A Visit from My Father

Friday - Dad coming to visit

My Dad was on business in Germany but decided to make a stop in Paris to see me, and to meet with some business people in La Defense (a city right outside of Paris with big skyscrapers). He came in from Germany and went right to La Defense, so I had the morning to see people.

4 girls from Michigan who were in Barcelona, and their friend from Wisconsin, came into Paris this weekend. Friday morning, I went to the Musée d'Orsay with them and Emily Haymer, from Michigan on CEA-Paris and is in their sorority. The girls were staying in a hotel about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. Some of them got up early and went near the museum to walk around. I picked up the late crew and took them on the Metro. I helped them buy a 10 pack of Metro tickets for the weekend. I realized that there was a student-price for Metro tickets that was half the normal price! (***WARNING: this wasn't exactly true, more info further on) so they got their Metro tickets and we went to the Musée d'Orsay. One of the girls, Jenna, ran into someone she knew on the train...very funny. The Musée d'Orsay was unbelievable! I didn't really know what was there at all but they had the most amazing collection of impressionist paintings I think I'll ever see. In each room, I recognized 3 or 4 famous paintings by Monet, Degas, Renoir, etc. It was really amazing. There was also a post-impressionism exhibit with pointillism and other really great paintings, and some amazing sculptures on the main floor. The museum itself is just amazing, built in an old train station with huuuge ceilings and great architecture. I'll have to go back there because I definitely didn't get enough time - and I need to get the audiotour. Those audiotours are worth it just about everywhere you go in this city!










We left the Musée d'Orsay and took the Metro to the Marais - the Jewish District. It was Friday so the place was hopping with Jews picking up last minute things before Shabbat. We ate a late lunch at L'as du falafel, a famous falafel place in Paris. We ordered falafel and hummus for the table as basically an appetizer and I had shnitzel too. Everything was delicious! It was nice sitting down with a group of people I knew pretty well and eating a familiar food. They closed the place down for Shabbat and we had to leave. So I said goodbye to the girls and went to go find my Dad.

I went to my Dad's hotel, which was only a 5 minute walk from my apartment. It was really nice to see him. We went to the 'executive lounge' at the Mariott which was pretty disappointing. There was food all over the place, sticky bottles of soda, and really cheesy music. But we just sat and talked for a while. I went back to my apartment and he finished some work, then I walked back over for dinner. We made friends with Florence, the concierge, who gave us a bunch of dinner recommendations. In the end, we went to a restaurant called La Closeire des Lilals ( ) in Montparnasse, about a 15 minute walk from the hotel. Check out the website, it's really cool: http://www.closeriedeslilas.fr/. The meal was incredible. I had ravioli d'escargot and Dad had foie gras, and then I just picked something off the meat menu that I didn't really know what it was. It was Ballottine de pintade fermière. At the end of the meal, I asked what kind of meat it was - it is basically baby turkey (on the English menu - guinea fowl). But it was amazing. During dinner, we tried to figure out what I'm going to do after college - not an easy prospect. Basically nothing was decided so let me know if you have any suggestions. We had some great cheeses at the end of the meal and we left stuffed. I went to bed early because I had to wake up at 7:15 the next day.

Reims

I woke up early and headed over to the hotel to pick up Dad. We had decided to visit Reims, the capital of the Champagne region. We had a 9:00 train out of Gare de L'Est to Reims, only a 45 minute train ride on the TGV. The train was great - so fast and smooth. I fell asleep on the way there and the way back. Reims was pretty cold and kind of rainy. We walked around the town to find the Office of Tourism and book some tours with Champagne Caves. We booked a tour at 12 and another at 2. We had an hour to explore before the first tour so we went to the Musée des Beaux Arts in Reims, a cool musuem with a bunch of local art and historical art. They had this weird modern German art exhibit that was pretty cool. But I got yelled at for taking a picture of it because I guess since it's on loan, nobody can photograph it. But I have the picture anyways and I'll post it up here.

