1. Drinking. Going to happy hour is extremely popular in Paris, much more so than in Madrid. It is much more than a pastime or addiction for some, it is a way of life. I am fortunate enough to have a number of friends abroad in Paris this semester/year, friends that you might say are in the know concerning this aspect of Parisian culture. After having been out until 4 o'clock Thursday night/morning, we followed Friday up with the same thing. A group of my friends from Davidson met up to go to happy hour at bar and then go to dinner. My fraternity brother, Joel, chose well when he took us to one of his favorite's, which just happens to be open 24 hrs a day. I wasn't sure what to order until I saw Gin Fizz on the menu. My friends had mentioned how great it was and I knew that I needed to try it in all of its/my alcoholic glory. It proved to be the perfect beginning to a great night. The bar itself was incredible. It was 8 stories, located in the Latin Quarter and drinks were in the neighborhood of 11 euros, which is pretty normal for any bar nice or crappy in Paris. (Thank you happy hour.) From there we found a little restaurant to have dinner, where everyone will be glad to know that we rehydrated with water! Unfortunately the carafe was rather small and I only had 2 small glasses. Not good.
From there, Joel gave us a tour around the city we visited Notre Dame, the Hotel de Ville, the Mareis, and a few other sites before meeting up with my friend from Saint Stephen's and Davidson, Katherine, who is living in the Mareis near the Pompidou. We met up with her, went to a typical French cafe, and began our cigarette-smoking, wine-drinking marathon. For starters, we began with a bottle of the wine of the month, the cheapest thing on the menu. We drank that, drank another and then headed to her apartment, which was about 4 minutes away. In her apartment, we drank another, hanging out, talking, and still smoking a little. To put things in perspective, by the time we met up with Katherine, our group had dwindled down to three people. In other words, three people were doing all of this drinking, smoking, joking, and toking. (Kidding.) By the time we left Katherine's around 3:30, we had each had our own bottle of wine and had each smoked at least half a pack of cigarettes. Not bad for a day in Paris, I suppose.
So this is where the hydration part comes into play. I hadn't hydrated myself much or really at all Friday. I had had a small bottle of Evian and maybe four thimbles of water what the French might call a glass. So the next day, I woke up not feeling so hot. At first, I was fine and then I was blah. (Barfing sound.) So I barfed, felt well afterwards and decided that we should still go sightseeing in the morning. The moment that the metro doors shut, I knew that sightseeing had been a bad idea. I gave Caroline a wince of we-need-to-get-off-asap, which she aptly understand and we both quickly disembarked at the next metro stop. Unfortunately by the time I was walking through the metro, I had already started blah. (Visualize barfing in a Parisian metro station) I barfed in the hallway, in a garbage can, and on the stairs. Not bad. Talking about the event afterwards, Caroline told me that nobody really seemed to pay any attention to the scene, indicating that its really nothing to unusual for Paris. So this time, after I had barfed, I was sure that I was well. I all I needed was some food. So we went to a crêperie and I had a fanta and sugar crêpe. Everything went fine, and I didn't barf again. Although, I ended up being incapacitated for part of the day, it really didn't hinder me too much although we did joke about taking a picture of me barfing at all of the major sights in Paris. I'll have to work on that one for the next time.
2. The Building Covered in tropical plants. After my second barfing incident, we headed to the Eiffel Tower and then to this building covered by tropical plants that I really wanted to see. I know that reading it sounds fairly lame, but this building was designed with a special irrigation system that has permitted its entire facade to be covered in mosses, vines, and shrubbery. It's incredible especially considering a majority of the plants are not native to France and cannot usual survive in that climate.
3. Cafe Marly. Cafe Marly is right outside of the Louvre with sights of the Eiffel Tower and the Tuileries. It was by far the best meal I've had any where this semester. The lamb was as tender and as tasty as any that I have had. The gravy was delicious and the mashed potatoes rank right up there with Grandmother's. If you go to Paris it is a must, it is also open until 2 daily.
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