Sunday, November 27, 2011

Il faut chercher le bonheur: November in Paris

Saturday morning: find yourself au 18eme and meander with an air of aimlessness until you reach le Marché de l'Olive. Purchase copious amounts of charcuteries and a small bottle of le Beaujolais nouveau (bien sur il est arivé le 15 novembre) along with a sizable loaf of country bread. Begin your hungry trek up Montmartre towards the Sacré-Coeur and, upon arriving, admire la vue before giving a few centimes to the young man proudly demonstrating his soccer-ball skills. Plead ignorance as you ignore those forbidding signs and park in the middle of the greenery where it is interdit de s'asseoir sur l'herbe to enjoy your petit feast.



Continue on your wanderings through the cobbled streets of Montmartre, where you'll find plenty of cafés to prendre un citron pressé, a puckering drink of pulpish lemon juice mixed with water. Stop into a few p'tits magasins and browse cheesily laminated Parisian prints and gaudy jewelry before stumbling on that carefully hidden souvenir parfait. If you're willing for a moment to abandon tout respect pour votre santé, purchase a little pack of Galoises and a book of matches for une expérience authentique de bohème.

  
Ready to do some major sightseeing à pied? Make your way down to the Place de la Sorbonne and lose yourself in the crowd of effortlessly geek-chic jeunes françaises spilling from pillared buildings and lingering outside bookstores. If you're feeling bold, make eye-contact with that floppy-haired spectacled young man and smile. He does not know, after all, that you are not une femme Parisienne.


Le Metro is one of Paris's most valuable sightseeing tools: at less than 2 euros a trip, you can run amock over this beautiful city while affording yourself some quality people-watching. Take time to notice the young women boasting la mode Parisienne - complete with red lipstick, scruffy ankle boots and, bien sûr, plenty of denim. Be sure to pay close attention to the stations as they flicker by: you need change trains at least once before you arrive at Hôtel de Ville, au 4eme.



Continue your wanderings along the cobbled streets of the Seine, taking your time to rummage through the scores of weathered books and records manned by impishly smiling old french messieurs. If you're a musical walker, treat yourself to a headphoned soundtrack of folksy french music (Sexy Sushi and Louise Attaque are personal favorites) as you amble. Sneak glimpses of wrinkled elderly couples holding hands and kissing à coté de la Seine, even though it might make you feel a little bit pervy. As sunset threatens, make your way towards la Place de la Concorde and alternately rest a few minutes surrounded by the greenery of the Tuileries or brave your way through the crowds that line Les Champs Elysées, depending on how exhausted you're feeling. If you're a true Francophile, of course, you'll do both.



Surely you weren't planning to waste time sleeping in the city of lights? Et, bien sûr, even seasoned visitors of Paris need to catch a glimpse of la Tour Eiffel, surtout la nuit when she glitters and winks like a golden siren of the city. Don't even think about braving those lines and paying a heft fee pour ascendre. Stealing a glimpse under its enormous base is experience enough.




You're done. Treat yourself to a mojito a la champage (just like a regular mojito, except rather than waste space with soda water, the rum is champagned-down to taste) and amble homewards, preferably stumbling into a cheesy discotheque along the way.

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