Monday, May 25: Arrival in Paris (again)
Travel day! I woke up (I'm doing very well without my alarm clock actually) and set off for fruit and yogurt at Galleries LaFayette's grocery dept for breakfast. I packed up in 45 min flat -- I'm now officially a pro! -- and rolled my bags over 3 blocks of cobble stone to the tram stop nearby. I got to the train station about an hour early, so as to avoid the constant clock-watching jitters if I were to just hang out in the room, waiting to leave, and got myself some lunch at the trainstation: particularly yummy sandwich mixte (ham, cheese, butter), pomme grille (an apple tart thingy) and a sort of bread stick version of the olive-baguette.
I actually finished The Book of Love before taking off from Strasbourg and am 100% decided I must go to Chartres. I won't tell you why, you have to read the book, but I'll take lots while I'm there. I started re-reading the 4th Twilight book for something a bit more fun and less think-y on the train.
The adventure of my now 4 bags from Gare de l'Est to the hotel was actually ok. Only one staircase without elevator (whew!). The challenge was the heat, which was flirting with 90 degrees and blaring sun! As it turns out, the hotel only runs the airconditioning from 5p to 9a (assuming probably correctly that most people are out during the day) and let's just say I was less than appreciative of that fact... Plus, not to fuel a stereotype, but as this is the hottest day I've had in a city I've had to use public transit, I did take particular notice of the fragrance on the metro. After about 85 degrees, the general Parisian public sweating it out in the subway doesn't make for a bottle-able odor. Blech.
Anyway, got checked into the Hotel du 7eme Art in le Marais, my same favorite neighborhood between Place de la Bastille and Hotel de Ville. The theme is heavy here: early Hollywood. Movie posters galore and lots of the collage-esque style of art with lots of famous actors of the period. I had requested that if the least expensive room -- there's only one of them, and it was taken when I made my reservation -- came available that I would prefer it. It is 30 Euros (about $45) less expensive per night and if I can help it, I'd rather not stay in the hotel room too awfully much.
Well, the thing about that is, I'm a snob. Not a huge snob, but a little a bit. The room size doesn't bother me (again, don't need that much space), but a lunch box seems to be a good metaphor. Which would make the shower the size of a postage stamp. All this would be fine, except that that means there isn't room for a toilet in my room. I don't have a shared toilet, like for the floor, but I do share the toilet... It's in a supplies closet type room, two doors down the hall. It's ok... sorta, but in the middle of the night I have to amble through the hall to get to the bathroom. And if I pull back the opaque glass door, I can see that they don't seem to care much for organization. A combination of old shower curtains, a ripped up comforter and various broken or old room items are piled up about a third of the way up from the floor and the cleaning supplies bucket/kit sits on top of that pile for lack of a better space to put it in. Doesn't inspire, that's all I'm saying.
Plus, because it was so darn hot all day, the air conditioning somehow managed to collect dew on the spare mattress that is stored above the shower (there's a little cubby thing). So the mattress dripped water through the crack in the shower ceiling all afternoon/night. I guess that wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't have to stand directly under one of the drips in order to brush my teeth/wash my face in front of the sink. Or if I weren't afraid it was less than pristine water after having passed through a mattress and a wooden ceiling. (See? I told you I was a bit of snob.) I think I've corrected the problem... I shoved the mattresses back a couple feet so the AC didn't blow directly on it. The drip stopped sometime before this AM (Tuesday).
So faced with the idea of sweating it out in the hotel room, waiting for 5p, and sweating it up walking around the park/climbing l'Etoile like I had planned for the after, I chose shopping and a movie in an airconditioned mall. I saw Wolverine (VO, which I now know well is version originale) which was ok, but the movie theater was just the right temperature. And, in case you guys are worried I might turn into Isla Fischer, I didn't even buy anything, I just looked!
The neighborhood around les Halles, the shopping center (understatement: this place is the size of an entire suburb), is the spot to go out apparently. Not far away is the jazz club I went to the last time I was in Paris and along the same street are an Irish Pub with live rock every night, another jazz club with a jam session, starting at 10p and a soul bar that had a special concert going. I had lots of intentions of going to all 3 spots after the movie, but I was dressed like it was July in Independence and still felt grimey from sweating all day, so I went in search of a salad instead.
Here's the thing. I had no intention of eating at the Hard Rock Cafe while I was in France. There are a LOT of other things to eat. But in this case... my kingdom for a salad! I just wanted a salad with more than lettuce in it. And since I know the HRC menu well (I find them in every city I go to, usually only to get the pin), I knew I couldn't lose with them. Plus, the atmospher is usually fun and you never know who you're going to meet. I didn't actually meet anyone and the bartenders spoke to me in English. Not because I am American, as I thought, but because it's the thing there... Oh well, I got my salad and it had ranch on it and it was delicious, dangit.
Headed back to the hotel to rest up, thinking that as long as it didn't rain Tues, I'd trip it to Chartres.. Turns out Tues will be the only day for rain all week. And the Louvre is closed Tuesdays. Dang.
I'll upload my sparse pics soon... til then, enjoy the current stash!
