Snack Attack: August 2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

My last day in Paris

My last day in Paris was spent walking around, shopping for gifts to take home, enjoying the sun at the Trocadero…and finally seeing the Eiffel Tower light up at night.

Compared to my previous posts and long winded emails, this one is rather short. But I really only have one thing left to say...

J’adore Paris!!

The crowds settling in for the light show

Ice cream at the Eiffel Tower!!

Finally...on my last night in Paris, I stayed up late enough to watch the Eiffel Tower light up.

Im back online after a few days with a new update. The next morning in Nice I walked down to the bech and as I got closer I couldnùt help but notice that techno dance music was blasting at the crack of 7 am. then i started noticing massive crowds (usually its only me and a fez old people up and about at that hour) and then i reached the beach and saw ironman nice signs everywhere and it all became clear. so i sat and watched a little of the madness for awhile, there were 2 men over 70 in the race, but i didnt see either one of them; one of them was apparently kicking ass too. so when iùd had enough ironman i walked into old town and the markets they have there....much like a farmers market but of course better, bc its europe and everything is better just in principle.

so then it was back to the train station and off to cannes. i was whateever about nice but i love love LOVE cannes!!!! it was like a cross of ,iami and palm springs....most people were super old, super orange, and super leathery looking. i checked into my hotel and immediately put on my swimsuit and hit the beach for lounging. i got there at like 2:30 and got a good 3 hours in, and when i left the sun was still high in the sky.i enjoyed some dleicious ice cream with a walk on the boardwalk before hitting home for bed (yes i still go to bed before it hits the double digits and while its still light out....i fit in great with the old folks).

day 2 in cannes i awoke and went straight to the beach with plans for like 10 solid hours of laying out (and i DID wear sunscreen!!). i started out at one beach filled with old people and a few kids. it was so cute how all these grandmas and grandpas come out for their morning swim int he ocean. it looked so refreshing and healthful i decided to try, only it didnùt go over so well for me....1. i thought the water was freaking freezing 2. i havent been in the ocean in YEARS and i realized that like most other things, i am terrified of it and 3. the salt water was burning my eyes. so i ran back out and resumed tanning. after a few hours i decided to eat and switch locations, so i got a panini from a beach stand and walked down the boardwalk to the beach on the other end. in betzeen the 2 public beaches there are restaurants that have inside tables but also lounge chairs on the beach where you can lay and be served your lunch. some of them even have piers that go out into the oceans with lounge chairs, i am sure they were all super pricey.

so i reached my next beach destination and settled in, but within 45 mins or so it started getting a little cloudy. i thought it would blow over, but it kept getting worse, so finally i left the beach and got an ice cream cone then i went strolling along rue d antibes, which has all sorts of designer shops where i checked out some 690 euro shoes. when i got back to my hotel i realized that what i thought was a glorious tan was actually a horrible sunburn....thanks A LOT sunscreen?! then i tried to get some aloe from the pharmacie but they had none, so now im just lotioning constantly and praying it doesnt peel.

so next day i was on the train back to paris. back in paris it took me like 45 mins wandering aimlessly to find my hotel bc it appeared as though the street ended when it actually cut diagonally across another street. so i finally found it, checked in, then went over to the arc de triomphe and champs elysees. i had an almost irresistable urge to eat at mcdonalds...But i resisted, while in france i can only eat from places that are not in america, plus i havent even eaten mcdonalds in soooo long, but now i want it so bad, im trying my best to hold out til the airport. i had to wait like 30 mins in line at laduree for some macarons, and since i wiated so long i got a few other pastries as well, which i ate all in one sitting alone in my hotel room like a true fat ass...delicious.

this morning i went to the bastille and did a walk of the marais area trough the jewish quarter and ate some delicious baklava. it was huge and literally drenched in honey. then i went to the pompidou center, which i believe is the worlds largest collection of 20th century art....and i am most definitely not an a appreciator of modern art. not only did i not like most of the things in that museum, but i actively disliked them. after the museum i went back to the jewish quarter to a place reported by many to have the best falafel in the world...and it was for sure the best falafel i have ever had. i may actually go back tomorrow for lunch now that im thinking about it.

so then i walked back toward the bastille and up along this walkway that used to be traintracks but now is a promenade park. i started getting tired and wanted to sit bc its so hot out but all the benches are metal and in the sun so they were too hot to sit on, so I was done with that park.

tomorrow is my last day in paris!! i dont have any firm plans, ive seen all the sites i wanted to see, so ill just be getting some final treats, stuffing myself with all i can, and then probably forcing myself to stay up to see the eiffel tower light up from the trocadero, and then perhaps crying myself to sleep. ill be back just in time to celbrate the 4th of july. i miss you all qnd ill see some of you very soon!!!

xoxo

Stunning cakes at Lenotre -- why don't my chocolate fans look like that?

