Birthday Bash, Party of Two!

My 28th Birthday

Two weekends ago, Kyle and I celebrated my first birthday in Paris.  It was so much fun!  Kyle had a whole weekend planned.


Friday, May 20th, was my actual birthday, so Kyle met me on his lunch break at our favorite little cafe.  I had the most amazing afternoon strolling around the city by myself while I waited for Kyle to leave work for the day. (Sometimes I really hate not having a job.  Most times though, it's pretty dang cool to be a lady of leisure!  What the heck will I do when we step back into reality??)


Kyle ended up having to stay at work until about 9:30, but our reservations for dinner didn't have a time set, so we just headed straight to the restaurant when he got home.  We ate at a tiny restaurant on the street behind our building called Chez Lucie.  It was AWESOME.  The chef is such a  character and makes visiting Chez Lucie worth it even if the food was terrible.  Good news though, the food was NOT terrible.  The chef/owner is from a French Caribbean island called Martinique and the cuisine is Creole/Caribbean.  Totally different than any of the French restaurants we have been frequenting, but a nice surprise!

We were sitting at the last table and that's the front door.  Super small, right?!

Mon Amour

"It's my birthday and I'll wear my ruffly, polka-dot dress if I want to" :)

We were so sleepy after dinner (and the shots of rum the owner kept pouring for us), so we called it a night and got our beauty rest for the full Saturday Kyle had planned.


Bday Bash Continued


On Saturday we attended a wine and cheese tasting Kyle set up.  It was in the basement section of a really cool old building.  It used to be the wine cellar for the wealthy family that owned the building hundreds of years ago, so the wine tasting company carried on the tradition.  I brought my camera hoping to snap some good photos of the building, but I realized it was dead when we got there.  Major bummer.  I pulled these photos from their website to give you a rough idea...

After the wine tasting, Kyle took me to see a one-man show called How to be Parisian in One Hour.  The creator of the show thought it would be really funny to put on a show in Paris (spoken in English) that makes fun of all the Parisian stereotypes (he makes fun of Americans, too, of course).  He was right, it was hilarious.  He said he tried for two years to get a theatre to let him perform his show with no luck (Parisians aren't big fans of being made fun of in English, I suppose).  Someone finally picked up the show and he's been selling out for a couple years now.  He is about to do tours in Europe and America, in fact.  If you haven't spent time in Paris it may not hit home.  If you have, you will find that it is spot-on, as we did.  Loved it.


To cap the night off we went to a jazz bar called Caveau de la Huchette.  It was like stepping back in time.  The place has been around since the 1500's.  The street level is a bar and lounge while the basement level is where the bands play and people dance their little hearts out.  I'm pretty sure everyone there was a professional swing dancer.  Needless to say, Kyle and I sat along the side of the dance floor and watched, but even just watching them was a blast!  I couldn't get any good pictures, but here are a couple from their website and the link is pasted above.

It seriously looks like a cave or a dungeon.

They definitely weren't dressed like this, but this picture gives you an idea of the energy in the place.  They were all such great dancers!  It was as if they choreographed their moves.

To complete our weekend o' fun we picnicked in a park we had never been to before.  It's called Buttes Chaumont and it is in the 19th arrondissement.  It makes you feel like you have left the big city all together.  There are waterfalls, lakes, bridges, English and Chinese gardens, and a monument modeled after an ancient Roman temple on top of a hill in the middle. 

The Roman Temple.

Peeps soaking up the Paris rays.

My boo

Sweet running attire.  The front of it had "Everlast" splashed across it.  I think he was a model for Gold's Gym back in the day.

Then you walk right out the gates and back into city life.

Finally...


Julie was sick and couldn't join us for any of the fun weekend festivities :(  She is so super sweet though and treated me to a delicious birthday lunch when she was feeling better.  It was so nice of her and I had a great time!

I don't know what my appetizer was, but it was delicious and I would totally order the mystery balls again!

My seared tuna main course.

My Dessert: Raspberry tart with lemon flavored ice.

Julie's Dessert: Chocolate cake thingy with caramel inside and something green on top.  

So good!

