Day 27: Flea Bites (Picpus)

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Clay

May 1st is Labor Day in France, so everyone has a holiday.

I scheduled a walking tour with Paris Greeters, which is this service where natives of Paris will take you on a historical/social walking tour of parts of the city for free.  The walk I was schedule for was through the old village of Picpus (which translates to Flea Bites, because apparently the village suffered decimation at one time thanks to a disease transmitted by fleas).

It was me, a very nice Australian couple, and our guide, who was retired after 25+ years with IBM France.  She didn’t want to forget her English, so once every few weeks (or more) she would get out and give tours of the area on the eastern side of Paris.

It was a really nice combination of history and modern culture. We got to see the non-tourist areas of Paris, which was really kinda cool.

We finished up just before I had to be home for work, and I hammered through the day so that I could scoot out to meet Naomi for dinner at le verre volé, one of her favorite wine bars.

It was pricy, but totally worth it.  We had a great meal, great wine and great conversation that pretty much summed up with “Clay needs to relocate permanently to Paris.”

Dinner pictures are at the end of the photo gallery… the appetizer photo isn’t for the faint of heart.

Categories: Paris | Tags:

Day 26: Wandering

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Clay

Monday, pre-work, was spent wandering through the city trying to find some items I was tasked with bringing back from Paris for a friend of my dad’s.  At the same time, I was looking for interesting things to bring back for MYSELF.

As always, I had my camera with me, and stopped when I stumbled across cool places, like the gardens at the National Archives.

There’s also a photo of a shirt that I *WANTED* to get for my sister, but they didn’t actually have the shirt in the store, just in the window. :/

Categories: Paris

Day 25b: Eux 2 – le boogaloo électrique

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Clay

Post beers with Naomi, I headed over to Place Pigale for a coffee, then hit Théâtre Le Bout again for another episode of Eux – Compagnie d’Improvisation‘s Les improbables aventures des Eux.

Again, I understood about 8 to 10% of the dialogue.  This show was a bit more complex, but I was still able to follow the main story line.  It was a fun show, which was followed by about 3 hours of beers and conversation with folks from other improv groups, other non-improv actors, and audience members as well.

The Eux folks are wicked cool.

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Day 25: Cité de la Musique

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Clay

Had a meeting set up with Naomi to meet at la Cité de la Musique to go see the Bob Dylan exhibit there.  I was up and ready a bit early, so I walked down to la Bastille and lo and behold, THE BIGGEST FREAKIN FARMERS MARKET I’D EVER SEEN!!

Wandered up and down it’s length several times, got myself a croissant (SO NOM) and then a nutella and coconut crepe (SO SUPER NOM) before hopping on the 5 train to make my way northish.

La Cité de la Musique is both museum and concert venue, in the middle of this huge park like area that is one of the renovated areas of the city.  It used to be a huge slaughter house (the building is beautiful), and it now one of the cooler modern areas of the city.

Before heading into la Cité, Naomi and I walked around the grounds, towards the Museum of Science (which is a children’s museum, I think).  And we tried really really hard to get into the 3:30 showing of Pterodactyl 3D, but the last ticket sold as we got to the front of the line.  Oh heartbreak and dismay!  But resigned to enjoying the beautiful day, we headed over to the Dylan exhibit, and damn… what a cool museum.  I totally wish Alan DiPesa had been there with me, because I would have liked to hear his thoughts on some of the cooler, bizarre instruments like the blobolin (my name for it, see photos).

Post museum, we wandered down the canal and stopped in a bar for a beer and a plate of meats and cheeses that really made me never want to eat in America again.  Sweet lord that stuff was good.  Once beers were complete and meat was consumed, Naomi and I parted ways and I headed off for my evening adventure…

Categories: Paris

Day 24: Rainy Saturday

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Clay

I woke up Saturday morning REALLY sad.  1 week left.  It went so fast. I didn’t want to go home.

It was looking like it was going to be a day of moping around the apartment with my broody face on, but I decided to force myself out into the open, despite the persistent rain that was falling from the sky.

I ended up walking a little bit.

In the end, I’m glad I went out.  I walked A LOT.  Got totally soaked, but it was good.  Saw some markets, walked through some of the city I’d not seen before, and spent quality time on the subway getting myself home.

