in Bordeaux was the food the hubs found for us on our last night there.  He managed to stumble onto a fabulous Mexican restaurant.  So, for those of you who have never traveled to France, let me tell you something about the food...it's really good...for the first week.  It's all very rich and lots of it and all pretty much the same.  After a while, you begin to long for the selection you have and probably take for granted at home.  This food was incredible.  Some of the best I've had since I've been here.  I can't wait to get back to the states to see if I can recreated some of this wonderfulness.



Finally, we landed back in Paris.  The place we are staying at is really nice...plenty of room for the three of us...and I won't mention the nightmare we had getting the luggage up 5 flights of spiral stairs without an elevator...SOOO packing light next time!  So we landed in our "new home" for the next three weeks.

So how did we get along in Paris...

How Things Can Change in Just One Day

Thanks to a wonderful chef friend of mine back in the states, I had the opportunity this past week to do a three day internship in a patisserie in Paris!  The owners are a wonderfully sweet couple who welcomed me into their shop with open arms.  I hadn't been there an hour and I was already making creams, cakes, helping with decorations and floating from one station to the next.  Out of respect for the shop, I'm not sharing any of their recipes but you can drool over some of the yummies prepared at the shop, some of which I had a hand in helping complete.

I could actually feel myself gaining weight just being around all these beauties.  By the end of my first day in the shop, I had been offered the opportunity to come back as I wished.  This got me thinking.  Which would be better?  Finish out my time in France by completing my course or by working in this wonderful patisserie. 

After some thought, I decided with the latter.  Yes folks, we're moving to Paris!  The hubs is excited to be going to a city with some semblance of life and the little one does look cute all bundled up for the cold weather.

We also found out that we can't travel in the countries we were planning on traveling too after our time in France is up since those countries are in the same "union" as France.  So, we are leaving France mid December to spend Christmas and New Year's in Ireland.  I'm pretty stocked to be taking the little one to our "home away from home"!

In the end, I'm going to miss all my new found friends in Le Cap d'Agde, but new adventures await.  I'm finishing out one last final week of plated dessert, my favorite, before taking a week to site see and make our way to Paris.  I can't wait to drive into work and learn as much as I can in the city every pastry chef dreams to have an opportunity to work!

One last thing on the plate before we hit the road again...