I promise, I do a lot of exercising and city-walking to work off all these yummy meals.


Overall, I had one of the best birthdays ever!  Complete with the best gifts, activities, wonderful fiance, messages from home, time with new friends in Paris.  Thanks to everyone for making it so special!!!


Bisous!
Maygan

There's a New Crime Fighter in Town!

I have no idea what the scoop is with this mysterious post.  It disappeared a couple weeks ago and magically reappeared yesterday... weird.  Anywho, sorry for the repeat post! 


My New Calling

You should see me at the park these days, ever since "the incident".  I'm like a psycho meerkat.  Perched at my lookout point, swiveling my head from side to side.  Ready to alert the pack if any dangerous beasts (children) are coming to steal their goodies.  It's my mission to rid the city of these pesky criminals!

(I'm really good with Microsoft Paint, I know)

Let me explain how it all goes down.  Groups of three or four children, ranging from about six to sixteen, ("Romanian Gypsies", we're told by Parisians) approach you with a piece of paper.  Nothing special, just some scrap paper they find somewhere.  They wave the paper in your face to distract you, while one of them waves the paper over your phone or whatever and picks it up without you ever noticing.  By the time you realize your item is missing, they're out of sight.  Sneaks!

Last week I had two run-ins with these gypsies in one day.  

The first was while we were lunching on the patio of one of our local cafes.  Kyle pulled his wallet out to pay l'addition and immediately they were swooping in behind me with their pieces of paper trying to get near his wallet.  NO WAY!  Kyle yelled at them to scram and they left us alone.  However, they just walked right into the patio of the restaurant and went after someone else's things right away!  Can you believe the nerve, they have no fear.  They pulled the paper trick on a guy, but he could see the kid's hand under the paper and pushed him and screamed at him.  I decided I'd had enough.

That same afternoon I went to the park to read.  I read all of one page though because there were gypsies everywhere.  So, I sat perched, waiting to pounce one.  Three German boys (no older than 13) sat about 15 feet from me and pulled some things out of their bags for a picnic, along with some Eiffel Tower trinkets, etc.  I figured they probably didn't have valuables on them, but I kept a close eye on them when a group of mini criminals approached them, paper in hand.  Good thing I did, because I was sitting behind the enemies and could see what their hands were doing behind the paper.  Then, it happened.  One of the kids reached inside one of the tourists' shoes to steal something....

So, I did what any good crime fighter would do.  I sprung into action!  I yelled "Hey! Heeey!  Get the hell out of here!  Now!"  And they did, while throwing some Romanian profanity my direction.  I tried to tell the German boys to cover their things because those kids were thieves, but they had no clue what I was talking about.  All they knew was that some loony chick was upset about something.  Oh well, at least those little guys didn't get robbed.  

The good news is, I'm not in this fight alone.  In the past week we have seen the police patrol at parks, etc beefed up.  At least once a day while I'm out running errands I see someone chasing off these little creeps.  The locals must have heard I was on a mission and needed a little back-up :)

Perhaps I need some sort of Superhero weapon, like this?

In Other News

Kyle is really starting to settle in with his new job, which is wonderful.  It's tricky finding a rhythm in any new position, let alone in a new country.  Learning the language, the cultural differences, general business practices.  I'm sure that is very stressful for him.  So, it made me really happy to hear him say today that he is finally starting to feel his groove.

We have started getting together with all two of our friends (they're awesome :)) for Wednesday Friendsday.  Julie and Kelly come over for dinner, wine and games.  It's great!  Takes the sting off the homesickness.

It's always intimidating going to a new place and trying out the little French I know to get what I need, but I'm conquering the fear little by little.  I joined a gym, found a groomer to bathe and shave Buckley, visit new stores.  It may sound silly, but those small tasks are tough when you can't communicate with people haha!

