It was a lovely morning of sleeping in for all of us. Nicole needed to cure her jet lag, I needed to cure my cold...and Jim needed to enjoy his last day before going back to work. It was quite comical watching me try to get of the bed this morning, because it is wedged between a desk and a bookshelf, so you can only get in or out from the foot of the bed or the top of the bed. Nicole was laughing at me as I tried to get my foot down on the floor, but it was blocked by all our bags and I practically had to roll out feet first. But I was finally successful.
Jim ran out to the bakery around the corner and picked Nicole and I up some croissants to start our day off right. And they sure did! I took my medicine with some orange juice and I started to feel much better. We took our time getting ready for the day and didn't end up leaving the apartment until around 1:30. Nicole and I agreed it would be our last lazy morning. We headed straight for the canal and Jim took our first picture of Nicole and I together in Paris. Oh and also we snapped a picture of Jim and I. We then made our way to the Opera House and across the street to the fancy Department store called Gallerie Lafayette. The shop windows were our first goal and we were highly satisfied with what we found. The first window we walked up to was a window full of moving babies smoking a hookah pipe. The babies were floating on mushrooms and a flower was the leader of the hookah. Each baby was doing something different in the scene...one couldn't stand, four had the pipes in their hands and the rest were doing odd things. Each of the windows was directed by moving wires, making each object a moving puppet and we figured from the first window that Alice in Wonderland was the theme of the windows. Our guess was correct as we moved to each window. The next window was the tea table set by mini flamingos and a hiding Mad Hatter. The next window was a doctor's office full of dogs and some upside down flamingos. The next window scene were teddy bears trying to keep a door closed and the last window scene was full of mice making a flamingo look very pretty, as if the flamingo was Cinderella. We also saw a lot of shop windows set up with Alice in different designer dresses with the biggest hair you have ever seen. One of them was a mirror and the reflection was of Alice on the ceiling. I could go on and on about the windows, they were very impressive.
We finally walked inside the department store and the center of it is all open with a HUGE Christmas tree hanging from the ceiling. It was decorated with pink and purple and I thought it was magnificent. As was the department store, Jim and I made our usual stop in the Perfume area and smelled a couple of perfumes that I have been thinking about buying. We were able to walk around and look at all the beautiful clothes...all the beautiful clothes that none of us can afford. Jim left us not too long later to head off to work for the afternoon. So he handed me his apartment keys with direct instructions, "do not lose these!" So I slipped them in my purse and assured him they would be safe and sound. So Jim set off and left Nicole and I by ourselves.
Nicole and I continued around the department store for a little while longer until we both decided we needed to leave before we start buying things. So we walked across the street and looked at more fancy windows from the same department store and walked a little further to an H&M (Nicole's favorite) and did a little shopping. Nicole bought an over the shoulder purse for herself for the trip and then we made our way to the street again. We stopped in a couple of fun shops along the way and ended at the Opera House. We walked into the Opera House and looked around for a while. Once we got in line to buy tickets for a tour we saw a sign saying the Auditorium was closed for rehearsal, so we were a little bummed about that and decided not to go in.
So we brainstormed our next move and decided to head toward the Louvre and find some crepes in the park nearby. On the walk we admired the shops, and perhaps stopped in a few, its hard to remember now. We found the Louvre and took some pictures of ourselves, aren't we special? We didn't see a crepe place in our line of vision, so we moved on through the Louvre and onto the river, The Seine. We walked across the bridge and tried to see the Eiffel Tower, but it was too foggy outside, as we expected, it was a freezing cold day. So we took some pictures and moved on to the main bridge in the area, Pont Neuf. The bridge is decorated with goblin heads under the main portion and Nicole was quick to point them out since she learned all about them on her boat tour four years ago. We celebrated with pictures and decided to head somewhere warm. We walked across the street and carefully selected a cafe to stop at based on whether or not they served crepes. Once we found a cafe we thought was suitable we walked in and took a seat.
Right away, Nicole and I ordered an American Coffee. At this point I figured the bigger the better, more warm substance for my body to get warm. We also studied the crepe menu very carefully, for those of you who know me well, you will know that crepes are one of my favorite foods and I instantly fell in love with them my fist time in Paris. I ordered a crepe de nutella and Nicole ordered a crepe de chocolate and banana. I can't even describe how delicious they were. My first bite was like heaven melting in my mouth. I had waited 4 years for this and it was so worth it! We were both completely indulged in our crepes and we were very proud of our decision to find them.
After our warm up stop we decided to surprise Jim at his bookstore and navigated the streets we needed to walk to get there. It wasn't too far really, so we thought it would be a good choice. On the way there we crossed over the bridge Pont Neuf and walked down the main street there. It was full of the cutest/funniest shops and we found ourselves continuously stopping to shop. Each store was so unique and so fun to look at, I really enjoyed our time shopping. We did find a shoe store and I picked up a very cute set of boots to check the price thinking it would be astronomical, but it was actually within my price range! I couldn't believe it! So we stopped in to try a few pairs on, and I ended up buying two pairs of boots for myself! I know, I know, but as Nicole reassured me, I need a Christmas present for myself! I bought a pair of purple boots and a pair of gray boots. I am very excited about them, I am just not quite sure how I will get them home. One thing at a time...;)
So after stopping in many more shops we finally found ourselves at Jim's bookstore. I was a little surprised to see someone I never knew behind the desk and introduced myself. Once Jim returned from upstairs, he was just as surprised to see me and introduced me to James, his computer guy. We talked a little about what we had done and I showed Jim my new boots. He's not too crazy about the purple ones, but thats okay with me. :) We talked to Jim about what to do next and Nicole and I both mentioned we wanted to see the Museum of Modern Art. We looked in a guidebook in the shop and it didn't close until 9, and it was closed tomorrow so we decided to go. We took 1 guidebook from the shop to borrow for the rest of our time here and said our goodbyes.
