Through the Chunnel- London

Feeling cheeky, we popped over to London
for a jaunt to check out the scene.

The borough of Islington, north of the city center.

We stayed here at our friend Nicole's apartment for 5 days and packed in as much as we possibly could- toured the city, hit all the major museums, and found a few sweet spots.

It wouldn't have been London without a little rain, but we also had a few lovely days.
Definitely fell in love with the city.

So apparently working out in London is way more exciting than in the U.S.
Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to figure out just how exciting.
Maybe next time.

Islington is a beautiful area with tons of ethnic restaurants, cute boutiques and bakeries.
Our favorite store that we frequented for food is called Budgens...and since the name is basically the epitome of our current situation, "we be budgen" is our new motto.

On the streets of Islington.
Yea! school uniforms...

On the tube. What a wonderful form of public transportation!
It's clean, super fast and people are quiet and respectful.

A skate park tucked underground alongside the river. It's like a whole separated world, completely covered with some pretty sick artwork.

Jammin' to the tunes.
The Millenium Bridge is in the background. It thankfully has not collapsed again
since it was rebuilt in 2002 after some faulty engineering for its initial opening in 2000.

On the Street- Paris

Grab a baguette, a hunk of cheese and take off by foot.
This, friend, is the best way to see Paris!

Little Red Riding Hood waiting for the rain.

Chillin' at the Pompidou.

Strolling through the Marais.
This is one of the oldest districts in Paris and is full of quaint bistros and boutiques.

More Marais....

A man and his pigeon gazing out over the Seine.

Where is the rest of this guy??

Oliver & Oliver, stuck in a cage, who will buy them...Hannah and Erika????
We visited one of our favorite Animaleries along the Seine. The salesmen are decked out in white doctor robes and seem oh-so-professional.

Cacao & Chocolate Store. It was named the best chocolate store in Paris, so we made the trip JUST to see if it lived up to its rep...et quelle surprise it did!
We had dark chocolate with Chinese ginger and milk chocolate with sea salt..hmmmm.

This store is called G. Detou, a pun on the phrase j'ai de tous(I have a little bit of everything). And a little bit of everything it did have- honey, wine, chocolate,
dried fuits, nuts, candies, and all necessary baking needs.

A tunnel off of the Seine that led down a tiny passageway.

La Nuit Blanche- Paris

We ventured out into the streets last night to check out Nuit Blanche -- the all-night
modern art expo. Various artists were invited to create pieces for monuments, galeries, and public spaces all over the city center.

The art was definitely...out there -- perhaps a little too much for our tastes,
but it was definitely a fun time.

Revelers were out having a good time, enjoying the City of Lights all lit up!

We LOVE Nuit Blanche!

Notre Dame was one of the main sites.
It was definitely a very strange scene inside the cathedral. It usually seems so tranquil,
and, well, holy. Last night though, it was pretty raucous, complete with a drunk
puking all over himself in a pew -- to the delight of his considerate friends.

Everything looks better in the candlelight.

This is an installation/projection piece at the Musee des Monnaies.
Don't really know what it is supposed to be.

This is part of the installation at Notre Dame.
These illuminated crystals were placed in all the little chapels -- so modern, so artsy.

A testament to the lack of public restrooms anywhere in the city.
So, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do, right?

Jumping for joy! WOO HOO! NUIT BLANCHE!

Looking on to Ile de la Cite from the Pont des Arts.

We knew we'd done good when we smelled the bakers up making bread
in the wee hours of the morning on our long walk home.

the Scene- Paris

We have both been to Paris many times before, but always as more of a tourist trying to cram the Louvre, parks and Eiffel Tour all into one week. Aren't vacations supposed to be relaxing?

This time, we are living and breathing Parisian life, getting used to the routines,
markets, streets, and everyday hooha. We have our favorite produce store, super marché, fromagerie and boulangerie all within a short walk of our front door.

For the most part, the métro stations are clean and each has a little accent of bright
color to lighten the mood while waiting for the next train.

So much seafood....and so much of it was still crawling around in its crate....

Hannah arrived just in time to head straight to the marché by our apartment.

It was our first market experience together, and we were wonderfully overwhelmed
by the colors, smells, crowd, and new foods.

So, from our jaunt through the market came our first incredible dinner of many....
fresh, fresh salmon and veggies galore.

Where's the métro?

Happy to be back in Paris.

Gettin' their dance on in the square directly under the Eiffel Tower.
They gots skillz!

Fall leaves along La Seine.

Faced with these choices, which one would you choose?
One of each perhaps?

Work It

To get the full effect, make sure your sound is TURNED ALL THE WAY UP...
we are thinking of taking lessons from these guys so we can try making a bit of spending money from all the gawking tourists under the Eiffel Tower too.

The tale of lost cheese...and our first full day!

Our time in Paris so far has been full of great moments and one small tragedy. Great moments include visiting our local food market, the smell of fresh bread on every corner, laughing at dramatic teenage French couples talking intensely on the metro, spying on our cute neighbors, and going to see a free choral concert (who cares if it was a group of middle-aged, off beat, out of tune people!). Our only mishap has been having a stupid little chien eat our precious Crotin de Chavignol (by the way, this is the best goat cheese EVER!) right off the bench we were picnic-ing upon...INJUSTICE! This may not seem like a big deal, but that cheese is really really good, and we take our cheese very seriously, ok?

Our plans for the next few months are coming together nicely and we can't wait for the next adventure.

Missing you all back at home (everyone should come visit!)...Hannah et Erika

be back with more pics in a bit

Hannah est arrivée!!

I arrived safe and sound...be back later with updates...
including two new cheese recommendations for anyone interested!

Petanque Culture- Paris

There is no better place to observe the France national game of
Petanque than Paris. Everywhere you turn you see groups of men gathered, completely
consumed by an amusing, but very serious and competitive game.

You rarely see women playing. When I asked one of my dear friends here playing why that was he simply replied "Ooooh, come back later, in the afternoon, everyone will be playing."
This is not the case at all, but he wanted me to feel more comfortable.

Waiting with bated breath for the final toss...

The level of concentration is amazing, comparable to a professional
basketball player standing at the free-throw line.

The balls are so close here. It is times like this that they bust out the
measuring tape(no joke), to truly decide who is the winner.

This is definitely a game to try at home!

Arrival!

The moving walkways at Charles de Gaulle airport. These walkways carry passengers up and down as if traversing rolling hills, and they criss-cross over wide open spaces in the airport.


Our view of La Tour Eiffel from Carolyn's apt!!

Departure.

Of course, my backpack is most likely WAY too heavy. But I made it to Paris, and that's all that matters.