Paris, je t'Emma

Pastry attack on a bench by Val-du-Grace

EMMA!

         Emma came to town! Her visa is up in London, so she’s going to have a little look around Europe before heading back to the United States. I’m conveniently placed and can give her free lodging/storage, so she’s starting and ending this euro-tour by hanging out with me in Paris! We had a good ol’ time for her first stay and I’m looking forward to Round 2.

         Emma’s already been to Paris a number of times (I believe this was #5), so the trip was laid back and she wasn’t too concerned about seeing the sites. Her first night in town we just got a bottle of wine, made some dinner and got each other caught up on the last few months of life. The next night, a fellow American expat was hosting a Mexican Food party (this cuisine is seriously lacking in Paris). We went over there and enjoyed good company, tasty enchiladas, margaritas, guacamole, and whatnot.

         Sunday we went up to Sacré Coeur and it was practically abandoned. There was a film crew up to something and an asian tour group, but that was about it. This made it a very leisurely visit. We sat on the steps, had a snack and spent some time trying to locate landmarks.

My raclette set-up

SAY CHEESE

         That evening we went and got raclette with Marina at the restaurant by my place. If you aren’t familiar, raclette is a swiss specialty where you melt swiss cheese onto EVERYTHING. Namely meat and potatoes and things. It’s as awesome as it sounds. I don’t know how they do it at other places, but at this restaurant there are stoves installed at each booth They give you a cutting board covered in assorted meats and potatoes and pickles and condiments and it's all accompanied by a pile of cheese slices that you melt as you go.

Fountain I love in Jardin de Luxembourg

IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

         Monday was lovely outside so we walked around my neighborhood and over to Notre Dame and the Seine and stuff. Tuesday I had to work, but we went out to a bistrot in my neighborhood that Marina had discovered. It’s called Les Papilles (tastebuds). The chef offers one 4 course meal a night based on whatever is in season and that’s what everyone gets. This time he served a pumpkin soup with crème fraiche and crutons, a super tender slow cooked veal with veggies, a cheese course and a caramel apple panacotta. Delectable. We walked home and immediately put on pants with elastic waist bands.

I'VE A FEELING WE'RE NOT IN TWILIGHT ANYMORE        

         Marina found a website with weird things to do in Paris and suggested that we go to a vampire museum that she’d read about. Apparently it cost 7€ and you got a guided tour. I wasn’t really sure what a “Vampire museum” would be, but I figured -what the heck?

         Wednesday afternoon we headed out into the suburbs to find it. A man exiting the metro station with us heard us speaking English and offered to help us find this museum. It was lucky that he did, because the entrance was in some back alley that I’m not sure we would have found on our own. It turns out that the museum was a converted garage attached to the back of a guy’s house. It wasn’t a museum by conventional standards. It was one room filled with with piles upon piles of books and peculiar vampire related objects and plastered up to the ceiling with posters of Dracula films and icons. If you’re curious, this will give you a better idea: http://www.myspace.com/musee_des_vampires

         Outside of being crazy, why would you build such a vampire shrine?

Bela Lugosi doing the same gesture I make when I feel awkward. 

Well, crazy probably has something to do with it, but there’s also an interesting history. As a child, Jacques accidentally watched Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and it gave him terrible nightmares for months. A lot of people probably share a similar childhood experience, but Jacques’ reaction to his was to investigate the fear. He became fascinated with anything and everything related to vampires and dedicated most of his life to studying why people from cultures all over the world create these stories and why people believe them. He said he does not believe in them himself, but then later on he said some things that seemed to contradict that so whoooo knows. Our “guided tour” was more of an intellectual tour. We spent the entire two hours hanging out on his couches and listening to him unload all sorts of things (some related to vampires, some not so related to vampires) and drinking "vampire kirs". All and all it was pretty interesting and definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

LE CINEMA

         Thursday we went and saw Sophia Coppola’s new film “Somewhere.” I thought it was awesome and definitely worth a watch. Be aware that it’s not an action sort of movie though, most of what’s happening is under the surface. I found that beautifully subtle, but my coworkers thought it was boring.

         Friday we went to Belgium. I forgot my passport. More on that next time.

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