Cem Partie II

Friday was a beautiful day. The sun came out and was making the tiniest shadows in our wall. Our plan for the first part of the day was to venture into lots of little shops... and we succeeded, taking some great things with us on the way. It was so warm that we had no need or desire to metro anywhere and we didn't, but we walked around the 2nd and 3rd arrondisements enjoying the warm weather and good company.




Spotted on Rue Tiquetonne.



B&W versus Y&B.



Postcard writing after having sandwich/soup at Cosi, a luchtime favorite on Rue de Seine.







After the daily activities, a big couscous dinner at the house... we ventured once again into the streets but this time, heading further north to Strasbourg-Saint Denis. Line 8 felt as long as usual, and a bit of nostalgia hit me when we got down at what used to be my stop for the past 4 months.

















Neighborhood-wise, Faubourg St. Denis is stellar, and despite the square meter limitations we had, I still find myself wanting to change so badly that wall we now look at for the precious view we used to have. But Bastille with all its trashiness is definitely a better choice for us, since the apartment in itself is so lovely and hyggeligt.

Anyways, after taking a long stare at the Porte we walked to Chez Jeannette we we had some drinks. The place was packed and Sam managed to charm the DJ so much that she stared at him through the glass when we were leaving, asking him to come back.

He scored some cool points there, no doubt.



Stolen pictures from Chez Jeannette website.

Mind-blowing.





We then went to Annie's place in Chateau d'Eau and hung out for a while. We decided to walk home and it was probably one of the best decisions I've taken in a while. Haha, yes. This city should be walked, and walked by night. When it's silent, when you can stop and stare and don't bump into people, when you can separate the sound of your own footsteps from other sounds. It was an incredible walk back home and that made me have just the best sleep ever. Next morning, wake up to have sooooo much incredible food and good conversation at Le Pain Quotidien, not bad.

Cem Partie I

Straight outta the northern lands of Scandinavia, more specifically Lund Sweden, Cem landed last Wednesday night in Parisian soil.

We spent three days cruising the city, museums, cafés, and Cem got a pretty good idea of what my Parisian life is all about: the occasional glamourous ventures, Gossip Girl school included, and the frequent unglamorous evenings, which start in picking up a missing ingredient for dinner in the downstairs Monoprix, and end in long hour sitting in out couch, a.k.a. The Time Vampire.

Saint Germain, class on 28 Saints Pères, La Basile on Saint Guillaume, soup at Cosi at Rue de Seine, vintage shops around Étienne Marcel, salads on Pick-Clops, drinks at Chez Janette, midnight cruisung through Chateau d'Eau, République and the Haut Marais, breaDfast at le Pain Quotidien, some solid few hours at the Pompidou Center, and the list goes on.

This is the Cem Series Part 1.

After attending my Thursday class, we went for cofee and waled around the Saint Germain area. La Duree made us stop and fantasize.





Next stop: lunch in Le Marais. Where else other than the Pick-Clops. Classic.





Sam joined, and we headed towards the Pompidou to check out the Mondrian/De Stijl exhibit.

Tall and slim. Quasi-wizard.

(two words which seem to be pretty hot right now between cool Parisians)

Views from up high of the Centre Pompidou



Elvish status.


A Kandinsky explosion.




Light installations.








Stepping through the lights. Shoe issues were preventing Cem and I from catching up.

Marché Saint Ambroise

About two blocks away from my apartment, on Boulevard Richard Lenoir, there's a market that opens twice a week, Thursdays and Sundays. I had been wanting to go for a long time and get some fresh produce and spices, but always managed to found myself being too lazy on Sunday mornings ar too late on Thursdays. However, I finally made it last week! And it was very much worth it.

The market runs all along the boulevard, ovrlooking La Bastille and you can find almost everything you want: fruits and veggies, confiture and foie gras, middle eastern spices, flowers and pots, etc etc... It's so much nicer to buy your food from a market, everyone was so nice, and also, I had the best falafel I've had yet in Paris! (Big moment in my French life). The couple that made them had a little stand with middle eastern food and gave us hummus and moussaka to taste.

Remebering those days during vacations in CR when I would only watch the Food Network for hours: "DELISH!" Said Rachel Ray.

45 Minutes

I try to walk to school everytime it's not too cold outside. However, after a few times the standard Rivoli-Ile de la Cite-Saint Germain route gets a little old, so I try to take different streets and bridges to vary the view. A couple fo weeks ago we had a 3 day spring extravaganza and I decided to add some extra weight to my bag and took my camera to document the walk to school.

(Note: this was an extrordinarily beautiful day, it's been grayish/rainish lately with some exceptions)

Bastille from Blvd. Beaumarchais

Rue Saint Antoine

Pantheon peeking through while crossing to the Left Bank

Notre Dame and Co.

Police patrolling through Notre Dame. I have irrational hate towards them and they're everywhere in Paris.

Stylin'... sweet hair.

Chinese mafia walking towards Saint Michel

Cute cafe on the 5th walking bak home