Tart Chocolat for breakfast

I can't think of any words to describe the masterpieces at Pierre Herme

Gelato from Amorino

The best falafel I've ever had

Arc de Triomphe

Delightful pastries from Laduree

A clear day in Cannes

More Cannes

Enjoying the beach in Cannes

Beachfront restaurants in Cannes

Evening in Cannes

France - Saturday, June 27

An email to my mother....

Well I made it to Nice. The train ride was a little less than 6 hours and i had a window seat so it was nice and scenic. i didnt have a map so i was counting on a taxi driverto know where my hotel was. i got in the taxi line and fisrt like 3 elderly couples cut in front of me...not dying old, just retired old, but plenty able bodied. when i was finally first in line a taxi came but then a really old and disabled woman came limping up on her cane, so it went to her. then q nother came, but so,ehow another disabled old lady had appeared. so finally after like 20 mins in the cab line i get one, and he tells me he cant take me to my hotel bc the streets are blocked off. then he just drives away as i try to at least ask which direction the hotel is. ahhhhh so irritating!

so i spot a tourism office next to the train station and go in for a map, the guy tells me its only about a 15 min walk, it was more like 20-25, but at least i finally made it. its not really sunny; but instead an overcast muggy hot. the hotel is super cute (minus the 4 flights of stairs) and is right off of a main plaza with lots of shops, its a pretty happening area. the hotel is family run and the woman running it had her cute little baby with her. which reminds me...on the train, there was a woman with a baby behind me and it kept making whimpering noises and i thought at first geeze this baby makes a lot of noise, then later i thought actually this babys noises are really weird. after ahile the wo,an got up and moved seats and it was really a tiny little dog, not a baby. it got real annoying by the end of the 6 hour ride.

i spent a coule hours walking around, checked out the rocky beach and some of the shops. nice is nothing like paris, it reminds me of spain and italy with the crowded plazas and gelato shops in every other windowfront. im only here tonight, then i go to cannes early tomorrow afternoon for 2 nights. this was just a quick stop in to see what nice is all about. its nice not having a list of a trillion sites i need to see and just relax and walk around, but i have to say, i miss paris...id gotten so familiar with the layout and how things work. this morning the woman at the patisserie id been to 3 days in a row asked if i was leaving today, and last night the internet cafe man told me that i know where my home is since id been in his shop before.

thats all for now!!

Love,

Patty

Gelato, in the shape of a flower

The toilet on a balcony across from my hotel room....when you gotta go, you gotta go...

The beach in Nice

Marzipan animals -- too cute!

France - Friday, June 26

An email to my mother...

I'm glad I got to talk to you today! It was worth it getting the phone...it's been nice to hear familiar voices every couple days and I feel more accessible in case there were some sort of emergency. I forgot to comment on Michael Jackson while we were on the phone....so weird! 50 is so young...I'll be interested to see what the autopsy uncovers, if anything. ok, on to the daily update...much of this you already heard on the phone, but i always reply to your emails first so it ends up being a template for the ones I send to everyone else, so I have to put it all in. And this way you've got it all on record!

Even though I fell asleep at the grand hour of 9 pm last night (Good thing I've heard Paris nightlife is not amazing, bc I can't stay awake long enough to experience any of it), I forced myself to sleep in until 8 this morning. i turned on cnn to have in the background as i got ready (my new hotel has 2 english channels..cnn and bbc, i usually switch back and forth to whichever is least boring at the moment, and i must say, i've started to miss watching csi in french like i did at the old hotel). I did a double take back to the tv when i thought i heard the crazy news that michael jackson had died...and it was true. so weird!!! all day long today i'd walk by stores that were playing old MJ hits, especially thriller. apparently the french will miss him a lot, and per the BBC, so shall the chinese and japanese. so after watching the news for awhile i finally got out and headed to the metro.

