Do you want to live here? Because that house is awesome.
Elise and I set out for our Amelie walking tour at 9:30 this morning. She had printed off (bad) instructions on how to get from place to place. We got a bit turned around a few times but managed to get through it. We were taken through some very beautiful places and had great weather for it too. It was exciting to suddenly realize that we were at our destination and to recognize things from the movie! Elise was awesome and capable of using my camera, so I have photos of myself from the locations. Yay! We were worried that the Cafe des deux Moulins would be closed (a lot of places are on Monday), but it was open. We went in and had coffee and hot chocolate. Expensive.
Corner of Rue Girardon and Place Dalida.
We ended up in a place that is apparently a tourist trap, but we liked it. Had a nice feel to it if you could look past all of the people milling about. We frolicked around the Sacre-Coeur for a bit before heading back to the hostel. She had plans to go see a few places that I'd already been to, so we parted ways. I proceeded to REST and edit photos. I wasted time and put off leaving the hostel for a few hours. I knew I couldn't sit inside for the rest of the day but believe me it was incredibly tempting. Eventually I dragged myself up and set out to the streets again.
I had a very specific agenda of seeking food and a gift. You know how a lot of things are closed on Mondays? Yeah. It did not make it easy to find this gift. I wandered street after street, some nice and some not, passing closed boutiques and closed souvenir shops that looked as though they'd hold precisely what I was seeking. The shops that were open were really crummy, cheap shops OR disgustingly expensive boot stores.
I am happier than my face is letting on.
Hunger set in fiercely, so I put my epic hunt on pause and stumbled into a promising looking cafe. I ordered a croque monsieur and it came with a salad and fried potato rounds that looked like scalloped potatoes but without the melted stuff. It was tasty and cheese-full. I also had a €4 Coke. I decided I didn't care.
I wish it had been open!
Eventually I ended up back near one of the Amelie locations, Cafe des deux Moulins. That's where I bought this gift for a very special Jenne! After that I ended up back near my hostel, just one street up. There I found a lot of cool shops that were open and had reasonably priced items. I found my necklace at a small shop up the street from those locations though. The woman working there was super nice and helped me decide which one I liked better. I had a big bounce in my step as I picked out a few post cards for Cassidy and then (with great relief) headed back to the hostel again.
When the woman brought me my chocolate chaud it was just syrup and no milk. "I forgot the milk" she says. No kidding.
Unless my bunk mates want to go out for dinner again tonight, I am probably going to stay in. I was absolutely dragging myself around the city earlier. I don't know where all of my energy went!
Oh, last night was a lot of fun. I was originally going to go to dinner with just Tawanda, but then Michelle's date got pushed to later so she decided to come with us. We also invited Elise right when we met her and then Michelle ran into Leigh and invited him. Leigh was acquaintances with a guy named Michael who was bunk mates with a guy named Joe. SO, our humble party of two turned into a rockin' party of seven! It was awesome, and so unexpected! We went down the street a ways to a place that was recommended by the guy working at the hostel. We had a good time with wine and managed to get a few pictures of us all at the table.
Place du Tertre: supposed tourist trap.
Leigh is from Australia, Michael is from England, and Joe is from LA. Another Stater! :P Leigh and Michael walked Michelle to the Metro, Tawanda went to her hostel and Joe, Elise and I went back to our hostel because we were tired. We chatted together for about half an hour or so and then went to bed. It was nice. I said good-bye to Tawanda and Michael in front of the restaurant and on top of a handshake from him, I also received two not air cheek air kisses! That was surprising and cute.
I have no idea what I'm going to do for the rest of the night or tomorrow morning. Check out is 11 am and my flight is at 3:35 pm. I plan on getting there two hours early and I'll need about half an hour for the metro and about 15 minutes to walk there... so what will I do in the morning? Stare at the buildings and landscape one more time, I think.
Elise and the Sacre-Coeur!
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9:34 am: walking: off on an Amelie adventure with Elise!
10:41 am: walking: Amelie locations!! The metro stairs, specifically.
10:56 am: Cafe des deux Moulins: :O!!!
The cafe lacks Georgette's tobacco stand as well as the glass wall that Amelie writes the specials on. The bathroom door is there though xD!!
12:42 pm: hostel: relaxing and editing photos. I may go on a walking tour at 4.
1:47 pm: hostel lobby: I'm getting hungry.
2:23 pm: hostel lobby: Gosh I am feeling lethargic today.
2:58 pm: walking: finally out, wandered to some really ugly streets, bleargh.
3:19 pm: L'Atelier: found somewhere to eat, just had to get off the busy streets!
Sitting outside on a wobbly chair at a table for one. I'm about three feet away from the street. This area is quiet and nice, my waiter speaks English. I can only see buildings around me but they're nice.
3:44 pm: L'Atelier: this croque monsieur has way more cheese than I thought it would.
3:52 pm: L'Atelier: just ran into Michael from last night. What are the chances?
4:18 pm: walking: in my search for a store that isn't obscenely expensive or incredibly cheap I have stumbled upon the Moulin Rouge.
4:25 pm: ????: further exploration has put me in a graveyard.
4:45 pm: Rue Lepic: FINALLY found a decent shop.
5:02 pm: Rue des Abbesses: bought myself the perfect item to always remember my trip here :)
-MJ
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