En Reconnaissance de Paris: Wherefore art thou, Sandwich Lady?

Hi Everyone!

Just thought I'd pop in for an unexpected mid-week blog. It's been so nice just spending these past two weeks here, really experiencing the dreamy beginnings of April in Paris.

On Saturday, we woke up and made omelettes at our leisure. Then I dealt with my laundry situation (I really must never again get to the point where I need to do five loads at once) while Abbey studied for her French midterm. The day, however, was simply too nice to be spent indoors-- it actually hit 70 degrees!-- so we decided that we would venture out for the rest of our afternoon.

We headed down to the Marais to pick up our sandwiches and sit out to eat by the Centre Pompidou. We were a bit distraught, however, when we found out that our sandwich lady's boulangerie is closed on Saturdays. Unsure of what to do, we wandered a bit until we found some mediocre sandwiches at another boulangerie. Fortunately, the scene outside Pompidou counteracted our affected moods, as there were a few performers out and enough people around to be entertaining without being overwhelming.

After our lunch ordeal, we headed towards some vintage stores we'd been dying to stop into for the longest time. Aside from our experience with one woman working in Aquarêves who seemed to be intent on annoying us right out of her store, we had the greatest time ever trying on some ridiculous items. I ended up buying a really cool t-shirt dress and a pretty top, and abbey wound up with a really cute dress of her own. I also got a black clutch, which I've desperately needed here and will be sure to make good use of. The best part about all of this? The prices were just so reasonable!

On our way back to our apartment, in high spirits from our retail and sunshine therapy, we decided it was about time to stop by Pêre Lachaise-- something we've been meaning to do since we've arrived in Paris. This is a really famous cemetery that's just a 15 minute walk away from where we live. Of course, as soon as we arrived, the security guards were closing the gates. I managed to snap one picture or two, but we'll have to go back another day. Oh well... "A" for effort!

On Sunday, we had hoped to get back to Pêre Lachaise, but unfortunately the beautiful weather spell had passed. It was okay, however, because we managed to make the day productive, getting some work done and stocking up on groceries.

Monday was just another school day. We went back to our sandwich lady for lunch-- her shop was open, but she was nowhere in sight! To ad insult to injury, they were all out of our Indian chicken sandwiches! Fortunately, Abbey and I are resilient, and without panicking too much we were able to select another sandwich each to try. Indian chicken they were not, but delicious they certainly still were. I guess a small change here and there isn't really so bad.

Later that evening, feeling spontaneous and benevolent, I decided to cook Abbey a surprise dinner. It was a surprise in that she didn't know what I was making. She had some trouble guessing from the ingredients. Let's see if you can do any better:
- baguette
- tomato sauce
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- mushrooms
- onions

If you guessed baguette-pizza, you are correct. Simple as this was to make, it ended up being really delicious. We complemented our pizza with some nice Burgundy red wine and enjoyed an appetizer of mozzarella and tomatoes.

Tuesday was nothing more than another ordinary day of classes. We went to visit our sandwich lady as per usual only to find that she was missing in action again! At least the boulangerie had our Indian chicken sandwiches though...

Abbey and I never really go out for meals here, but we decided that since we hadn't traveled in a while and had cooked all of our meals this past weekend, it was okay for a little treat. We had been wanting to try a little place called Chez Omar, a 25 minute walk from our apartment, which is celebrated for its couscous. We shared two entrées-- a filet of steak in mushroom sauce and chicken couscous-- both of which were delicious. We drank a 2009 Côtes de Provence rosé wine with the meal and completed it with a scoop of lemon sorbet for me and café ice cream for Abbey. The meal was excellent, but we were so full, we could barley even walk ourselves home.

And now here we are, on Wednesday. I just enjoyed a delicious falafel for lunch and must go to French class before I can return to the 70 degree weather outside. I also just signed up for the classes I'll be taking in the fall-- how is it possible that I'm going to be a senior?!

Tomorrow we're off to Dublin with a big group of girls, which we're super excited about. Of course I'll be back to fill you in on every detail!

À la prochaine!

P.S. Sandwich Lady... if you are reading this... where are you??