Paris Trip Day 17

Leave a comment July 16, 2015 Elsa Fridl

The Champs-Elysees at night. The Ferris Wheel at the Place de la Concorde is visible in the background.

Thursday. Thanksgiving 2014. I am very grateful to be in Paris regardless, but I am also thankful to be away from all the drama in the States. Chuck Hagel was forced to resign as Defense Secretary—I wonder what that means for my situation. (He was enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, as I was.) Seems like a lot of plot points are changing – like Connie Stinson – oh, excuse me – the REVEREND DR. Connie Stinson – resigning from the D.C. Baptist Convention before she became its president. Enquiring minds want to know!

I’ve used the day so far to plan what else I will do, making sure I make the most of free/almost free things. There is a still a lot I’d like to do, but I’m being mindful of going to London for a day or two. I’m not really looking forward to it. I love being here. I love the French people and everything about their culture…I am truly in heaven. It isn’t that I haven’t had a bad or unpleasant experience here; it’s that an unpleasant experience here is easier to tolerate.

I need to see if I can print and/or redo my CV and apply to a few places, perhaps at Sephora, and of course, to teach English. I’m not going to plan my trip to London much, except for what I will say on my placard at Buckingham Palace.

Food is to be savored in Paris.

Rick Steves says that American ex-pats in Paris during the holidays all tend to go to a shop named Thanksgiving to get cranberries and boxes of stuffing on Thanksgiving Day. (Nothing like a little solidarity on an American holiday.) I thought of going there just to be part of the excitement and to see other American ex-pats. I decided, instead, to have a Thanksgiving meal after all. I went to Le Basilic again (4^th time!) and had veal with green beans in mushroom sauce, a glass of Pinot Noir, coffee and chocolate mousse. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Le Basilic should be at least a 3-star restaurant, it is soooooooooo good. And who can complain about the service? They check in with me from time to time to see if I need anything else while allowing me to enjoy the experience. As Rick Steves says, once you get a table for dinner at a restaurant in Paris, it is essentially yours for the night. Tips are included in the bill, so there’s no rushing you out the door. It also makes for more relaxed servers: they know they’re getting paid. The U.S. should adopt this philosophy with servers.

I decided to buy the cape I saw, since it has been a lifelong dream to buy a cape in Paris since I first saw one at Garfinckel’s so many years ago. I love it!!! I feel so feminine in it!! And my Cache pants fit! It was a magnificent night, probably around 57 degrees Fahrenheit. I LOVE the energy of Paris at night. People feel so alive: it’s in their faces and their body language. Many people are with their significant other. Love is in the air. The lights are beautiful. I didn’t want to go back to the hostel, I wanted to feel that energy from the top of my head to the tips of my toes and in my bones.

I love the energy of Paris at night.

Finally, my bones said, “Enough already! We need some sleep!” So I took the Metro and went back to Plug-Inn Hostel. I crawled into bed with a huge smile on my face.

Salut!

Paris Trip Day 16

Leave a comment July 15, 2015 Elsa Fridl

Wednesday. I woke up feeling happy. I savored breakfast, had a shower, and simply started to walk. I walked for a mile or two taking pictures and enjoying the moment; and, once again, I followed signs and walked to Champs-Elysees, where I spent just a moment in Sephora to see how much Dior Skin costs. I found a cape I like at a nearby shop…oh my goodness…since working at Garfinckel’s (my store!), I’ve had a secret, life-long desire to buy a cape in Paris! I’ll have to think about it.

I ducked into McDonald’s to use the bathroom. Sometimes I feel a little like George Costanza, always knowing and thinking about where the public restrooms are. I was tired from walking again. I thought long and hard about whether I should buy the cape while I was on my way back to the hostel. I was too tired to exercise.

Salut.

Paris Trip Day 15

Leave a comment July 14, 2015 Elsa Fridl

Abbesses Metro entrance. Most metro entrances have an awning in Art Deco style, such as this one.

Tuesday. I had a great day today. I ended up making the chamber maid happy for stripping the bed of a roommate’s who had checked out. Then I went to Grand Boulevards Metro using different Metro lines I’ve taken so far to go to Hard Rock Cafe. It was so funny, I asked the guy at the desk for directions, and he told me to go to Abbesses Metro (the other close-by metro; I’ve always taken Blanche) and then follow signs to keep walking, that I would be essentially walking to another metro station, though never leaving underground. He also said he almost hated to tell me that because he didn’t want me to get confused. I looked at the metro map, looked at him, then back at the map, and told him, “Okay, but if I don’t come back, please send a search party for me because I’m probably lost underground somewhere.” And I just started to laugh. He looked concerned, which made it all the funnier. I couldn’t get over it: I think of myself as an intrepid traveler and then I balk at walking underground for an extended time. Who am I kidding?

Paris Metro has many more twists and turns underground than the metro in Washington, D.C.

