Jim woke up this morning to go to work at his usual time. Nicole and I were a little later, but we were able to get up at a good hour and get ready for our day. We rushed through getting ready with plans to meet Jim at 2:00 at his shop. My cell phone minutes had run out completely and we had no way to contact each other, so we had to meet at a certain time.
Nicole and I left the flat and headed straight for La Defense, the new grande arc of Paris. It was a LONG ride out to Le Defense. We sat across from a little boy about 3 or so, and he was the worst behaving child. Well not really, but boy did he get on my nerves. He decided to roll his lips together which resulting in him spitting everywhere and all I can say is the ride was even longer sitting across from such an obnoxious boy.
We arrived at La Defense and immediately walked out of the metro station. The arc was right in front of us and big as ever! The area around was kind-of pretty. Very different from the regular Paris, it was all glass and metal business buildings, but it all looked very cool. We took a lot of pictures and admired the area. It was so foggy you could hardly see across the metal buildings. It was very eerie looking and Nicole hated it, but I thought it made the glass buildings look even more neat. The fog separated this business structure from Paris and cut us off completely.
I was so excited to turn around and see a very large Christmas mart behind us. I haven't seen such a large Christmas mart in a long time and I was so excited to walk through it. There had all the usual junk that they sell, and some very cool things too. We had a great time walking through and seeing it all. We laughed at the French acting out info-commercials in front of us and trying to sell us things. I was able to buy a crepe for myself, thinking it would be my last and enjoyed it immensely. Nicole bought herself some warm chestnuts, which were...interesting to say the least. I hated them and liked them all at once, but we were only able to eat a couple at one time.
We finally left the Christmas mart at 20 till 2:00, we stayed there for so long! We intended to head to Sacre Cure, but we had run out of time. So we tried to find a pay phone to call Jim, but turns out the pay phones here don't except cash, only cards. So...we decided to just head to the bookstore now to meet Jim. We walked towards the Metro station and I handed Nicole her card to enter the metro, as I always did. But the exit was open, so we just walked right into the station without using our tickets. So I turned to Nicole to get her new ticket back from her so we could keep them all together. She handed me two used tickets and I told her they had already been used, where was the ticket I just gave her? But she insisted she couldn't find it, and it must be one of those two. So we are still bickering over the lost ticket, because this is the second time I have handed a blank ticket to Nicole and she lost it. So I made a vow right there to not hand her a ticket until we walk right up to the gate for her to use. Tisk Tisk.
We walked to Jim's bookstore and entered to say hello. On the walk there from the metro station we saw Santa Claus walking towards us. Actually, Nicole saw him walking towards us and shouted, "Santa Claus." It was really fun and I took a picture. It was a great thing to put us in the mood for Christmas. Once in the store, we were able to say both hello and goodbye to Jack and the other Jim. All three of us left and headed to Jim's local restaurant on the corner for lunch. We sat down at the only open table since it was rather crowded and as we were taking off our coats, I hit my head on the lamp above me and knocked the shade completely off the lamp. To make it worse, the shade hit my arm and I accidentally shot it across the restaurant, and I believe it hit at least about two people. I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of our entrance, and goodness they were. Everyone gasps and then laughed at me and even the waitress made fun of me after taking our order. Great.
Lunch was delicious and once everyone forgot about my lamp experience I settled in my seat a little better. But my table was wobbly and every time I moved it would shake and threaten to throw my drink on the floor. This restaurant was very good at making me feel like a clumsy giant who would break everything in sight. In the middle of lunch the women behind us turned around and said to me, "I heard someone over here speaking very good English, was it you?" She had a very southern accent and was with her two children and husband. I said that we were all American and she made a sigh of relief. She told us she bought an International cell phone, but she couldn't figure out how to dial to the US. So we told her how to call home and she was so excited to have the help. She said she didn't know any French and it was great to have help from fellow Americans. We all thought it was rather funny, but I was excited because I actually knew the answer to her question.
