Monday, June 7, 2010

le fin de semaine/le weekend

The weekend was long – thank God. The boys finally made it and we spent the first night running around the city: had a picnic on the Seine and then headed to some bars. The drinks were expensive (8 euro for a beer) but that’s Paris. I was just happy to be with friends. One setback was that the metro closes at 1:45 so it was a race against the clock to get home (which we did).

Saturday was more eventful. A morning visit to the Louvre and Tuileries (didn’t mine the repeat visits) and then a long walk to Rue Cler. I don’t think the boys realized how far it was but we got a nice traditional café lunch at the end. Unfortunately we didn’t check the menu before we sat down. Needless to say, it was the best Coke and fruit salad I’ve ever had.

We then split off so some of us could go the Eiffel Tower (which I hadn’t been to this trip). Lots of pictures later, we took the metro back and found ourselves a Kabab. There was only enough meat for two so I took one for the team and bought a spinach quiche. No complaints. Then it was a long way to the clubs along the Champs Elysée. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into any of the exclusive nightspots but the 25 euro cover made me not too upset. The downside was that the metro had closed and taxis were unattainable. The seven-mile hike across dark Paris streets was nothing short of horrible. But it’s all about the experience I guess.

Sunday was a nice day to sleep in. Once we finally got up the boys suggested attempting to get into the finals of the French Open, which took place in Paris. After splitting up, a long metro, getting lost in the city, and then finding out it was impossible to get in, we gave up and went into the city for some sightseeing. Notre Dame, Jardins du Luxembourg, and some other things I’ve already seen. The fromage Panini and croque monsieur along the way made it worth it.

Since everything closes on Sunday, the only place open for dinner was a little Italian restaurant around the corner. You could tell immediately that the owner was Italian, since he was friendly and couldn’t be happier that we were there. A pizza and caprese salad weren’t very French of me, but we did all try the escargot. When in Paris, I guess. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It tasted like a garlicky oyster.

Nighttime and an early wakeup call led us to sitting in the room and drinking some more wine. What could be better? It was only disappointing to wake up and realize the weekend was over and it was time for class.

Hopefully the week flies by again.

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