The first cellar we went to was Charles de Cazanove. Dad used to run a private label through them but I guess the company has been sold since he last worked with them. We watched a short video (in English) about how they make champagne, got a really cool tour of the cellars and saw where they store the wine, how they ferment the bottles, how they blend it, etc. It was really interesting and it's a painstaking process - at least it was before they improved the technology. Then we got to try some wines - a rosé, a blanc du blanc (which is 100% Chardonnay Champagne), and another champagne (a mix of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes). They were very good. This was a pretty small, basic cellar but we were the only ones there so we got to ask a lot of questions and really learn about it. There was a really cool French market across from the cellar so we walked around there for a while, looking at the cheeses, meats, vegetables, fish, everything!

We ate lunch at some place in Reims, and of course we had champagne with lunch! I had a great mushroom omelette. Then we ran to G.H. Mums, our next champagne tour. They are a German family that makes champagne that is pretty famous. It's the Red Ribbon champagne bottles, you'll probably recognize it in the pictures. They had a top-notch operation! The only time that worked for us was the French tour, so I had to listen pretty intensely to figure out what was going on - and our tour guide spoke like Speedy Gonzalez! We watched another video about the making of champagne - that doubled as a promotional video for Mums - and went into the cellars. The cellars were huge and amazing! So much wine there - dating back from 1893. Then we had another tasting of 3 champagnes - a rosé, a Grand Cru cuvée, and a blanc du blanc Champagne de Cramand. They were really great. We asked about the vineyards and cellars in World War I and II. The Mums cellars were spared because the Mums family is German. They had sold the operation after WWI and came back and forcefully took it over in WWII to save it from destruction.



Dad and I took the TGV back to Paris and got to the hotel. I got to watch TV for the first time in a while (I have no TV at my place), and I passed out in the huge bed. It was so relaxing. Around 7:30, we walked back to my apartment so I could show it to Dad. I think it's fine...cleaning will be the only issue. I can make it look neat but I'm not so adept with the cleaning of the bathroom, kitchen, etc. We went to dinner with my roommate Justin and my friend Steve at L'alouette, a brasserie on my street. It was really good! A typical French place that was pretty lively with good, basic food. A neighborhood joint - but a little out of the typical student's price range. We had a great dinner. In France, if you dont' ask for the check, it won't come. It's considered rude to bring the check before the customers asks for it because you are seen as pushing them out of the restaurant. So we had a nice, long dinner. Dad went back home and I went to my apartment. Later that night, I met up with those girls from Michigan and we just hung out for a little. Then I went to bed.

I woke up at 9 this morning and went over to the Hotel. I worked out in the hotel gym, something I haven't been able to do yet in Paris. I need to figure out how they gyms work but I think most people exercise outside. Gyms are really, really expensive - like 600 euro for a year membership. Then I had breakfast at the hotel with Dad. He left for the airport and I went up to the hotel room and showered in the nice hotel shower.

After that, I decided to take a long walk around my neighborhood. There is a great market on Sunday mornings that I caught the tail end of. Most places were just about packed up but I'll have to go back, it's only 5 minutes from my apartment. I explored rue des Buttes aux Cailles, a fun street in the 13th with nice bars and restaurants. Then I made my way through a really weird sort of flea market, where people were selling dishes, clocks, old records, anything you could find. It was a sketchy group of people, so I kept my hands over my pockets and walked by quickly. Then I got to Cité U (it's the international dorms for students in Paris). A lot of kids on my program live there. It's gorgeous! There is a huge park that reminds me a lot of Boston Commons across the street - definitely a good place to go running when it gets nice out. There were tons of kids and families playing in the park.



It was a very fun weekend, seeing people from Michigan and my father. I didn't have to spend any money!! And I got amazing food. Now I'll be back to reality, with classes starting in 2 days and the beginnings of a normal schedule almost in place. I am sitting here eating a baguette with jam and butter, the weather is sunny and brisk, all is well in Paris.