A Change in Destination – 24 Oct. 2023

See Paris Day One, Two, and Three

Sorry, Normandy

I was going to visit Normandy today. Omaha Beach. The American Cemetery. Check out the town of Bayeaux. But when I arrived at the train station, it was 40-something euros to Bayeux. And then however much for a 30-minute Uber ride. I decided not to go. I’m not trying to be skimpy, but over 100 euros for a roundtrip was too much for me. Here’s a picture of the crowded subway I meant to capture yesterday.

Saint Lazare

Instead, I departed the train station at Saint Lazare and visited Maison R&S for a pastry or two. Mon Dieu! I know that every shop in Paris….in France will amaze me, but this place was great. I got my first croissant (I know! Four days in Paris and just getting a croissant?!). And I got an apple-infused croissant. WOW! Both were delicious. I won’t be eating any bread products when I get back home. That’s for sure.

One of my next stops will be visiting one of Paris’s top three baguette shops. Every year, there is a competition for the best baguette tradition, which I heard about on a Duolingo podcast and knew that would be a stop. I had a baguette from the supermarche that was delicious, so it’s time to try it from the folks who make it themselves.

I also explored some of the streets. Since I’m only using wifi here, I decided to be somewhat safe and stick within a few blocks from where I knew the metro station was. All of these buildings are apartments. But, from what I’ve read, they used to house shops on the ground floor, the owner on the first floor, and the poor folks on top. Here’s an article that better explains it. After a nice walk, I felt a lot better about missing the train to Normandy.

I got back to my apartment, dropped my bag, and stopped in at Chave d’Ouro. I had my first cafe here and decided to have one today. The folks here don’t speak English (unless they’re hiding it), but at least understand what I say. Still, they speak pretty quickly, and I barely catch what they say. The guy who serves me always puts the price in a calculator and shows me. Poor guy. But good cafe and a nice dense Portuguese croissant. Yes, I had a few croissants today. I’ll walk it off!

Oh! And I got this book from one of those free street library stands nearby. I am able to read some of it, but there are still a lot of French words I don’t understand.

Pink Mama

To make up for not going to Normandy, I’ve decided to visit Pink Mama, which I keep seeing on TikTok. And maybe there’s another spot nearby before I head back home.

I had the empanada and La Reine du Sud. Both were fabulous. I’m not an olive guy. At all. And the empanada had olives. I barely noticed. With everything else. WOW! So good. The pizza went well with a red wine. Delicious!

I ate maybe a quarter of the pizza, if that. That means good leftovers for tomorrow. When I got back to my apartment, I craved some human interaction. So I headed off to one of the local watering holes. Chez Nous was boppin’. I ordered a beer and stood at one of the outside tables, talking briefly with a hostess. When I was near ready to mosey, a couple stopped by and asked if they could stand nearby. Of course, I didn’t understand what they said at first, but when I said “en anglais, s’il vous plait” we started talking. They spoke some haphazard English in that beautiful French accent. I spoke haphazard French in a…something accent. We all complimented each other and talked for nearly an hour before closing time (the hosts said “Okay, go home. Sleep.” I like that). I really enjoyed our discussion. They seemed hooked on how crime is in Maine. You can’t really compare Maine to Paris. I wish I had said that. But I said that like here, one town can be fine and the next not so much.

I had a good day in Paris today, even if it had all started with plans for Normandy.