This is Paris

I have to split Sunday into 2 blogs. It was that fabulous.

On Sunday, after sleeping off a fun Saturday night at Cafe Creme and Pomme D'Eve (great bar!!), I had quite the day.

First, I met up with Andrew for un cafe. Andrew is a Arizona-native filmmaker who has been going back and forth between the U.S. and Paris for 7 years. We met him at Internations, and last time we all hung out, Andrew and I realized we lived in the same neighborhood. So we decided to meet for a coffee and neighborhood jaunt. He showed me around Rue Mouffetard, which is my new favorite Parisian street. The cafes and shops and creperies are absolutely adorable, and it has that feeling I imagined when I thought of Paris before I came here. We sat outside one of the cafes, Chocolat Chaud Maison, and talked and people watched. Then we walked around the neighborhood, and as we were walking, I heard music.

We stopped in front of ''Le Muffe'tot, Muffetard,'' a neighborhood restaurant, and looked in the windows. There was a man playing an accordian, and everyone in the restaurant was talking and dancing and experiencing the ''joie de vivre." We asked the woman standing outside what was happening, and she said that every Sunday afternoon, she and her friends go to the church down the road, and they dance. Then they make their way up the road, sometimes dancing in the streets, to spend hours in the restaurant, dancing and talking. I, the American, stand there with my mouth agape, saying, ''vraiment???'' (really??). And she just looks at me, with that careless French attitude, and states, as a fact, ''This is Paris."

It's like a light went on inside me. This IS Paris. This is why people love it!

So, embracing the joie de vivre, Andrew and I continued our exploration, stopping by the Pantheon and the gorgeous Luxembourg Gardens, until we reached St. Michel, where I was to meet my co-worker for my second coffeee (actually chocolat chaud) for the day.

My co-worker Francois agreed to help me with my French. So he invited me for un cafe on Sunday afternoon, and we agreed to meet at the St Michel fountain (another of my favorite areas). We also sat outside a cafe to people watch, and we spoke 75% in French, 25% in English. It was actually really helpful, and he was very nice. But I couldn't stay more than an hour because I was late for my night-time activity...to be continued in my next blog.