This past weekend I met up with a friend I had not seen since lycée (hi' skool), named Dani. Dani is working with a family in Chaumes en Brie (Click here for Chaumes' Web site! lol) as an au pair (nanny) for the year. She watches over two kids and has a blog of her own. She writes way better than I do, and she has some interesting stories, so check it out!
Because Dani lives in Chaumes which is kind of far from Paris (Paris), she doesn't get to go out much because of the distance. So I invited her to stay at the appartement (apartment) for the week-end (weekend), and she décidé (decided) to come. (You see? French isn't that hard at all!) We first went to marché des puces (Flea Market), at Porte de Clingancourt, which is a large, outdoor flee market, run by a bunch of Africans. The Africans there spoke a strange mixture of English and French (one guy kept saying 'demande-me', meaning 'ask me', a total hybrid of French and English!) with African languages thrown in there. There were many types of stores: clothing, shoes, bags, scarfs, art, jewelry shops. I found several shops that sold african djembes, which is something that I've been wanting to pick up since I got here. So I asked one vendor how much they cost and he said the big one was 180 euros. Aïe! (Yikes!) Way out of my price range. So I put it back and then he asked me what was the maximum I would pay for it, and I told him, quite honestly, 80 euros. I didn't think there was a chance in the world he would have sold it to me for that price. He looked at me and then looked at the djembe, sighed and said "Ok". I was like, WHAT?!? He took 100 euros off of his asking price, just like that! So I realized I only had 30 euros in my wallet and had to have Dani spot me the rest. In hindsight I probably should have gone even lower, but I felt like taking 100 euros off of his asking price was almost insulting already!! So then we continued looking around the market, djembe in hand. Dani eneded up buying a foulard (thin scarf) for a very good price. We also found one shop that was entirely hoodies, and not random hoodies, all hoodies from Franklin and Marshall College. I'm not sure why Franklin and Marshall hoodies are all the rage in France, but they are. Apparently there is a designer that makes hoodies that all say Franklin and Marshall, or the Franklin and Marshall College gift shop is making LOADS of money.
So after carting the heavy djembe back to the apartment (at least 4 or 5 people that we passed on the street hit the drum as I walked by. I guess if you want to make friends in Paris, carry a djembe everywhere you go. In addition 3 different people asked me how much I paid for it, I guess trying to see what vendors are able to make off of them), I fixed diner and we went off to visit the Latin Quarter to find a nice place to prendre un verre (get a drink -- but this phrase is so much better in French, because the verb is prendre, as in 'to take', and un verre translates to 'a glass'. And taking a glass in French means to really take your time, sit back, relax and prendre un verre). So we walked through the Latin Quarter, where we saw numerous music troups and TONS of people, and finally found a nice calm café to prendre un verre. There we talked about projets and plans, high school and friends, and caught up on everything. We also did an ample amount of people watching, which is always a adventure in Paris! Sitting across from us was three young Perisians, and all of a sudden after sitting there for at least 30 or 40 minutes they got up and took off without paying! The waiter came by and realized they were gone, but he didn't seem too upset (in France les pourboires - tips are not very big anyway). Afterwards we walked along the Seine river and headed back.
The next day we went to 'Breakfast in America', which is an authentic American diner located in the middle of Paris! There I ordered pain perdu (means 'lost bread' a.k.a French toast), which was délicieux! Dani ordered the 2 x 2 x 2, which reminded me of a typical Denny's-style breakfast dish. Afterwards we went to Centre Pompidou where there were Tuvan throat singers performing outside! (If you have never heard Tuvan throat singers, click here!) At Centre Pompidou (which is the French version of the Met), we saw lots of modern art, and not to mention just being in the building, which is a work of art itself. After the museum we went back to the apartment and Dani left to go back to her famille! It was a very full weekend!
à bientot (see you soon!)