I actually finished The Book of Love before taking off from Strasbourg and am 100% decided I must go to Chartres. I won't tell you why, you have to read the book, but I'll take lots while I'm there. I started re-reading the 4th Twilight book for something a bit more fun and less think-y on the train.
The adventure of my now 4 bags from Gare de l'Est to the hotel was actually ok. Only one staircase without elevator (whew!). The challenge was the heat, which was flirting with 90 degrees and blaring sun! As it turns out, the hotel only runs the airconditioning from 5p to 9a (assuming probably correctly that most people are out during the day) and let's just say I was less than appreciative of that fact... Plus, not to fuel a stereotype, but as this is the hottest day I've had in a city I've had to use public transit, I did take particular notice of the fragrance on the metro. After about 85 degrees, the general Parisian public sweating it out in the subway doesn't make for a bottle-able odor. Blech.
Anyway, got checked into the Hotel du 7eme Art in le Marais, my same favorite neighborhood between Place de la Bastille and Hotel de Ville. The theme is heavy here: early Hollywood. Movie posters galore and lots of the collage-esque style of art with lots of famous actors of the period. I had requested that if the least expensive room -- there's only one of them, and it was taken when I made my reservation -- came available that I would prefer it. It is 30 Euros (about $45) less expensive per night and if I can help it, I'd rather not stay in the hotel room too awfully much.
Well, the thing about that is, I'm a snob. Not a huge snob, but a little a bit. The room size doesn't bother me (again, don't need that much space), but a lunch box seems to be a good metaphor. Which would make the shower the size of a postage stamp. All this would be fine, except that that means there isn't room for a toilet in my room. I don't have a shared toilet, like for the floor, but I do share the toilet... It's in a supplies closet type room, two doors down the hall. It's ok... sorta, but in the middle of the night I have to amble through the hall to get to the bathroom. And if I pull back the opaque glass door, I can see that they don't seem to care much for organization. A combination of old shower curtains, a ripped up comforter and various broken or old room items are piled up about a third of the way up from the floor and the cleaning supplies bucket/kit sits on top of that pile for lack of a better space to put it in. Doesn't inspire, that's all I'm saying.
Plus, because it was so darn hot all day, the air conditioning somehow managed to collect dew on the spare mattress that is stored above the shower (there's a little cubby thing). So the mattress dripped water through the crack in the shower ceiling all afternoon/night. I guess that wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't have to stand directly under one of the drips in order to brush my teeth/wash my face in front of the sink. Or if I weren't afraid it was less than pristine water after having passed through a mattress and a wooden ceiling. (See? I told you I was a bit of snob.) I think I've corrected the problem... I shoved the mattresses back a couple feet so the AC didn't blow directly on it. The drip stopped sometime before this AM (Tuesday).
So faced with the idea of sweating it out in the hotel room, waiting for 5p, and sweating it up walking around the park/climbing l'Etoile like I had planned for the after, I chose shopping and a movie in an airconditioned mall. I saw Wolverine (VO, which I now know well is version originale) which was ok, but the movie theater was just the right temperature. And, in case you guys are worried I might turn into Isla Fischer, I didn't even buy anything, I just looked!
The neighborhood around les Halles, the shopping center (understatement: this place is the size of an entire suburb), is the spot to go out apparently. Not far away is the jazz club I went to the last time I was in Paris and along the same street are an Irish Pub with live rock every night, another jazz club with a jam session, starting at 10p and a soul bar that had a special concert going. I had lots of intentions of going to all 3 spots after the movie, but I was dressed like it was July in Independence and still felt grimey from sweating all day, so I went in search of a salad instead.
Here's the thing. I had no intention of eating at the Hard Rock Cafe while I was in France. There are a LOT of other things to eat. But in this case... my kingdom for a salad! I just wanted a salad with more than lettuce in it. And since I know the HRC menu well (I find them in every city I go to, usually only to get the pin), I knew I couldn't lose with them. Plus, the atmospher is usually fun and you never know who you're going to meet. I didn't actually meet anyone and the bartenders spoke to me in English. Not because I am American, as I thought, but because it's the thing there... Oh well, I got my salad and it had ranch on it and it was delicious, dangit.
Headed back to the hotel to rest up, thinking that as long as it didn't rain Tues, I'd trip it to Chartres.. Turns out Tues will be the only day for rain all week. And the Louvre is closed Tuesdays. Dang.
I'll upload my sparse pics soon... til then, enjoy the current stash!
posted by Jess at 12:19 AM
2 Comments:
Hard Rock Cafe?! Seriously?! Is your body finally needing a break from the tour-de-force of french cuisine you've been subjecting it to?
And that's weird about the aircondition times at the hotel. I suppose as you explained it it makes sense and ultimately better for the environment but to cool down the place after having it heat up all day doesn't sound like the best way to go.
Same feeling about Wolverine...good not great.
Now that it's more like 60 outside (as opposed to 90) I can see the intelligence of leaving the AC off. Monday I was not convinced!
I know I know... It's not that I needed a break from French food, I just needed a salad. Vegetables. They don't do that a lot here, believe it or not. And their "salad" is lettuce with a little salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. Sometimes a tomato for color :)
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