Tu t’en lasses - Paris, France
Going forward, I’m not going to talk about stuff in exact chronological order unless it makes sense to. This way I have a little more freedom in the way I write these.
Before even setting foot in France, I had the pleasure of chatting with a French person while speeding through a tunnel under the English Channel. I sat next to Amaury on the train ride, and he had a million recommendations for things to do in Paris and all around France. I was very appreciative of the conversation, as he assured me that people in France speak enough English to communicate or translate for me.
Going to Paris felt like a big step in this adventure. No longer would I be surrounded by English speakers. Ever since I left London, I feel like I’ve heard at least a dozen different languages. It makes me feel so… American… to not be able to understand all these languages. I know a minimal amount of Spanish, so hopefully that can come into play when I visit Spain. But for now, this region is very foreign to me.
The joint I stayed at in Paris was called St. Christopher’s Inn, and attached to it was Belushi’s Sports Bar. This hostel is what is known as a “party hostel”. Giant screens in the bar housed plenty of football (soccer) games, huge groups of obnoxious 20-somethings and teenagers crowded the bar on the weekend nights I was there. I could even hear the music from my hostel room until 1:30am. A stark difference to my London hostel, which was much more chill and didn’t care to cater towards a younger audience.
I tried my best to meet people at this party hostel, but I didn’t feel like I quite fit in with the clientele. There was a Wine and Cheese Night that I attended, but had a really tough time really vibing with some of the people. They were nice for sure, but we just didn’t have much in common. That being said, I still met some lovely people in the most random places.
Alaric and Luis were two French students that I met at a small bar owned by some Americans. We chatted about music and differences in our cultures and countries. They had many questions for me and I found out a lot about life in France.
I had brunch one morning at an empanada restaurant and met Marie-Jo from New York. We enjoyed some delicious coffee, fresh pressed apple-beetroot-carrot juice, empanadas and arepas together while talking about our lives.
On a rainy day, I ate dinner at a ramen restaurant, where I met Adam from Wisconsin. We immediately hit it off after I complimented his nail polish. Talking about our queer identities and related topics made it incredibly easy to get to know each other and carry our conversations.
That night and the following night, we visited multiple gay bars in Paris. The first place we saw, Café Moustache, was way out of the way from the rest of the gay neighborhood. It was… something - low lighting, extremely close quarters, a screen playing hardcore gay pornography in the back corner of the bar, the restroom was not a piss trough, but instead a piss gutter. There were also multiple benches inside of stalls in the back for… activities… Oh, and a sex swing!
The next night we visited some far less seedy places inside the gay neighborhood. But not before having dinner first! Adam found a Caribbean food joint called Big Black Cook. We had the same chicken dish that was quite delicious! The bars were cool too - one place called Cactus had some fantastic cocktails!
During my time in Paris, I was tired, both physically and mentally. I think I was feeling defeated in terms of meeting people before I met Adam. I have definitely had some awkward interactions and cold reciprocations. I was able to bounce back by writing in my own journal that I’ve been keeping. Taking notes and writing throughout my adventure has definitely helped me keep my sanity. I did spend some time relaxing in various cafés too - I think those chill atmospheres helped calm my nerves.
So, what all did I do in Paris? On the first day, it rained - what a perfect time to walk around and sightsee with minimal tourists! I was able to check out the Latin Quarter, the Panthéon, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tower, Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore, a number of manga and comic book stores, a Lindt truffles shop (my favorite chocolates from Switzerland), Jardin des Plantes (a park with a large garden and a zoo in the Latin Quarter), the Arc de Triomphe, and the Champs-Élysées.
I walked SO much that day, so I had to get something good for dinner. Amaury recommended a French restaurant called Boullion Chartier, where I had a larger-than-expected pitcher of sangria, a dish of beef bourguignon, and some stewed apples for dessert. It was fantastic, and quite cheap!
I thought the stewed apples would be similar to the innards of an apple pie. However, I laughed when the waiter brought over a bowl of applesauce. It was much sweeter and had a slightly different texture - a great dessert!
…and yes, of course I drank all the sangria 😉
Of course, I also visited the Louvre - you can read more about my art experience on my last blog post. It was big, and I was feeling kind of down that day, but I still got the full museum experience in the 4 hours I spent there.
I also had the chance to see the Sacré-Cœur Basilica and the surrounding market area. What a gorgeous building and view of the city! But the experience was a bit tarnished by the amount of tourists there and all the locals trying to sell things and scam tourists.
Speaking of markets, I visited the Marché Barbes after the Basilica. This was less of an artisan market and more of a produce, meat and household products market, and all of it was situated lengthwise underneath a bridge. This was a bit of a culture shock for me - people packed like sardines, selling and bartering with things inside their rolling suitcase/shopping cart hybrid, and shouting at each other in languages I’ve never heard. I wish I had bought an apple or something just to say I did it, but the atmosphere itself was quite intimidating.
What kind of tourist would I be if I didn’t try the true local cuisine? I love oysters, so I had a fresh dozen with a glass of wine. They had a slightly sweet flavor - the waters of the Atlantic must provide a different flavor profile when compared to the Pacific.
My server also gave me a little sample of the smoked eel. Absolutely delicious!! I wish I had gone back for that.
Right before my train to Switzerland, of course I had to have the strangest part of French cuisine - escargots!
These snails are thoroughly cleaned and cooked before they’re served. I could tell these ones were cooked in a lot of butter and garlic. They had a slightly rubbery and definitely chewy texture, which I enjoyed. After the wave of butter and garlic passed, these escargots had this earthy aftertaste, like the ground they slithered across. I would highly recommend them as an appetizer, but eating several as a full meal would not feel satisfying to me. Perhaps they could experiment with different flavors besides garlic?
I chased the earthy flavors of the snails with a tasty honey-slathered crepe before I caught a train to Basel, Switzerland. I decided to spend the night there because I did not want to be on a train for the night of St. Patrick’s Day - I wanted to be at an Irish pub!
I met Nick from California in the hostel in Basel before heading to the pub. We had some great conversations over the loud Euro-trash electronic remixes of traditional Irish music. The bartenders also gave us these awesome hats.
The next morning I hopped on the train for Andermatt, Switzerland. I was ecstatic to hit the slopes!
