Ça me fait rire

(it makes me laugh)

Since being in Paris for 3 months I have come to the conclusion that nothing is cuter (besides puppies) than little French boys in their shorts. Unlike young American boys, French boys wear shorts year round to school, even when it is cold. Now that winter is just around the corner everywhere you go you see little boys hand-in-hand with their parents sporting their shorts, toggle pea-coats, scarfs, and caps. It's almost like they are mini-men and the shorts are there as a reminder of their true age. 

In my photography class my professor presented us with these two images as an example of photojournalism in the 1950s. The first is by French photographer Willy Ronis and the second by Henri Cartier-Bresson. Everytime I look at them I laugh a little because they emulate the French culture. Never in a million years would you see a little American boy running through the street with a baguette under his arm, let alone carting around two huge bottles of wine (I am sure child-protective-services or some other organization would be all over the parents for that one!)

Amèlie's Montmartre

Ever since I first saw Le Fabuleux Déstin d'Amèlie Poulain more commonly known as just Amèlie in the States, I fell in love with the area that she visits in the movie because to me it represents a true Paris, one that lacks all things touristy. Having already been to Montmartre and Sacre Cœur during my first visit to Paris I never really had any reason to go back, until I stumbled upon a Amelie Walking Tour of Montmartre written by the director of the film himself. 

The first stop on the walk is metro stop Lamarck-Caulaincourt. This is the metro where Amélie leads the blind man to after walking him across the street. 

 The streets of Montmartre decorated for Christmas

quite hilly compared to the rest of Paris 

Christmas lights strung across the streets

  

A street in Montmartre known for its Normandy-style architecture 

 Ciné 13 - one of the oldest cinemas in Paris

 Le Moulin Radet - one of the only remaining windmills in Paris (when Renoir was painting them there were over 40!)

 Picasso lived in this building at some point developing his Cubism. Other residents of the same street include Van Gogh, Degas, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Zola.

Some magnificent views of Paris from atop the hills of Montmartre. You can really see most of the city from up there. 

Au Marche de la Butte, the grocery used in the film as Maison Collignon.

The sign from the movie still hangs above the store. 

M. Collignon was the evil grocer who made fun of his co-worker who suffered from some mental disabilities. In the movie for revenge Amélie breaks into his apartment and messes with his things causing him to think he is going insane.

A bunch of newspaper clippings hang in the window of the store

Rue Lepic in Montmartre - note the little windmill light! 

 Christmas carnival going on at Metro Abbesses

 Metro Abbesses - one of the few remaining Art Deco style metro entrances

Café des 2 Moulins - the setting for the café where Amélie works in the movie 

A window painting of Amélie at les 2 Moulins - even she is ready for Christmas! 

 This just looks so French to me

 The tour ends at Sacre Cœur just like the scavenger hunt Amélie creates for Nino ends.

It's an amazing view at night

 Paris from the top of the hill

Can't get much better than that.

Thanksgiving, Chez George and other Images of Paris

Not your typical Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving time, I think for everyone in our program, was a difficult time to be abroad. For most of us, it was the first time we had not been with our families for the holiday making us all realize how much we missed home. Thankfully (no pun intended), our program hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for us at Chez François, a very nice French restaurant that looks out onto the Seine. While the dinner was far from traditional, it was absolutely delicious!

 Le Potage de Poitrine (Pumpkin Soup) with a Soufflé du Canard Confit (a slice of Duck Confit Soufflé)

La Dinde avec un sauce des cranberries, les champignons, et un purée des patates douces (Turkey with a cranberry sauce served with a side of sautéed mushrooms and mashed sweet potatoes)

New York Cheesecake (translation: New York Cheesecake) 

Needless to say I was not thrilled - I was missing mom's apple and pumpkin pies 

Post Thanksgiving Dinner a bunch of us decided to go to a staple in our going-out book: Chez George.

Chez George is truely a French wine bar establishment - a place where young french people gather to share bottles of wine and dance the night away in the low-ceilinged "cave" downstairs. The bar (which has a much calmer upstairs environment) dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. During WWII the cave downstairs was home to many Jews who were in hiding during the Nazi occupancy of Paris. To pay homage to this about every hour Hava Naglia is played, and is truly a favorite of everyone in the bar. Other songs include selections from the Beatles, Edith Piaf, and other great classic songs. 

Some people dancing the night away in the cave 

one of the bartenders loves Paloma! 

This creepy flower man comes every night. He loves Clara (a french friend we have made because of Chez George) and gives her a flower when ever she is there. He has started giving me one too - not sure why but it is weird. haha!

Denney and our friend Sana dancing with one of the free flowers we received 

Cooking Class

One of the things that was on my Paris bucket list was to take a cooking class. Well it finally happened Friday night at this adorable place in Hotel de Ville. On the menu for the night was Fricassée de Volaille au cidre et pommes caramélisées (caramelized apples and chicken with a creamy mushroom and onion sauce). A really fun experience was made all the more fun after we started talking to Bill, the only man in our class of 12 (the rest were young girls). After telling us that he used to be a professor at Rutger's and is now retired and staying indefinitely in Paris he asked where we all went to school. When he got to me and I responded with Richmond his eyes lit up! He too was a Spider! And was very excited to learn that there were two other girls in the class that night who are from UR as well. Its funny how small the world is.

Me with Bill, Jaclyn and Lisa - Spider reppin' in Paris!