After finally going to bed at 2am in the morning, we awoke at a
leisurely 9am after each taking half of a "sleepy pill" as Diane calls
them :). We planned out our day (although plans are meant to be
changed...hint) and finally were in the streets at 10:15.
After a quick stop to grab a croissant and coffee (yeah, yeah, so what
if we were doing a pastry and chocolate tour later?) Although in
truth, we each only ate the mini beignet we also bought and ended up
not eating the croissants (that's probably a crime in France, huh?)
We strolled to the St. Germaine district with the intention of
visiting the Musee D'Orsay. But, we felt that we hadn't really had
the chance to just wander, pop into boutiques as we wished, and just
"be" in Paris. And so we scratched the stiff plan of the museum,
threw caution to the wind, and wandered. Well, that's not entirely
true. Once I am the navigator with mep in hand (which of course has
been this whole trip since I've mostly been on my own), I seem to
struggle with allowing myself to "get lost". I enjoy stepping "into
the map" (a 'Friends' show reference) and find enjoyment knowing
exactly where I am, what direction to go, etc. I can't help myself!
So then it was time to eat.
I had found the restaurant - L'epi Dupin - on the blog of a world
traveler food industry expert. Can't remember what he does, but he
gets to dine and interact with the best restaurants (i therefore hate
him). And they're not all fancy-pants restaurants. For example, this
one was a bistro, focusing on local seasonal ingredients done in both
traditional and non-traditional French preparations. Take a peek at
the photos below to see what we had! After, I made a reservation for
Friday lunch - figured there was more to explore in this area!
We then made a visit to "Le Bon Marche" and "Au Bon Marche" - one a
top designer names-only department store (we're talking Valentino,
and, um, well you know the stuff - stuff niether Diane nor I could
afford to breathe on), and the other a very nice gourmet food, wine,
and liquor store (where of course we felt right at home). But then it
was time to meet our pastry and chocolate guide - yay!
CORRECTION OF TECH DIFFICULTIES POST:
Okay! I'm finally able to fix and finish this post! And to do so, I am totally going to poach from an email recap that Diane sent to her friends and family about this day. 'Cause I agree with everything she wrote - so why mess with perfection? Thanks Diane! :) Here goes:
"Of course I like chocolate, but our guide, Jennifer, was what made it so interesting. We met Jennifer in front of our first chocolate shop. Deb Maurer, I will talk to you about this experience in detail when I get back!
Jennifer would tell us why she picked each particular chocolatier or bakery, we would go in and we would pick a couple pieces of chocolate from each shop. I have handful of nice chocolate in my bag, but I'll most likely have it gone before I come home Friday!
Then as we walked around Paris and into shops and through parks, she would explain the history, famous people who lived there, whatever we wanted to know. I started asking her questions about her life which was so interesting. She was very open with us. She is 40, legal union with her high school sweetheart who she met at the age of 16, no kids. She spoke of her work, his work, the economy, Parisians attitudes, Americans, etc...FASCINATING. Her take on things is that Parisians are jealous of Americans. Parisians have great food, history and architecture, but the cost of living is so high, traffic is aweful, they live in tiny small spaces and they feel somewhat hopeless most of the time. Life is kind of hard for them. She said you don't see them smiling much on the streets. Jennifer has traveled to America quite a bit, as her dad is American, lives in South Carolina, but she has always lived in France with her mother. Not sure, but maybe her parents were never married. She said her view of the contrast between Parisians and Americans is stunning. Even when she visits USA she thinks that we are so service oriented. At a store, the clerk not only says "hi", but "how are you?". They don't do that is Paris. They do always say "bon jour" though, but that's it. When she first came to the US as a girl to visit her dad, she thought her dad was friends with every restaurant and store employee because they asked how he was, talked about the weather, etc.....She also talked about the French being opportunists. Her example was that in the US, we have newspaper machines where you put in a quarter, lift the lid and get one paper. You could take the whole stack, but you don't. She said in France that would NEVER work out. The french would always put in the quarter and then take the whole stack. Interesting!
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