Tuesday was a very fun way to end our adventure in Paris. It was, of course, overcast and appeared to be on the verge of rain all day. Luckily, it only lightly misted lightly in the afternoon while we did most of our walking. We headed back to the Montmartre district, which is known for its Bohemian culture. We found the Moulin Rouge first (which wasn't nearly as impressive as in the movie), and then we were in search of some artwork to bring home. We've brought artwork home from each country that we've visited, and its a tradition that we had planned to continue on this trip. Although, we were surrounded by paintings, it was very challenging to find an original piece of artwork at a reasonable price. Most of the artwork is mass produced elsewhere and then sold to artists who then put finishing touches on and sell it as their own. We would have preferred to find something original; however, we didn't want to pay as much for a painting as this entire trip, so we settled on a still life of wine bottles that we will put over the bar in our new house.
We wandered through Montmartre and went in a few shops before stopping for street food. We always try to eat some sort of street food in new countries, and although we had already tried crepes and paninis, there were a few other street foods on our must have list. I am a huge fan of both bananas and nutella, so when I saw a crepe combining both of these, I knew I had to have it. It was just as delicious as I had hoped, and it is actually something that we'll be able to recreate when we get home.
Jeremy went for something a bit more savory. When we were in Sweden, he tried a tortilla filled with mashed potatoes, seafood salad, ketchup, mustard, and a hot dog, so now he tries to find a unique hot dog in each country we visit. In France, he got a double hot dog served on a baguette and covered in cheese. He said it was pretty good, but I think I'll stick with the Krzmarzick dogs at Target Field.
We headed toward the metro station on our way to the Louvre district for a special evening. We knew that we would be early, so we did a bit more window shopping and I found a special splurge. We came across a cooking supply store that was filled to the ceiling with antique copper pots, knives, cooking utensils, and bakeware. I could imagine Julia Child shopping here and buying her copper pots or the dishes on which she served her first boeuf bourguignon. Since I knew that I couldn't fit any copper pots in my luggage (we each have only a carry on bag), I planned on a quick look before moving on to the next store. I walked each of the long aisles, wishing I could buy it all, when I came across the most beautiful salt cellar that I had ever seen. It is made in Provence out of olive wood, which gives it a pretty marbled look. Immediately, I began thinking of a way to convince Jeremy that it was worth the price. To my surprise, he really liked it and knew I had been looking online for months, so we made the splurge and headed out of the crowded store.
We had signed up for a wine tasting at the OChateau wine bar, which is considered one of the best in Paris according to Wine Spectators. We were seated in the basement wine cellar with six other couples. It was refreshing to talk to native English speakers, as we were all from the U.S. or Canada. Our fellow wine tasters varied from novice wine drinkers to very experienced, so it was interesting to hear the questions and conversations throughout the night. We tried five wines and one champagne from around France, while learning how to taste/sample wines, what to look for when purchasing, and where different wines are made throughout the country. We had ordered a plate of cheese and meat to have along with the bread during the tasting, which was much needed with all of that alcohol. It was a very interesting evening that lasted over 2.5 hours and provided us with new knowledge and a new appreciation for a broader variety of wines.
The owner of the wine bar also has written a book called "Stuff Parisians Like." We read through bits of it and enjoyed his wittiness, so we bought a copy which he graciously signed for us. We'll enjoy reading it this winter and thinking about our time in Paris.
We left the wine bar a little more tipsy and buzzed than when we had arrived and headed to our final activity in Paris--a boat ride down the Seine River. The weather, refusing to cooperate, turned from misting to downpour as we left the dock, which we should have expected considering our previous luck. We weren't able to hear the commentary, but since we had lived in this city for ten days, we could recognize most of the buildings that we passed. Although wet, it still was a nice night on the water huddled under an umbrella with the the light from the Eiffel Tower lighting up the night sky.
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