19 Monday Nov 2012
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris
Even aside from the Luxembourg Gardens, it is nice to just stroll around the 6th Arrondissement. Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed walking on the bridges and admiring the different views – particularly that of the Institut de France. It houses six different academies and was opened in 1795.
18 Sunday Nov 2012
I have mixed feelings about the 14th Arrondissement. On the one hand, Montparnasse Tower was quite nice. On the other, we weren’t able to go to the Catacombs because it was closed.
I dragged Mr. Selfish to Montparnasse Tower, because I wanted to see a nighttime view of Paris. I’ve seen Montparnasse Tower from afar many a times and discovered that you could see Paris from 59 floors up. Plus, if you’re up the Eiffel Tower, you can’t see the view with the Eiffel Tower.
To go up Montparnasse Tower, you have to take a lift that only takes 38 seconds. It takes you to the 56th floor, which has a cafe and is encased in glass. You can take photos but the reflection from the glass and lights makes the photos not too ideal.
17 Saturday Nov 2012
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris
Tags
9th Arrondissement, France, Higuma, Japanese Food in Paris, Kunitoraya, La Petit Tokyo, Opera, Palais Garnier, Paris, Ramen, Sapporo, Udon
The beautiful Palais Garnier is in the 9th Arrondissement of Paris. It is the opulent opera house of Paris. Mr. Selfish and I looked into going to an opera but the prices were outrageous. Instead, we just walked by and admired.
But, the main reason that we kept coming back to the 9th was because Le Petit Tokyo is there. When we were sick of French food, we ate ramen and udon to our heart’s content. We went to three restaurants in particular and found each of them to be respectable.
First, at Higuma, we enjoyed gyozas and the shio and syoyu ramen, which was called “lamen.” The broth was tasty, and it hit the spot since we were craving ramen. I also liked the demonstration kitchen because the chefs really seemed to enjoy their cooking stations.
16 Friday Nov 2012
In 2008, Mr. Selfish and I took a trip to Budapest and Prague. We started in Budapest and then took a train to Prague. Budapest was a delightful city where the currency is cheap and there aren’t many tourists.
In particular, Mr. Selfish and I loved the Hungarian baths and the Budapest opera house. No photos were allowed in the baths, but they were grand and relaxing. As for the opera house, Mr. Selfish and I purchased tickets for a private booth right next to the king’s box for very cheap. We never had such great seats for the opera, but it was too bad that the opera was in Italian and the translation was in Hungarian. I couldn’t tell what was going on most of the time!
15 Thursday Nov 2012
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris
Tags
18th Arrondissement, France, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, Museum of Eroticism, Paris, Red Light District, Sex Museum
Mr. Selfish and I lived only two metro stops away from the red light district of Paris in Montmartre. Of course, we walked around to enjoy the ambiance. Moulin Rouge also happens to be one of my favorite movies of all times. I still love the elaborate singing and dancing sequences with the shaky cam feel.
14 Wednesday Nov 2012
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I fondly remember the cartoons and comics of Asterix and Obliex from my childhood. When I learned that there was a Parc Asterix near Paris, I knew that we would check it out.
The price of the park was 24 euros per person if purchased 7 days in advance. This advanced purchase saved 9 euros per person. Although I thought this was a good deal originally, the day that we chose ended up having horrible weather. It was in the 40’s and literally hailing right before we left for the park.
13 Tuesday Nov 2012
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris
Tags
19th Arrondissement, Cité de la Musique, Django, Django Reinhardt, France, Gypsy Jazz, Jazz, Paris
While we wandering all over Paris, Mr. Selfish and I kept seeing ads for a Django Reinhardt exhibit. Since Mr. Selfish loves gypsy jazz, I tracked it down online and discovered that the exhibit was in the Cité de la Musique, which is in the 19th Arrondissement. Since there isn’t much going on in the 19th, I figured we would check out the exhibit. Plus, on Friday and Saturday evenings, there is live jazz.