On the metro, Nicole and I only had 3 stops to go and we got off the train right when we were supposed to. The trouble is, we had no idea how big this station actually was. We tried to follow the Exit sign, but it kept leading us everywhere but outside. We walked forever underground and it kept leading us to new train lines, with another sign pointing another direction to the exit. When we finally found a real exit we were so excited we didn't care where we ended up. Well, just like that we had no clue where we were once we were above ground. We tried to find street signs and find ourselves on the map, which we did an okay job doing, but we couldn't find the museum on the map so it really wasn't too helpful. But we decided to start walking and figured we would spot the building sooner or later. We also stopped to grab our baguettes out of our bag to snack on as we walked.
I finally spotted the industrial looking building out of the corner of my eye and we made our way to the entrance. We checked our bags (my shopping bags of course) and coats and bought our tickets. I was actually able to get a discount for being under 26 without an official youth card. Alright! Nicole was not so lucky. Bummer for her. We made our way to the top of theescalator that stands on the outside of the building to see Paris at night. It was very beautiful, but it was still really foggy outside, and we couldn't see too far. The building was really cool though and we enjoyed the view. We walked through the two galleries on the top floor and had a great time. The art was great, it was Futurism mostly and an artist called Jacques Villegle. We had a great time looking at it and once we left we walked out toward the escalator and saw the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the fog. It was beautiful! It was so foggy that we could only see the bottom half, but still we could see it!
We made our way down 2 stories and went to the main museum to see the installation art. We toured the first floor extensively and found it all so cool. It was a great museum but as we were finishing the first floor they announced that it would be closing in a half hour. We had one exhibit on the first floor that we really wanted to see so we quickly rushed downstairs to make it in the exhibit. The exhibit is Ron Arad called No Discipline and it is all very unique chairs. The exhibit was awesome, we spent about 10 minutes taking pictures and walking around until they announced that it was closed and a women asked us to leave. Sad.
So we went to get our coats and bags and headed to the gift shop. We walked around and looked at all the books until Jim called around 9:00. We met Jim outside the museum, after I took a picture of Nicole in front of the air blowers outside the museum...of course! She was so excited about these air blowers, so she took a lot of pictures. We found Jim and he asked us how Thai food sounded for dinner. We all agreed enthusiastically and followed Jim all the way to the restaurant. WE walked in a very nice restaurant and sat down where it was nice and warm. We had a little bit of a hard time finding a vegetarian meal for Nicole, but we finally found something and we all ordered our food. We did order a Papaya salad, and it was great...shredded papaya, carrot and a vinegar sauce. We also ordered some egg rolls and our dishes. They brought the wrong dish out to Nicole and she had to wait while they made the correct meal for her, but she said it was good once it finally came.
We left dinner and decided to stop by the crepe place for yet another crepe. Why not, you only live once, right? So as we were walking to get our crepes, Jim said, "oh, remind me at the crepe place to show you the rat store from Ratatouille." So then we joked about Crepes of Rat and made our way. The crepes were deliciously warm and Nicole and I were very happy...it was our second crepe of the dayafter all ! We walked around the corner and Jim pointed out the window of the Rat killing store. All the sudden Nicole and I weren't so happy with the food in our mouths as we stared at the dead rats in the window. Ew, that's the one word I have for that place. :)
Jim walked us to the metro station and Nicole and I decided to sneak the system and use one ticket to get us both through. Which meant sliding through the gate together...kind-of awkward. Jim said they hardly ever check tickets at night, so we should be fine. Welp, sure enough we turn the corner and there they are...checking tickets. It was our lucky night, because all of them were tied up with people and we practically ran by. Jim said we really dogged a bullet on that one and we swiftly made it to our train.
We made it home to Jim's cozy apartment and I immediately settled in on the computer. Nicole and Jim have been very patient with me. Nicole has been entertained by books from Jim's apartment and Jim is entertaining us with fun stories about...well anything really.
Jim just handed me a copy of Terry Pratchett's novel Sourcery because he knows I will love the series. I read aloud the author's biography and we all laughed at how funny it was. I am really excited to start reading the books because it just sounds so odd. I handed it to Nicole to look at and she asked if we had read the dedication. We both said no and she decided to read it aloud. In the dedication he thanks a fat American women with a broken suitcase on wheels and Power Cable, Nebraska. So we all had a good laugh once we found out the meaning of the term, which none of us had ever heard before.
Jim actually has to get up on time tomorrow, since he is opening the shop. And I need to get up and do some laundry before Nicole and I head out for the day. Its already late and I need to take my next dose of medicine to help me sleep. It was a fantastically fun day and it was so much fun having Nicole here. We were able to laugh and shop just like we have been doing for years.
Until tomorrow...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Cable
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