Categories: Paris

Day 23: The Opera House

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Clay

Along with the bonus of skipping the line at Museé d’Orsay, my ticket also got me a discount on a self guided tour at the Paris Opera House.  Now, I’d been by the building the other day, and it was HAWESOME.  And there were some models of the building at d’Orsay, which just spurred my desire to see it even more.

And so I did.

Words can not express how amazing this building is, so I will let the multitude of photos do so for me.

Categories: Paris

Day 22: Museé d’Orsay

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Clay

So apparently the third time *IS* a charm.  Took my ticket from l’Orangerie to door C and got into d’Orsay without having to stand in the (yet again) gargantuan line.

No photographs in the museum, of course.  But that didn’t stop me from taking some. 🙂

I spent most of my time in the Impressionists area.  I really need to sit down with my dad and talk painters sometime.  It’s funny, but there are some that I just click with, and some that I could take or leave.  Even when what they’re painting is very similar stylistically.

Cuban food for lunch.  Food & coffee porn below.

Categories: Paris

Day 21c: I’m on a Boat!

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Clay

So I snuck out of work for a few hours to run up to see more Improv.  Don’t worry, I worked late when I got home to make up for it.

This time, it was The Improfessionals performing their own format “Impro Flicks.”

It was a short form format where each actor took a turn “directing” a short film live on stage.  At the end of the film, the audience voted weather it was a hit or a flop.  The actor with the most hits at the end of the night was the winner.

This time, the Improv was in English.  But also… the Improv was ON A FREAKIN BOAT!

I'm on a boat, yo! Look at me watchin the Improv on a boat, yo!

The boat’s owners had turned the inside into a small bar and a decent sized theater.  I think they said it sat 70 or so.  Nabad!!

And comfy, too!

The show was a lot of fun.  My favorite scene was a Shakespeare/Tennessee Williams mashup (go figure, Un-Scripted person gravitating towards Genre Mashups).  The cast was pretty eclectic, too. I’m pretty sure there were 2 Brits, and American, a German, a Frenchman and… perhaps someone from a Scandinavian country.  All doing Improv in English.

Go them! 😀

So yes, then I went home and worked until real late, so those of you from my work who are reading this can just chill, okay?!? 😉

Categories: Paris | Tags:

Day 21b: The Grocery Store

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Clay

There are two grocery stores near me. Each of them is about a block and a half in opposite directions.  I tend to go to Monop because the staff is friendlier.

I ran out tonight to get snacks, and wanted to make a few observations about the grocery store itself.  These things also apply to FranPrix.

1) The cookie section is huge.  Ridiculously huge.

Cookies

In a Gigantor Safeway this would be an appropriately sized cookie section...

Easily the largest section of the store aside from wine.

2) Hoegaarden. In a can.

HO!

I'm not sure if this is awesome, or a crime against beer.

3) Roasted Chicken and Thyme potato chips.

Chips

This is definitely not a crime against chips...

SO GOOD!!!

Categories: Paris

Days 20 & 21: In which our hero tries (and fails) to get into Musée d’Orsay (twice)

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Clay

I launched from my domicile with Museum Spelunking in my heart on Tuesday morning.  Hopping on the 1 train, I made my way to the Louvre-Rivoli stop, crossed the river, and walked along the Seine until I found myself at the Musée d’Orsay.  And what I found there shocked me.

The line was totally redonkulously long.

The line was soooooooooo looooooooooong!!

People at the end of the line were talking about a 3 hour wait to get in, and as it was 11, and I needed to be working by 3, that just weren’t gonna happen.

So I crossed the river again, with Destination Musée de l’Orangerie in my sights.  Passed by Place de Concorde (where the bigass Egyptian Obelisk is), and entered Jardin des Tuileries to find l’Orangerie closed on Tuesdays.

Refusing to be thwarted, I took a nice walk through le Jardin and snapped some photos, and giggled at all the statue wieners, finding myself eventually back at the Louvre, where I entered the Caroussel (mall) and bought myself some of the awesome tea I’d had at dinner the other night.

Headed home early, grabbed some lunch, and worked from 2 until 12:30.

::TIME PASSES:: Read more »

Categories: Paris

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