The House of Bich: January 2012

Friday, January 27, 2012

Paris: Our last day

Sigh ... our last day in Paris.

We packed our bags and headed for a cafe to fill up with coffee and something warm before we headed to Charles de Gaulle.

Just here for the view, folks.

It was no great shakes, but we did get a last view of Notre Dame as we had our croque monsieur and onion soup. And then we finally had to grab a train.

Aeroport Charles de Gaulle was something out of the '60s, or "2010: A Space Odyssey," or any number of cheesy settings.

Our very last picture in Paris.

Our way home was quite the adventure ...

We found out as we got to the gate that we'd be making an unscheduled stop in Goose Island, Labrador -- eastern Canada -- for fuel. Turns out, the plane was carrying too much cargo, and it was too windy in D.C. (our layover was at Dulles) to land with the amount of fuel the plane would normally carry. (I blame the couple who brought six full pieces of luggage with them. Overheard: "It was our first time in France and we didn't know what the weather was going to be like!" Ever heard of Google?!)

So our flight turned into an 11-hour affair. Perspective: It took us five and a half hours to get from JFK to Heathrow.

On the bright side, movies are free these days -- Rich watched five -- and I managed to get us an exit row, which was almost as good as first class, honestly. But by the time we got to Dulles -- where they made us sit on the tarmac for another 45 minutes because one staffer wasn't at the gate to let us in -- the entire plane had missed their connections to either Newark or San Francisco. So they put us up in some resort half an hour away.

All I wanted then was my kittehs.

We managed to pull into the House of Bich around 11 a.m. on Jan. 2, where we were greeted joyfully by three kittehs. We then headed to our local bar to watch Penn State get their butts kicked in whatever bowl the Nittany Lions were playing in.

And we were happy to be home.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Paris: Day 5

I'd tell you how Day 5 began, but we didn't get out of bed until after noon. Glorious.

When the day did start, we headed to Montmarte so I could play the role of Amelie.

Montmartre--a district that was not originally part of Paris--is actually the name of a hill, and the surrounding district now shares the name. It was famously the home of a cadre of artists and nightclubs at the turn of the 20th century (a la Moulin Rouge). Parts of it are now pretty touristy, but like the rest of Paris, it's full of tiny alleys and gems (next trip, we'll really delve into Montmartre).

We stopped at a cafe and sat outdoors to watch the throngs of tourists go by -- because parts of Montmartre are so touristy, these guys just walk around and hit people up for cash in return for sketches. The couple next to us said yes, unfortunately. It's really the only way to describe it. If we had to say "Non, merci," one more time ...

Onion soup and croque monsieur ... we realized later that we should have held out another five minutes to hit a quiet locals' cafe

Sacre Couer, the Roman Catholic basilica that serves as the highest point in Paris and a hugely popular tourist destination

Squeeeee! This is the Mini I want!

Overlooking the city

Sacre Couer!

A famous bistro that is now simply famous for being famous.

Ancient vineyard set into the hill

Butcher shops in Europe sell ... the whole pig. And birds waiting to be de-feathered. If I didn't enjoy pork so much, I'd be heartbroken.

Remember when I mentioned that cafes keep their outdoor seating open and just turn up the heat lamps? This makes a glass of wine in Paris that much more dreamlike when it's raining, a little foggy, and you just want to rest your feet a little while and take in the fact that you're about to ring in the new year in the City of Light.

Our seat looking out from the corner cafe

Taking the bus back to Le Marais

Rich gets a crepe (Nutella) in the Jewish district

Considering we wouldn't be eating dinner until past 11, we stopped for a light dinner (and a beer and a glass of wine)

Falafel, of course

We headed back to our flat to get ready and do a little pre-packing, and I pulled out my brand-new pair of very fabulous platform peeptoe stilettos covered in black glitter. (Yep.) We walked out to grab a bus to get to dinner, and I discovered very quickly that I couldn't walk in them. (Apparently six months of walking in New York and phasing out heels has put me completely out of practice.)

Two flights down, I completely lost my balance and began tumbling down the stairs, Rich helplessly left watching, me mentally grabbing memories of recovering from many such incidents (just not in a foreign country and in one of my favorite dresses). I managed to grab the banister as my body twisted completely around and the two halves of my body fought, in different directions, to stop the fall.

I sort of hung there, shocked, making sure I'd stopped moving as my body faced the wrong direction and I kept hold of the banister for dear life, looking up at the ceiling when I shouldn't have been. Rich grabbed my arms, yelled, and waited for me to indicate that I was ready for him to help me up.

"TAKE OFF THE SHOES!" he howled. Good thing I always carry flats with me.

Ten minutes later, on the bus, I just busted out laughing. Couldn't help it. "That wasn't funny," he said darkly. "Yeah, well, you try replaying that in your mind," I said, giggling in the way that people who have close calls do.

We arrived at Au Petit Riche, shaken (and a little bruised). How adorable is this place!

If any Francophiles could tell us what this amuse bouche was, we'd appreciate it ...

Great old couple (at least 80) had oysters to start.

Escargot de Bourgogne ... oh-so-buttery goodness

Pate en croute, au fois gras et trompettes de la mort (pate with fois gras and black chanterelle mushrooms)

Filet de bouef "Salers" poele, sauce au poivre (steak)

Magret de canard (duck)

For dessert: blue cheese, goat cheese, a hard cheese and Brie

Don't look at me -- check out the grin on my dinner companion.

The couple next to us wished us a happy new year, and we attempted conversation. What I did get was 1) she found it delightful that as Americans, we ate escargot and cheese and loved these things, and we told her we enjoy them as often as we can, and 2) the two of them are exactly who we want to be someday. We couldn't have had better dinner company.

Jut before midnight, we realized ... it was just the start of another day here with Paris' true locals. One couple walked in around 11:45 for their usual Saturday night meal and barely noticed as midnight passed; everyone else was simply celebrating life as normal, in a restaurant, enjoying good food and fine wine ... like any other day.

Beautiful high ceilings

Star on his nose

We grabbed a taxi back to Le Marais and hit another part of the city that was, however, marking their biggest party of the year: the gay district. Oh, those parties went until dawn. We stopped at one for a drink and soaked it in.