i stopped along the way of course for a morning pastry, pain au chocolat. delicoius, as per usual. my original plan was to visit the arc de triomhe and then walk along champs de elysees, then come to the louvre and do the lourvre tour. on the metro, i completely forgot about my plans and just got off at the louvre and went straight to the museum. it reminded me of disneyland for the following reasons 1. endless crowds going in all directions 2. asian tourists taking pictures of absolutely everything and 3. way way too many children. i forced my way through the crowds to see all the main sites and then went over to the less crowded wing with ancient artifacts from iran, iraq, mesopotamia, egypt, etc. that was enjoyable of course because of the artwork, but also because of the lack of crowds and the perfectly temperature controlled air conditioned rooms. as i was leaving the louvre i suddenly remembered that i'd skipped the entire morning portion of my plan. i decided that i liked it as a morning plan, and pushed it back to when i return from nice and cannes.

last night as i was leaving the internet cafe, a sudden downpour came on and i was literally drenched on my way back to the hotel. the forecast had said rain, and it was raining when i woke up this morning, so i dressed for it. but by this point the sun had come out and my jeans and sweater were too hot so i went back to the hotel to change. while there, i remembered that my procrastinator self had kept putting on buying train tickets, and i still had none, although i'm leaving tomorrow for nice. so i went into a slight panic, consulted my trust rick steeves paris guide book's train section and found a list of offices that sell train tickets throughout the city. lucky for me, there was one just around the corner from my hotel. so i headed over, and got my tickets to nice, to cannes, and then back to paris. the rest of my trip has been pretty organized, but that was cutting it kind of close for my liking...oops.

feeling less panicked, i got back on the metro and headed to avenue victor hugo, which had a number of patisseries and chocolatiers on my list to hit up and let me tell you, it is a glorious avenue. for starters, there was an aerosoles store right there with a big soldes (sale) sign in the window!! i switched over to my tennis shoes the other day for comfort's sake, but here was my chance to get a less ugly and cute outfit-clashing comfortable shoe! I found a pair for 49 euros and put them on right outside the store. voila! i was a whole new woman! back on track i came across a chocolatier that also had ice cream. i got a chocolate orange entremets (personal sized dessert....often with layers of cake and mousse, in this case layers of ice cream) and it was a-mazing, the best thing i've eaten so far!! the top was a thin layer orange gelee with tiny pieces of candied orange peel. then, there was a layer of white chocolate orange ice cream, that tasted a lot like a sorbet. then a layer of chocolate ice cream with small pieces of malted chocolate. anyone who has had thrifty ice cream's chocolate malted crunch flavor...this was like a high class version of that. then on the very bottom were crumbled pieces of a chocolate crust. just writing about it i want to eat it again!!! i also got 2 surprise chocolates....one a success: dark chocolate with a soft dark center and one a non-success: a milk chocolate ball filled with hazelnut chocolate cream.

i realized it was getting late so i hopped back on the metro to make it to the pere lachaise cemetary before it closed at 6. I hadn't originally planned to visit the cemetary b/c i get easily creeped out and didn't want to have nightmares, but sean (who studies abroad in paris) insisted that it was his favorite spot and would not be creepy. he was right! the cemetary is beautiful, filled with trees and pathways for you to wander and admire the elaborate gravestones. some of these things are really huge, and not like any gravestones i'd seen before. i stopped by the famous graves: oscar wilde, edith piaf, jim morrisson, chopin, and a few others. then wandered a little on my own, but the cemetary was closing so i had to cut it short.

so now onto nice...i don't have a set out plan for my few days in the south, i'm mostly just hoping for lots of sun. tomorrow will be a train filled day, but i arrive in the afternoon, so hopefully i'll have something interesting to report on!

Love,

Hands down, some of the most gorgeous cakes I've ever seen

Dissecting every layer of my ice cream entremet

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Moliere's grave

Pere Lachaise Cemetery

Jim Morrison's grave - complete with empty liquor bottles and beer cans

Chopin's grave

France - Thursday, June 25

An email to my friends...

Bonjour!