After lunch we walked back to the bookstore because I forgot to take a picture in front of it. Next we walked the streets of the neighborhood which were very cute and Jim took us to a specialty shop so I could pick up a little something. Once we finished there, Jim took us to the best crepe place in Paris. We walked up to a little shop window painted dark blue with large glass jars filled with jelly's and peanuts outside. The street was full of drunk men around, Nicole and my age filling out of the Irish Pub across the street. There were men everywhere, and I mean everywhere! We all laughed because we were the only women in sight and all the boys turned to look at us as we walked up the street. Every single guy had a beer in their hand and some had football scarves around their necks. We guessed there was a big football match in Paris and this was the meeting area for all the boys. It was incredible. Nicole and I each ordered a crepe with chocolate and banana and it was so fun watching the guy make them. The first bite and I knew it was the best crepe in Paris, it melted in my mouth. It was so good, so I had to take pictures with us and our crepes in front of all the boys! We walked right in the middle of all the action to watch all the boys as we finished our dessert. Oh what a sight!
When we finished, we got back on the metro and Jim left us to head home. Jim realized earlier today that he could not find his credit card and he was in a rush to get home and see if he could find it. The last place we remember him using it was in Amsterdam, so we were all wondering where it had gone. Nicole and I went on to Sacre Cure. We finally arrived and took pictures in front of the very large cathedral. We sucked it up and walked up the HUGE amount of steps to get to the top. On the way up we were accosted by groups of men trying to sell us shit. They just would not take no for an answer and it was so frustrating trying to get away from them.
The Scare Cure Cathedral is my favorite, its so huge and really is inspiring. It felt really great to be back there, especially my last day in Paris. The view from the top of the hill is great too and we stood there admiring it for a long time. We took our tour of the cathedral and I lit a candle there for John. Outside the Cathedral we walked the streets and in and out of the shops. We found ourselves in a Chocolate shop where the guys working loved us. They kept shoving chocolate down our throats with all different samples and it was so much fun being in there. We continued on going in and out of touristy shops and finally made our way back home.
Once home I was able to tackle my backpack and started packing all my things. It was a challenge believe me! I have a lot more now than when I started and as I type this I have no idea how I will get it all home! But I did as much as I could and then we drank some wine to relax.
It was time for dinner and Jim took us to his local Mexican restaurant just a little ways from his apartment. I was so excited for Mexican! The place was so fun, it was so cozy and they were so friendly, I loved it. We ordered a pitcher of margaritas and nachos to share and we gulped them all right down. It was so funny to be in Paris and be at a Mexican restaurant. We were speaking French, Spanish and English! Dinner was AMAZING, I have missed Mexican food so much and it was WAY better than Mexican food at home! We finished the meal with ice cream, well Nicole and I did. Jim had a Cognac. Nicole had chocolate and coconut ice cream and I had mango and coconut. AMAZING! The coconut was so good, it melted in my mouth. As we were paying the bill my credit card was declined and I had to use another one. This was commemorative of my last night here in Paris...I need to go home now, I have no money left. But I paid for my part of the meal and we headed to a bar around the corner.
Jim wanted to show Nicole and I the neighborhood he calls Bo Bo. We walked around and he pointed out all the bars, packed with people. It did look very fun and I would have really enjoyed it, if I could speak French and I wasn't so tired. We settled at a bar called the Green Place and ordered a round. They played Michael Jackson the whole time, and I have to admit it was very comfortable! Once we finished, we continued our tour of the neighborhood and Jim walked me by a bar that he thought was so funny. It was called Sans Gene, meaning without Gene. He just had to get my picture in front of the bar. I felt a little silty, but it was quite funny.
So here we are at home, Jim is showing us some very neat pop-up books he has in his collection and I am typing away. I am getting very tired and not only am I dreading my long day of travel tomorrow, I am dreading going home. :(
It has been a wonderful trip around Europe and I certainly don't want the real world to hit me quite yet. So, although I don't want to come home yet...I will see you all soon! Can't wait!
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