Jour 2 à Paris!

Don't be confused, I'm skipping day 1 for now - it takes about 2.5 hours to write these and who has that kind of time while ON the vacation???  Well, I enjoy writing them and remembering - but still...only so much time in the day.  It's 2:30am and I'm finally done with this one!  Enjoy!!

Today was a neat day.  I woke up with my alarm at 7:30am - but hung out in bed on my computer until maybe 8:15am?  I wore my "Top of the Eiffel Tower" dress that I LOVE and paid nearly full price for.  But a girl must feel pretty in Paris.  I think every single outfit that I have for all 18 days is new!  Yes, I like to shop.  I think it's very Parisian of me!  And props to Aunt Kathy for noticing my coordinating accessories!  

Outside my apartment door on the second floor

And we begin day 2

Anyone who really knows me - knows that I have trouble getting out of bed before...10am on vacation!!  But there's a good pressure designed into this situation - I'm trying to do my mom's vacation plan justice and and make it to everything!  I just looooooooooove my sleep - and this bed is extremely comfortable (or I'm just really jetlagged into thinking it is).
 

Out the front gate...

Paris greets me...

...onto my street (looking North)

Good morning!

My neighborhood - McDonald's to the right Metro above.

Day 2 - daily picture taken by someone inside McDonald's before I go on my way!

Arriving for a street market right above station!

I love the anticipation!

It's lovely, but it's not a street marche - it's not open today - darn trip advisor!

I'm so lucky, the Metro is almost within spitting distance!  And not just one line, but 3 different lines!  Finding my way feels a bit like second nature, after living in NYC.  I took the same train as yesterday, the M10 East to Maubert Mutualite marche but when I arrived, it was no where to be found!  Guess it isn't open on Sunday.  The neighborhood was charming and I wandered a few shops including a cheese shop that was $$$ and totally intimidating!  (I am, however, determined to eat some cheese while I'm here!)

I stopped at a bakery and purchased a croissant almondine for 1.90 euros and a croissant du chocolate for $1.10 euros (for later - and thank God I did!) I wandered eating my croissant wishing I'd come across an obvious choice for a cafe creme - but didn't.  I wandered my way West on St. Germain from the Metro: Maubert stop almost to the Cluny La Sorbonne Metro stop.  I walked the small streets just north before the Seine 

I found Craperie Cluny Cafe where I had my coffee and chatted with Sarah, a retired grandmother from Rhode Island.  She's here for a MONTH and invited me to mass with her, but I wasn't ready to get up just yet.

Charming view - sans the guy picking his nose.

Ahhhh, my first in Paris.  Cafe Creme.

Yay!

Sarah from Rhode Island

Cafe Creme 4.20 Euros!

I just happened upon this little area!

After my yummy espresso and steamed milk with foam I wandered the streets...straight into this shop!  OMG.  And I reiterate: OMG. 

Stopping dead in my tracks.  Must.  Go.  In.

Oh my.

Oh dear.

OH YES!!!!!

My first macaroon en France! (and it was a gift!)

New friends!

 Emilie is coming to study culinary arts in NYC soon - she'll be a chef and her sweet coworker will miss her!  They were so nice.  He gifted me my first Parisian tiny macaroon!  Raspberry = delish!  But I'm partial to chocolate and coffee flavors.  After we chatted a good :20 and emelie gave me her email for a rendezvous later in NYC - I said "bonne chance! and bid then adieu!"  I stopped to take the picture of the exterior of the store from across the street when Emilie ran up to me and handed me a gift!  A little bag of treasures.  I could have kissed her - I was so touched.  She made my morning for sure.

This was their shop!

A gift from strangers - no - new friends!

I wandered this adorable area on my way to Metro St. Michel.  Along the way, charming sites and some lovely music that stayed with me throughout the day.  Kathy, you know that song that's in another language like german or something: Biz du shane  something about "how wonderful you are"....I can't think of it but I've had it stuck in my head all day!  With the word (in another language) "vunderba" (wonderful)....it's on the tip of my mind!!!

St Michel

SO french - right??

So I said goodbye at St. Michel Metro - which feels like the mecca of Paris (or one of them) with such a wide intersection and huge sidewalks that look toward Notre Dame and the islands.  I headed to the 12 Arrondesmont for Saint-Ouen - at the M4's last stop: Porte de Clignancourt.  This is the oldest and most popular flea market in Paris.  It's way north.  (but not as far as the airport.)

