gay paris – Adventurings

paris update– life is good here, and in our little studio apartment in gobelins. the weather has been PERFECT for us (not too cold, blue skies and sun almost daily) and we’ve been enjoying kicking back, sleeping in, and exploring like it’s our job. there is so much to see in this city that twelve days leaves a mark, but a pretty small one. i keep stumbling onto new streets, like rue moffatard– famous latin quarter market street only a short jaunt from my place. or rue montmarte, or rue lombards! everything i find i wish i had found sooner.

paris is WAY more expensive than i remember from visiting eight years ago. every museum or attraction has hiked up their admission fee at least a few more euros than it used to be. there is little hope of going out to eat on a typical seattle budget, but just today (finally) i’ve discovered the phenomenon that is the chinese deli (or chinois tratoir). these are places very much frequented by locals that allow you to eat delicious chinese entrees for about $5, and hallelujah! since i prefer to eat almost only asian food, this works. there are also a zillion sushi places and just as many over-priced french restaurants.

also in paris you will find the most rabid jay-walkers around and so many razor scooters that i’m not sure if the trend is just now coming to paris from ten years ago or if it’s cycling back around again. there are no waiters or super marche cashiers that look like they enjoy their lives. david duchovny is in a clothes ad everywhere you turn, the champs elysees on a weekend afternoon is a NIGHTMARE. but the city is always sparkling especially at night, it’s clean, it’s walkable, and 99% people we’ve encountered have been nice.

halloween has been pretty low-key. we didn’t find a costume shop or thrift shop until today (go figure) so no dressing up… which wounded my soul especially after looking at everyones’ fun photos from halloween parties back home. it’s a small affair here, and even wandering around at 11 o’clock at night we noticed barely any costumed revelers. a couple bars had some decorations, but that was all!

today my dream came true. literally. during my heavy doors phase a few years back, i dreamt one time that i wandered around pere-lachaise and found the grave of jim morrison. today, on all saints’ day, we paid him a visit. the weather was blue skies, then it was grey and windy, then it rained, then it “rainbowed”. a very important day.

coming up: we’ll be here until sunday morning, then fly to BERLIN!!! (sooo, if you have any paris recommendations leave them in the comments because there’s still time!) Our TEFL course start date approaches in under three weeks and i’m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that we are going back to school! for a month, but still! we paid tuition, and are going to class! i always thought when i walked out of my last final exam in college that that was it! but i’m very glad it’s not. bought a train ticket to prague today so everything is all settled. boy, i just used a lot of exclamation points and i acknowledge that and ask for understanding because things are very exciting right now.

favorite paris thing i’m obsessed with right now is kusmi tea, found in maybe five locations in the city. it’s a very high quality tea brand that is delicious and comes in the most exquisite little boxes. i’ve got the vanilla bourbon variety which i love and i’m going back for more tomorrow…. i’m too afraid to run out!

happy november!

riding on the metroooo

jardin des plantes in autumn

le parisien magazine stall on saint germain blvd

lighting the pumpkin! which is a bright orange version called ‘fairytale’ or ‘cinderella’ pumpkins native only to france. we finally found it at the port royal market.