Time is going to fly by in the coming months - so much to look forward to.  My birthday is the week after next, then Jonathan and Lane come to visit the following weekend!  Two weeks after that, Kyle and I are going to England for five days to visit my family in Berwick.  Then, it will just be a couple weeks until we visit Houston.  Our wedding will be here before we know it.  WOW

Totally random, but aren't these Segway tours hilarious?!

xo

Maygan

Rated PG-13 for Strong Language and Mild Violence

All the Pretty Things


I have been collecting pictures of all the little things that make Paris beautiful.  Obviously, we all know about the monuments, architecture, culture, history, etc.  There is so much more to it though!  Starting with...

The Sweet Treats

How am I supposed to resist three of my favorite things rolled into one??  Pastry, delicious sweet cream, strawberries... Really, how?!

I was not the biggest macaron fan in the beginning of our life in Paris, but I am a changed lady.  They are delightful little bites of goodness.  And so dang cute!

What in the world is this?  Pretty sure it's a lump of sugar.

If you have not experienced the pain au chocolot, you have not lived.  These caught my eye from a mile away because they were the size of my HEAD!  Now, I know I have a head the size of a child's, but that is still a pretty substantial pastry.  Drool-worthy, indeed.

You may be wondering "Where does the PG-13 rating come in?"  I'll tell ya.

Right after I snapped these two pictures...

... I was verbally attacked.  A man dressed in a suit pretending to be on his cell phone came up to my friend Kelly and I (because he heard us speaking English) and said this... brace yourselves... "Obama is a f%@*ing n!#&$r.  All Americans are f%@*ing idiots!  F%@* America!"

A few things happened then.  

1)  I laughed.  I laughed because that was the SECOND time that exact man said that exact thing to me on that exact street.  I had actually told Kelly about it the first time, so I just laughed because I couldn't believe she was seeing it first hand.  Also, our friend Julie was approached by this same charmer on that street with the same lovely message a few weeks earlier.

2)  I got mad at myself for not having some outrageously clever comeback.  (Where is Bequi when you need her?)  The best I could come up with was "Get a life".  Really, that's what I said, haha!  I am so threatening.  Then, 30 seconds later my brain was filled with witty insults.  Darn, I hate when that happens.  Kyle thinks I should have said "World War II"... definitely the last thing I would have thought up :)  Actually, "Get a life" is precisely what I think he should do.

I also wanted to point out that while I am, in fact, an American, Kelly is Canadian.  How does he know if he is insulting an American or a Canadian when he hears someone speaking English from across the way?  Think he would have heard me out?  Doubtful.

3)  I was grateful that I didn't deliver one of my witty insults because that man is clearly nuts.  He probably would have given me a knuckle sandwich.  

You just have to laugh at foolish people like that.  Or throw rocks at them the next time you pass them on the street... :)

Fabulous Fruit Stands

The fruits and veggies in France are so delicious.  I don't know what it is, but I'm guessing they aren't mass produced like in the US and therefore are natural and so full of flavor.  They're beautiful, too!

I couldn't leave out two of the French superstars... the fromage (oh the delicious cheese everywhere!)...

 and the baguette - perhaps the biggest temptress of them all for me.

There are non-food related things here, too.  Like all the fresh flower stands.  Fresh flowers enrich my life :)

The plan of attack


It would be so easy to indulge in all these delightful French treats - believe me, I have seriously considered it.  But, then I would look like a strange, swollen version of myself come wedding time.  Must be strong.  Let's be real though, we're only going to be living here for three years and I cannot resist the temptation for six months out of the first year!  


So, the plan is to eat delicious, home-cooked, healthy meals at home during the week, and workout everyday.  Then, on the weekends, go nuts.  I figure I can at least maintain my weight this way, right?

Shrimp Salad for lunch yesterday.

Then fish, asparagus and salad for dinner.

Wine isn't the healthiest, but I'm just trying to stay in shape, I'm not dead!  Besides, I hear the 3 euro 2010 vintage is low calorie ;)

This picture was taken out our front window right after we ate dinner - it was 9:10 at NIGHT!  I can't get over it.

Missing Post

Last week I posted about my crime fighting adventures here in Paris.  Then, two days later half of it disappeared along with the pictures I posted.  Most of it is not worth going back and re-posting, but there have been requests for my amazing artwork to be displayed again.

Back by PAULpular demand.

Bisous!

Maygan