I went to bed last night planning to have a more "relaxed" day today since this power tourism is absoultely exhausting, but per usual, i was awake at the crack of 6:30 and then out the door at 8. i had to check out of my hotel and into the new one over by the eiffel tower (which required 3 metro trains). i always pack with the mindset that i have to carry my own luggage wherever i go, so it wasn't overly heavy, but while walking with it up and down the stairs in the metro stations i couldn't help but remember how anytime i was carrying luggage in a tube station in london, some guy would just grab it from me, carry it up the stairs, and then take off without even letting me say thank you...not the same in france, i did all my own carrying.

after dropping my luggage at the new hotel, i went over to Rue Cler, a cute little street of markets nearby in the 7th arrondissement. I absolutely love it!! It has little fruit shops, cheese shops, butchers, wine shops, patisseries, ice cream shops, chocolatiers...any specialty you can imagine. i made a mental note to come back for lunch and then i headed over to the rodin museum. all this time alone in museums has given me some time to contemplate what kind of art i like and dont like. fortunately, my toru book has descriptions that are simple and short enough to keep me interested, but do actually lead to me learning something. so i like sculptures, i like impressionism, i love degas, i love van gogh....and as i have always known, i dont so much care for picasso. the rodin museum is small, but nice. it has a collections of sculptures inside a mansion where rodin used to live, and a few outside in the garden area.

since the rodin museum was small, it only took about an hour (about 10:30 am) so I decided to stop into the army museum on my way back over to rue cler before lunctime. i saw napoleon's tomb right at the entrance of the museum, then got completely lost looking for the WW1 and WW2 exhibits, wandered through some galleries of armor, lost interest, and left. luckily that all took nearly an hour, and then the wrong turn i took on the way took up some more time putting me at around noon, and ready for some lunch preparations.

I went back to Rue Cler and purchased a salmon and spinach quiche from the boulangerie/patisserie, a frasier (strawberry cake), a pastry called dicorce (which was 2 pastries molded together...once chocolate and one coffee), 2 tiny apricots, and bunch of bright red cherries from the fruit market. I planned to go to the orangerie museum after lunch, so i decided to picnic in the tuileries garden right outside. i ended up walking all the way to the end of the garden near the louvre b/c that is the only spot where there is grass you can sit on. i like to lounge during my picnics, not sit upright on a bench. and these french certainly do love their gravel...every park is filled with it. It reminds me too much of a dessert, I want less gravelly walkway and more green.

when i finally reached the grass, i sprawled out with my picnic (and took photos before diving in dont worry). i was pretty darn full about midway through but still managed to eat every bite. then i laid there for awhile, then when the giant group of students on a field trip came to settle in for their lunch picnic, i decided to depart. the orangerie is also a very small museum, but worth seeing. monet's water lilies were painted just for this space...2 giant oval rooms with the paintings extending around, and per my guide book, one of the first occurrances of a space being designed to house specific art to enhance the experience.

after the museum, i kind of didn't know what to do with myself so i sat on a bench to contemplate. i was right by the louvre, but i'm planning to do that tomorrow morning when i'm full of energy and not totally tired. my other options were all things i had planned around other activities too, so i continued to sit there then finally decided to go find this gelato place i had read about. i couldn't find it, despite walking past the alleged address like 4 times...i guess it moved, but i did find a couple other chocolate/candy shops...one that has been open since the 1700s! I got some flavored marshmallows (rose, pear, lemon, violet, raspberry and a mystery blue one that i can't figure out) and some flavored caramels (mint, cafe, chocolate, raspberry, and original....all were delicious). i also found this patisserie that also sold savory foods that looked like pastries!! they had this really cool cup of guacamole, crab, then another layer on top that looked like 3 layers of mousse, and another really cool looking salmon thing that i can't even explain. too bad i was still full from my feast.

i'd had enough wandering so i hopped back on the metro and came back to the new hotel. i offically checked in and saw my room...i have my own bathroom here with a super nice shower/bathtub. i wish i'd known earlier, i would have gotten some bubble bath! my room has a mini fridge with 3 euro sodas, but i'm going to get some food from the supemarket around the corner for dinner tonight and tomorrow.

that's all i have for now on this "relaxing" day of tourism. it's been nonstop sunny but started drizzling a little on my way to find the cyber cafe so hopefully the rain won't last.

Oh and I did get an email from the metro guy about going to some music festival tomorrow night...I'm undecided so I haven't replied yet. we'll see.

xoxo,
P