After Paris and I discovered our undying love for each other (I’d like to think the feeling was mutual, anyway), several days passed in a blur of sightseeing, paparazzi-style-dog-photo-taking, eating, and lots and lots of walking. I visited the Eiffel Tower and while I didn’t climb it (yet), I did enjoy ice cream in its shadow. From there I walked to the Arc de Triomphe and then all the way down the Champs-Élysées to the Obélisque de Louxor, all of which you can google photos a-plenty of, so I’m going to skip out on showing you those.
There are, however, sights to be seen in this area that the almighty Google-God might not deign to open your eyes to.
Such as sailor boys, presumably not in the midst of Fleet Week shenanigans:
O Captain! My Captain!
A woman outside Laduree with an… erm… unique sartorial style (what would Peggy Entwhistle say?):
In the small upload-y version of this photo, it looks like that fur trim/second scarf is ATTACHED TO HER BOOTS. Which would be kind of awesome, if it were possible, maybe. (Not really. Can you think what bathroom dilemmas would unfold?)
And pugs pugs pugs, which I grabbed and stole and kidnapped and ran away with and kept in my suitcase for eternity in my head. (At my high school, in year eight, a girl started selling mice which the purchasing students kept in their lockers. It was awful. Not because of the ensuing smell in the locker area, which was also the canteen-chocolate-muffin-selling area, but because, seriously, who thinks it’s okay to store mice in a locker? Even if they are tail-less inbred mice. Sheesh. Stealing French pugs is the far more moral option.)
And I shall Hug my New Pug whom I shall call the Smug Bug Who Drinks Krug.
The day after this gallivanting and imagined criminality, I met my favourite Parisian pastry chef for lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant conveniently located equidistant from her work and my hostel.
When Camille gave me permission in her email to giggle about the name, I knew we were going to be BFFs-4-Eva.
I’ve wanted to try green papaya salad for donkey’s years now, and I defy any of you to tell me a better place to finally do so than in Paris. Because when in Rome… right? Wait, what country are we in again?
I'm pretty sure I heard my arteries cheer when this was placed on the table.
Obligatory close-up shot.
This was lovely and refreshing, what with the fresh prawns, herbs, papaya, and the crunch of peanuts, but it ultimately erred a bit too much on the sweet side to earn the love I gave Paris as whole. Also, it was a tad more “soup” than “salad”, as my imaginary kidnapped pug could probably have drowned in the amount of dressing left in the bowl at the end*. Nevertheless it hit the spot, but really, no food can taste bad when eaten in such wonderful company.
After lunch I made my way to the Bastille Markets, yet despite being advertised as ending at 2:30pm, by 1:45pm it was all over. Not to worry! I explored the Place des Vosges and the Victor Hugo Museum (photos to come… most likely), found a little health store with fantabulous tofu options, and got my photo of the monument where the Bastille used to be.
Don't you think this fellow should have a slice of cake in his hand?
This was also the night I discovered the best (store-bought) cookies in the world, and I’m determined to try to recreate them back home. The home I’m getting ever closer to… Tomorrow I’m spending all day in planes/airports en route to New York, which is my last stop (for 3 nights only) before the flight home. Time to stock up on flavoured peanut butter, methinks.
*He’s not a very good swimmer.
OMG I had totally forgotten about the mice in lockers, it was horrible. I think they had about 5 in the locker below mine at one stage!
Oh hooray you finally got to have green papaya salad!
Thank God mice-girl didn’t go to school with me. When I was in Year 8, some people came and set fire to a bunch of lockers (from the inside, so they looked mostly ok from the outside). The smell of burnt books and pencil cases and jumpers was bad enough without adding burnt mouse to the mix.
In case I don’t get a chance to say it in the next few days, have a very safe and un-sucky trip home
Mice in lockers? Yeesh. At least with pug stealing you can rationalise by saying they will be treated better with you…
Hehe I have dreams of pinching pugs too-my plans only vexed by my extreme allergy to them!
I do love green papaya salad and what a bonus that it’s healthy too!
What? No Bastille at Bastille?
Peggy Entwhistle wonders: is it a skirt? is it pants? is it a LOINCLOTH????
Amy: Good ol’ Deakin. Good times, good times.
Conor: Okay, your high school beats my high school at being hard-core. I did sometimes see people being locked in the lockers at mine, so I’m very glad we didn’t end up with burnt-people smell.
Theresa: Thank you! I’m going to need it, if the state of my foot after 12 hours on planes (and an entire day of travelling to boot) today is anything to go by! And I would treat my pugs like deities. They’d probably end up with heart attacks from all the treats and belly rubs I’d give them…
Lorraine: It was probably the healthiest thing I’ve eaten in two months
And I could well be allergic to pugs myself – animal allergies run in the family, so we’ve always had non-allergenic pets. Time will tell…
Camille: Not unless I was standing on a particular bridge and complaining loudly about its absense…
E.Fashionista: Oh dear me, I didn’t even look at the loin cloth area. *shudder* If I squint, it looks like a loin cloth that’s drooping under the weight of foraged-for food… maybe seeds and nuts (teehee)?
I *love* the captions accompanying your photos, you witty little thing you!
And, yes, the gold guy should have cake. Or a icecream cone.
Kath: Aw, shucks *blushes*. That sounds about right, I’m sure the real quote from Marie Antoinette was “Let them eat cake… and Berthillon ice cream”.
Yum, everything looks delicious!
Oh, and don’t get me wrong – our trip was FAR from free but without paying for airfare helped a lot!
Simply Life: It was! And every little bit helps, right?
Hannah, am very excited about your having green papaya salad. I’ve never had it either. One day. Probably not in Paris this time round though, can’t imagine we’ll get anywhere likely to have it, not with the kid in tow. Whilst I admire your Krug reference (any Krug reference is to be admired- will we have Krug every day? Probably not. One day I want to try the Perrier-Jouet Belle Epoque this trip…..) sadly Krug doesn’t rhyme with Pug. And while the gold flying monument could be bringing cake, I’d rather he was bringing in a perfectly chilled bottle of bubby and the right number of glasses.
Louise: I never would have expected to try it for the first time in Paris! Canberra has a fair few Vietnamese restaurants, so I’ll have to start comparing and contrasting once I’m home
Also, I was really hoping no one was going to call me out on the Krug thing… I thought I’d gotten away with it 
Some great Parisian photos here. I do love Paris!
GirlonRaw: Best city in Europe!
(Although this was my first trip to Europe, so I probably shouldn’t make such generalisations yet!)
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