The Django Reinhardt exhibit was very interesting. It chronicled his life and set up sound booths whereby you could listen to the music that Django created during that era. We also enjoyed the live jazz session.
12 Monday Nov 2012
As many times as I’ve seen it and from assorted angles and different times of the days, I never tire of admiring the Eiffel Tower. This post is dedicated to the Tower.
I love it on sunny days. The United Nations bears in the front are fun. Each country that is recognized by the U.N. has a bear. I posed in front of the Vietnam bear.
11 Sunday Nov 2012
In my effort to visit every arrondissement in Paris, I knew that we would go to the Père Lachaise Cemetery in the 20th Arrondissement. As far as I could tell, there isn’t much else out there, but the cemetery should be enough of a draw itself.
This was our second visit to Père Lachaise. Mr. Selfish and I had been in 2006, but we didn’t have a map so we just wandered aimlessly around. This time, we downloaded a map onto our phone and were able to find all of the famous graves. I would recommend downloading or purchasing a map of Père Lachaise. It is a very large and hilly cemetery with over 1 million bodies buried there (this number does not include the number there was cremated there). You will have a very difficult time finding any graves in particular if you don’t have a map.
Nevertheless, if wandering around aimlessly is your goal, this is the place to do it. There are so many places to admire and ponder, and it was particularly beautiful with the autumn leaves.
10 Saturday Nov 2012
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris
Tags
6th Arrondissement, Église St.-Sulpice, France, Luxembourg Gardens, Luxembourg Palace, Paris, Zadkine Museum
Mr. Selfish and I enjoy wandering around the 6th Arrondissement, particularly the lovely Luxembourg Gardens. The park is in the garden of the Senate, which is actually located in the Luxembourg Palace. We found a day when it wasn’t raining and headed over to the gardens.
09 Friday Nov 2012
Posted in Flashback, North America
Mr. Selfish and I lived in Florida for over eight years. We went to Miami twice during that time. During our first trip, it was August and crazy hot. As a result, our second trip was during February. Not only is the beach not crowded but I find it much more tranquil in cooler weather. I don’t have to swim in the beach to enjoy it.
08 Thursday Nov 2012
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris
Tags
5th Arrondissement, Arènes de Lutèce, France, Jardin des Plantes, Latin Quarter, Paris, St. Michel
Other than the Panthéon, Mr. Selfish and I decided to check out the other areas in the 5th Arrondissement. First, we went to the Jardin des Plantes, which is the main botanical garden in Paris. There are several museums and a small zoo, but mostly we just wandered around and enjoyed the great weather.
07 Wednesday Nov 2012
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Mr. Selfish and I went to Notre Dame in the 4th Arrondissement many times during our stay in Paris. Not only because we found it beautiful but because everyone who came to visit wanted to see it – not that I blame them. It is lovely. This post is dedicated to Notre Dame.
06 Tuesday Nov 2012
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While in high school, I became fascinated with Claude Monet. To this day, I still adore his paintings. The brush strokes and the amazing colors mesmerize me each time. I knew that we had to take a day trip to Giverny while in Paris. Monet lived in Giverny from 1886 until his death in 1926. Of course, he painted his famous series of water lilies in Giverny.
05 Monday Nov 2012
Posted in Europe, Food & Drinks, France, Paris
Prior to taking this trip, I started following David Lebovitz’s blog. He is a renowned pastry chef, who worked with Alice Waters and has published several dessert books. Mr. Selfish and I have taken to heart many of his recommendations. I also read his book “The Sweet Life in Paris,” and discovered that he lives in the Bastille area in the 11th Arrondissenment.
When Mr. Selfish and I decided to explore Bastille, I secretly hoped that we would run into him at the market perusing the fresh veggies. We had no such luck, but I still enjoyed the Bastille area. Of course, the Opera Bastille and the iconic Bastille memorial is in the 11th Arrondissement. The selection at the Bastille market was also quite diverse.
The Selfish Years 