Give me your tears gypsy

On Monday we woke up after a massive sleep eager to get out amongst what Paris had to offer. We boarded a packed metro to Les Halles. After getting out and walking up past the Louvre to Champs-Elysees we found an "Artisan Boulongerie" and got some cafe au lait and almond crossant and some kind of apple turnover pastery. Both pastries smelled of butter and decadance.


After shaking off the slight pang of guilt from the pasteries we continued up Champs-Elysees. Heidi picked up some makeup and I decided that the Levi shop there was too expensive. We eventually made it up to Arc de Triomphe. The line was massive to go up it so we just appreciated it from the outside. The amount of stone work that goes into the buildings around Paris is remarkable. I was blown away by all the intricate detail carved on nearly every building along Champs-Elysees.

"What up bitches?"

We happened along an Orange telco shop, so picked up a SIM card. After activating we got 5 minutes of internets then it died. We went back into the shop and were told it would take 4hrs to activate. I don't know why it works for 5 minutes then dies for four hours but anyways who am I to question the ways of the frenchies?


It was getting to lunch so we wandered into our reservation at Joel Robichon's restaurant de L'Atelier. This guy has a dozen restaurants around the world and about 24 Michelin stars to his name which is the kind of stats we like in a chef. Anyway this place does a lunch special for 39 of the Euros which includes amouse bouche, entre, main and dessert of your choice from the a la carte menu. The amouse bouche was some sort of savoury mousse which tasted kind of like a croissant. For entre Heidi ordered a cerviche tomato salad style dish and I had what was basically an interpretation of a pea and ham soup but the ham was iberico jamon. Both were super yummy.  For mains Heidi had a seafood spaggetti dish with some of the richest sauce I've ever tasted on a pasta. I had beef cheek with little carrots with a typically french braise but it was great. Both were accompanied by "the famous mashed potatoes" as we were informed. Dessert was trifle for Heidi and I had chocolate and vanilla creme, both don't sound too exciting but they were delicious. Creme seems to mean a variety of different things, ie the "petit pot de creme" was more like a couple of pannacottas. The trifle was made and topped with fresh fruit and was unlike any triffle I've had at Christmas.

After lunch we walked back down the Champs-Elysees and crossed the Seine river to get to the little islands. When stopping for an opportune shot of the Eiffel tower a small woman in her 40s bent over in front of us and picked up a big gaudy gold ring off the ground. She asked if it was ours and we said no and she said Heidi should keep it because she was a widow. Anyways we were asking ourselves where the hell should we hand this thing in. Then the woman comes back and asks us for money for a coffee or her troubles or something so Heidi gives her 2 euros and then she says cmon 2 more and we realise we've been scammed and the ring is a fake. We noticed later that there's heaps of these gypsys running the same scam all around the Seine, but hey we still had our wallets and passports so no harm done. 


Heidi wanted to check out this wine bar on one of the islands, but it was closed. The French keep some weird hours. Luckily another wine bar was located conveniently nearby so we went to that instead and cained a couple of glasses of french wine. Still no Champagne on the menu. 2 days into Paris and no Champagne, I was starting to get worried.


We were exausted so we took a train home during peak hour. The crowding on these trains makes the peak hour rush on the Bankstown line seem pleasant. We waited 3 trains until we could get on one and it was litterally a crush to get on. Once you're on its 40 degrees due to all the body heat. I see why there is a slight obsession in Tokyo with anything Parisian, the Japanese must think "hey these Frenchies get us and our obscenely packed trains and small living spaces". The peak hour train at Shinjuku was actually less crowded than the Paris metro. These trains come 3 minutes apart too.


We were determined to go back out and experience what Paris has to offer at night, but it seemed a nap turned into a 14 hour coma.