Bonsoir (Evenings in Paris)
Trip Start
May 25, 2009
1
31
32
Trip End
Jul 07, 2009
Paris, Île-de-France, France
Monday, July 6, 2009
The first night Vicki and I ventured out to Berthillion, an ice cream parlor known for their delicious French ice cream. Having never had French ice cream, I was eager to try it. We waited in a line of Parisians and tourists for close to 45 minutes before getting to choose our flavors, but it was well worth the wait. I chose vanilla and melone (cantaloupe), though I originally wanted pistachio and melone, but they ran out before I got up there. I first had cantaloupe ice cream in Italy, and I hoped French ice cream would taste similar and it did. We should get that flavor in the U.S. Not only is it tasty, but in hot weather, it’s a very refreshing flavor. Vicki got chocolate and vanilla and we both devoured them fairly quickly as we walked towards Notre Dame. Notre Dame at night is prettier than Notre Dame during the day. It’s so beautifully lit and rises eerily into the sky. The gargoyles keep watch over everything that happening around it, and A LOT is happening. The plaza in front of Notre Dame is hustling and bustling late into the night. When we arrived there with our ice cream around 11:30, we joined a group of about 100 people watching some performers play with fire – breathe it, throw it in the air, light firecrackers. It was great!
On our second nighttime adventure, we wanted back to Notre Dame in hopes of seeing the fire guys, but found something so much better. Below Notre Dame, on the banks of the Seine, a sort of French Caribbean band was playing all kinds of songs – “Proud Mary,” “Stand by Me,” French songs we didn’t know, Diana Ross, John Lennon, Bob Marley. They even did some James Blunt and Black Eyed Peas. The band consisted of one bongo drummer and two guitarists. There must’ve been 250 people gathered around them listening, so we watched from above and people sang and danced to the music. I did my own dancing and singing from the wall above them, and I probably looked like a total weirdo because no one was doing the same around me, but I didn’t care. It was such a great experience. After that night, I told Vicki we had to make it back there again the next evening.
So, the next night, we planned to come back and see the band after our dinner in Montmatre. The guy we are staying with made reservations for us at a fondue restaurant in Montmatre and suggested we eat and then watch the sunset. I know that sounds romantic, and it is, but it’s a very popular thing to do. So, when we arrived at the best viewing spot, we were greeted with about 500 other people who had the same idea. It was very cool to see though because Montmatre sets up on a hill, so you not only look out, but down on most of the city. (see pics) It was great and so was our dinner. The fondue gave us one meat fondue and one cheese fondue along with appetizers. And, the best part was the wine. Not because it was particularly good, but because they serve it to you in baby bottles. Yes, baby bottles – nipples and all. We thought it a bit strange at first, but after a few sips, we didn’t care at all. (By the way, you can fit quite a lot of wine in a baby bottle.) Our entire meal, wine included, was only 18 euros – very good for Paris prices.
After dinner, we headed back to Notre Dame to find our band and sure enough, they were there. I had wanted to get there earlier to catch the start and to get a good seat, but unfortunately, we were late again, so we just stood on the wall above them. So, there we were singing and moving to the music, when this French guy comes up to us and starts talking to us in French. Of course, we don’t know any, so I told him that (in French), but he persisted. Through sign language, we gathered that he was asking us to go down and dance with all the other people. I jumped at the chance because it looked like so much fun, so the three of us went down. Finally, I was one of the people singing and dancing rather than one of the ones looking (longingly) down from above! I had the best time! They even played a few Michael Jackson songs and everyone loved that. The Europeans loved them some MJ. They clearly know and love American music, because the band played more of it than anything else and the crowd sang along to most of the songs. The French guy was not much of a dancer and he was also about 6’6”, so that made things interesting, but it was fun. He kept trying to talk to us in French or find random people who could translate, but it wasn’t working. It kinda got annoying towards the end, especially because he was making the common mistake of speaking louder in hopes that we could understand him better. But, the volume was not the problem. Eventually we left and he gave us his phone number, but we’ll be sure not to call it.
Our final night in Paris (last night), Vicki and I grabbed a Panini and went to eat it on the bridge behind Notre Dame to see the sunset over the cathedral. It was such a beautiful sight! (see pics) So, we are sitting there enjoying the view, and another random French guy comes up to us and starts speaking French. However, when we said we didn’t speak French, this guy began speaking English. I haven’t decided if that was a good thing or not because then we had no excuse to ignore him or leave because he could understand everything we were saying. The night before, the guy was clueless. Anyways, the guy sits on the bridge with us and starts telling us about the places he’s lived, how long he’s been in Paris, etc., and then he asks Vicki to turn around so that her back was facing him. We thought it a bit strange, but since the two of us were there and since we were surrounded by other people on the streets, she did it. He started giving her a back massage, and telling us that he came to Paris to study massage therapy, so he wants to “offer this as his gift” to us. We weren’t too keen on the idea at first because we were worried he would then try to make us pay for it, but we let him continue and he never did. By the end of the night, he had given Brian (the guy we are staying with) and me massages, too. Weird, but whatever.
We told him we enjoyed the bands on the river the past two nights, so he said he would take us to a place where we could hear music and dance. Since it was a Sunday night, we didn’t think we could find that anywhere, but we should never have underestimated nightlife in Paris! Just a few blocks down from where we were was a sculpture garden that had been transformed into a sort of dance park. At various places throughout the park, groups of people gathered to dance to different kinds of music. There was a salsa group, a jazz group, a tango group, and a “rock” (basically 1940s/50s music) group. What a show! And again, there were at least 700 people gathered there at 11:00pm! We watched a bit of all the dancing and I said I wanted to watch salsa. The random French guy, whose name is Eustace, volunteered to teach Vicki and me a few steps. Vicki said, but I really wanted to learn some, so I said yes. The dance was MUCH harder than I imagined, but Eustace was a good teacher and I had a great time trying to learn it. I would love to take some kind of Latin dance class, so I’ll have to look into that when I get back to Pittsburgh. (Bonnie and Nicole – if you are reading this, I’m dragging you with me!) I loved every minute of the dance park because, again, it made the city feel so alive. Here we were strolling along the river, watching tons of people sing and dance. I lack the appropriate words to capture the experience (one of the reasons I will never write fiction), but all I can say is that it was truly memorable – even with the random French guy. We eventually decided he was harmless and was really interested in meeting new people and practicing his English. There was no attempt to exchange phone numbers or meet up again, he was simply content with showing us around Paris and teaching me a few dance moves. What a free spirit! (Yes, just going up to talk to random people is still a bit creepy (or maybe adventurous?), but it’s even creepier when you then try to force a connection with them. He didn’t force it, he just lived in the moment and then it ended.)
So ends our evenings in Paris. Tonight we will catch a train to London, spend the night there, and head back to the States tomorrow evening. Hard to believe it’s gone by so fast!
Au revoir!