When I arrived it felt like the ghetto.  Lots of guys pushing fake stuff at everyone walking by.  I didn't really realize that the market looked like this:

It would have helped if I'd seen this map on the way IN and not as I crawled back to the Metro in the sun.

Here are some of the things I saw and liked.  I didn't find anything that I really felt enticed to bring home with me, so it was a fun picture taking excursion.  And I did have  memorable time when the owner of this store said NO PICTUES and told me i had to follow her and delete the pictures and something about the "policia".   I looked at her like her head was spinning round and just said "NO, I'm standing on a public sidewalk taking pictures" and walked away.  The woman walking next to me was flabbergasted with the shopkeeper's words and we chuckled and shook our heads as we wandered round the next bend of the tiny outdoor corridors. I don't even know what she was protecting...I guess I'll see when I add the picture to this blog.

An absolute favorite as i went up the escalator

This was my favorite of the bunch - the woman in black pants is holding her dog and there's a couple grinning in the doors.

So french, no?

Yes, I'm making friends here.  He was exquisite.

Met this lovely artiste who paints the story of flowers $4500 Euros!

Discussing tailoring of a vintage piece

ya gotta love this.  I do!  You can't tell but there's items glued to this to make it pop!

Believe it or not - THIS was the picture I snapped before the shopkeeper threw a fit!

After she walked inside, I took another - just so I'd remember her!

Warm days at the Marche in Paris

Most weren't this shady!

The ride back to Paris central was a sweaty one.  It was nearly 4pm and I had now consumed only two croissants.  Sugary bread and coffee is not a meal to sustain me through the day...but I was determined to catch the Balabus!

The Balabus was awesome.  Except no airconditioning.  And, well, no effective air flow/ventilation even with the windows open.  So we sat in a glass box of windows...baking under the fantastic Parisian sun.  The Balabus is a city bus that runs a special route on Sundays until 8pm touring all the gorgeous sites.  My eyes just opened wider and wider as we made our way West along the La Rive Gauche or the Left Bank (the southern bank of the river Seine) past the Musee D'Orsay, Assemble Nationale, and my very first close up view of the Eiffel Tower!!!

From inside the bus

We then turned North to cross the Seine and got the amazing view of the Jardins du Trocadaro.  WOW.  Talk about impressive grounds from afar.  It's a hill garden area that looks across to the  Eiffel Tower.  Can't wait to go there and just hang out.  We continued on the route to cut into the Champs Elysees.

The Champs Elysees reminded me of Las Vegas strip!  Everything is there!  Restaurants, shopping, entertainment.  It's very cool!  But the bus was not and by the time we made it to the furthest point on the route, it was get off the bus or faint.  And since I'm traveling alone, fainting really wouldn't be so good.

I exited the bus and up the escalator not really knowing what I had arrived at.  La Grande arche la defense! 

This thing suprised me when I came up the escalator - didn't know where I was!

 I rested for about 1.5hrs then went further into the mall there to find a restroom - they win for WORST SIGNAGE EVER!!!!  I nearly piddled my panties!  I went to all 4 floors twice, around and around and was never so happy to see this:

Blessed by Starbucks air conditioning, leather seat with ottoman and free WiFi (pronounced wee-fi in french)

So then back to the Eiffel Tower for my 8pm ticket to the 2nd level!  I wasn't originally able to get a ticket
 to the top online - sold out.  And my mom got me what seemed to be the last ticket to the 2nd floor during my WHOLE WEEK!  (it was unavailable after we purchased mine!)  But she reminded me to see if I could purchase a ticket to the top at the counter on the second level - and I did!   
 

Walking quickly toward the tower!

Going inside to board the lift!

yeah, baby.  I'm here.

Voila!!

I met this cutie, a soon-to-be doctor from Boston traveling for SIX MONTHS!  



Here are the spoils of my Eiffel Tower trip. I'm home now and wasn't going to blog tonight since it was 11:30pm and I'm exhausted...but I love my mom and she's waiting for the pictures!  So it's 12:49 and I'm gonna see how quickly I can add them!

The Seine below as the sun sets

Seine looking West-ish

Looking South - my apartment is somewhere to SW (right)

Wheels that lift the lifts!

Parc du Champ du Mars and in the distance Monparnasse (tower)

So gorgeous!

This is the Jardins du Trucadero I told you about looking onto the Eiffel Tower

The lights at the very top!

Kinda lovin my camera once I figured out how to change the settings!