I studied in Paris for four months and in some ways, this restaurant brings me back to that wonderful time. The white tiled walls, the Paris metro clock, and the freshly cut baguettes are just little reminders of why I fell in love with Paris, and why I find this place to be one of Ballard’s…
New blog post up on one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. Check it out!
Capitol Hill has some of the greatest restaurants in Seattle. One of these, and one of my personal favorites, is Café Presse. It reminds me of a French tabac. Racks of French magazines and newspapers, full bar, small green bistro tables, and football games to watch on the weekends. But most…
ALLEZ LA FRANCE!
The French are extremely dedicated to soccer, so much so that they are willing to literally shove you out of the way for a few tiny inches on the train. No, I’m not joking. We experienced this and the Les Bleus fan base on Tuesday when our whole ISA group went to the French vs. Bosnia game. This match would determine if France would qualify for the European Championship in 2012. So big deal to all the fans donning their blue, white, and red.
About 7 of us traveled to the stadium on the RER, which of course being France, had been dealing with protests and strikes the whole day. I have never in my life seen so many people attempting to get on a train. People were literally climbing over each other. We all grabbed on to each other in attempt to not lose each other and end our last days in Paris trampled on a metro train floor. The looks on our faces were priceless as if there was some terrible hurricane and we were all running for shelter. It was also very lovely to be all up in people’s faces I didn’t know, but..c’est la vie I guess.
But we finally got there, got patted down for security (side note, I need to stop bring my pepper spray everywhere because 1. It’s illegal here and 2. I have to scramble to hide it before I get taken away by the French police), and got into the game. The game was so much fun. I loved seeing how dedicated their fans were, even the Bosnia fans who happened to light some small fireworks in celebration. Really. The game ended 2-2, which I guess means they won because of some point system I know nothing about. I put together a little video of the game for you to experience first hand a French soccer game. First video, so sorry if it’s a little rough. ALLEZ LES BLEUS POUR TOUJOURS!
Dinner was certainly eventful tonight. Host family cooked amazing roasted chicken and rice, which was abruptly interrupted by a cloud of smoke coming from the oven. We sat there for a while trying to eat our dinner until the smoke made it impossible to tell who was on the other side of the table. Rubbing my eyes with one hand while trying to cut my chicken was certainly an amazing feat. Our host mom frantically opens the windows and calls out,” C’est pas normal” (this is not normal) over and over again while in the meantime, the whole table is cracking up in hysterics. People rushing to the window and gasping for fresh air, eyes tearing up from the smoke, host mom playful running around the room wailing her arms about through the smoke and calling out “Emily, where are you? I can’t see you”, while my host dad is jokingly fanning the huge window back and forth. Just another dinner with the Rochas. I love this family.
Jeudi (Thursday)
It’s always a wonderful feeling to lose yourself in Paris. And yesterday, that’s exactly what I did. The Latin Quarter is by far my favorite part of Paris at the moment. It’s is surrounded by the Seine, quintessential cafés, music, and little book stores. I decided to explore the left bank and without sounding to cliché, passing the time there made me feel like I could live here. At one point I walked across this bridge lined with little locks written on by couples who attach the lock to the gate and throw the key in to the Seine (totally romantic right?) and oh yeah, there was an adorable older man playing “La vie en Rose” on his accordion. As if Paris couldn’t get any cuter. On one street called Rue des Beaux Arts there were these gorgeous art galleries lining the street leading to L’école des Beaux Arts, which had the most amazing courtyards and rustically painted hallways. I wish I could explain it in a way that it would give it justice. And as I was walking through the courtyard I saw the most gorgeous French man who said Bonjour, and being my typical clumsy self, tripped over this floor board. Classy, I know. So needless to say I got out of there before embarrassing myself even more and continued towards St. Germain de Prés, which has some of the best shopping. And of course, being my shopping addict self couldn’t help but buy this gorgeous scarf. Side note, I need to practice my French numbers because umm… the scarf was more than I thought. Way more than I thought. Like I need to rearrange my budget more kind of price. But what can you do? Pray for more shopping wisdom I guess.