I found Hard Rock Café without any trouble. I couldn’t wait to have a burger lunch. I thought I might get faster service by sitting in the bar area; I was mistaken, for they messed up my order. The inside was gorgeous, and the seating beckoned patrons to sit and enjoy themselves. But as I ate my hamburger and took in the ambiance, I realized I am a lot older than I used to be. When I was younger, going to Hard Rock Café was all the rage (and getting a T-shirt with “Hard Rock Café Paris” and the like, to go with it). But I didn’t feel the same way about it: instead of hearing familiar rock and roll in the background, I heard hard rock blasting in my ears. Hard rock videos played all around the place and I found myself feeling a little out of place. Not a bad thing: it’s okay to realize I’ve changed. It just took me by surprise. I bought a T-shirt before I left since I no longer have my Hard Rock Café Paris shirt that I bought the last time I was in Paris. I also took a few pictures of the exterior.

The Hard Rock Cafe in Paris has a beautiful interior.

From there, I just started to walk, and since I saw signs to Charles de Gaulle Etoille, a.k.a. Champs-Elysees, I kept walking. Paris during the day is beautiful, but at night, it is simply breathtaking. I ducked into the Galeries Lafayette just to window shop. The interior design of the place and the seasonal decorations were simply breathtakingly beautiful. I just stood in this massive space and took in the beauty of my surroundings. The French do everything with such style and class. Such beauty makes me glad to be alive. Do the French people know how extraordinarily beautiful their surroundings are? When you live here, do you take it for granted? I don’t think I ever would.

A Christmas decoration at the Galeries Lafayette.

I did get a few magnets of rue signs at sidewalk kiosks. I told Nicdadya about my adventures and how gorgeous the Galeries Lafayette were. She just smiled. I’m tired from walking, and very, very happy – especially since I found my way back to the hostel without any trouble. They won’t have to send a search party for me tonight after all!

Salut!

Paris Trip Day 5

Paris Trip Day 2

Leave a comment July 1, 2015 Elsa Fridl

The first picture I took when I went sightseeing in Montmartre.

Wednesday. I slept and stayed in bed until just after 2:00 P.M. At 10:00 A.M. I was roused by a roommate who told me I had just missed breakfast! I didn’t want to get out of bed, I was so wiped out from leaving at night and travelling. (I’m not much of a night person.) After showering I went walking to see the neighborhood and take some pictures. I decided I was so hungry I didn’t want to walk around too much before I ate. I found Le Basilic on a strip of land quite close to Plug-Inn Hostel. I was the only patron there it was so early: the French tend to eat fairly late. The food was so good: 2 appetizers, one being salmon with avocado, bread, wine, Perrier, salad, and Cappuccino. All to the tunes of Barbara Streisand and French music playing sweetly in the background. It was fantastic! My first real meal in Paris for this trip, and one of the best meals I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to eat at Le Basilic again.

Inside Le Basilic in Montmartre.

I went walking around Montmartre, Pigalle and Clignancourt. Right across the street from the Moulin Rouge I saw a sign peeking through scaffolding for the Gold Hotel. When I walked in, the man at the desk was on the phone. Nonchalantly, I gazed up at a framed piece of paper, and noticed it was a posting of their room rates. I tried not to react when I noticed that a single room was 140 Euros. I knew it was the slow season so I might be able to get a better rate. After he hung up the phone and we greeted each other in French (and then I asked him if he spoke English, which he did), in my best confident yet feminine voice, I told him I would like a room for Saturday, since the place I’m staying at for a month doesn’t have room for me for one night. We talked about what I wanted in an une chamber (room), though I honestly don’t remember if I asked for a King- or Queen-sized bed. I asked whether une chamber avec douche et WC (the room had a full bathroom), and he said “Yes, of course.” (Some don’t.) We talked about everything except price. Finally, I could tell he was weighing how much he was going to charge me. Being the good negotiator I am I allowed him to bring it up and I didn’t rush him. He noticed I didn’t have luggage with me so he couldn’t determine my socio-economic status by the price of my luggage. He gave a good look at me and said, “Seventy Euros for the night.” I told him that was acceptable, though inwardly I was celebrating. He then asked if I wanted breakfast for an additional 10 Euros. I told him no, thank you, since I knew I could get back to the hostel for my free breakfast or grab something on the way back for half that price. He told me he didn’t require me to pay up front and I could cancel if I wanted to. He gave me a piece of paper that said I had a reservation and how much the room was, but it didn’t have the Gold Hotel logo on it; he said I would get that when I checked in. (How odd is that?) I walked out feeling pretty confident, since I was going to stay in a 3-Star Hotel (according to the literature I saw on the wall) for half price.

One of my roommates is here for the Photography Conference & Exhibition I read about before I left the U.S. Great! I told her I would love to come with her, or at least go to the exhibit. She said she might have to stick with her group which is being led by her instructor. I also met a French guy who visited one of the staff; he told me an organization is looking for people to teach English. (!) I need to think of all the things I’ve done that relate to teaching English (like substitute teaching, editing, writing, I’m a published author, I created the Essay Pyramid for international students). Unfortunately, when I went to take a shower I found out that my personal care items weren’t in my backpack…when did they go missing? I’m not happy having to spend money again for my personal care items, but I can’t believe I told myself not to skimp on security and then I did just that. I didn’t want to spend another $10 on a lock, and now I have to spend a small fortune re-buying personal care items. How many times do I have to ignore my own advice before I’ll learn?

I need to remind myself to change $200 to Euros tomorrow before I go shopping.

Salut.