Paris 2011 - wines, the airport, and paris

One of the funnest things in Paris was that wine was always readily available. We could even find good wines (that were very affordable) even at the supermarkets.

I think each person can bring back two bottles of wines in their luggage to bring back to the U.S. from Europe, but if you sorta want to get yourself a few more liquid treat, you can get more at the wine and liquor stores at the duty-free shops at the airport. And for these, you can bring back in well-packaged bags or special cases onto the plane with you.

Before we hopped on the plane to fly back to Salt Lake City, we visited the duty-free wine stores at CDG Airport. There were lots of choices!







Wine-buying was a serious matter.

And after buying wine we were ready to fly home.





Ahh Paris.

I guess this could be the last post about this Paris trip. I am now remembering the first morning we were in Paris:



And the last morning before we left Paris:



I must visit this beautiful city again!

Paris 2011 - dogs

We saw cute dogs when we were in Paris! They are allowed in most restaurants, shops, buildings, and on public transportation, which was a wonderful thing. And because of the constant "exposure" to different people and environment, the dogs all behaved very well in public!

I didn't get to take pictures of all of the dogs I saw, of course, but I did notice that a lot of people had FRENCH bulldogs! That reminded me of the times I was in Japan and seeing many people with Shibas!

Here are a few pictures of some dogs I saw in Paris:









Another great reason why Paris is a lovely city!

Paris 2011 - Bouillon Racine

After mistaking Bouillon des Colonies for Bouillon Racine, we made a reservation for the next (and last) formal dinner during this trip to Paris at Bouillon Racine. We thought it was only appropriate for us to have French food (traditional with modern twists!) the last night in Paris.

The restaurant and its food were classic and pretty old-school (traditional) with a modern hipness to it.




This is John "explaining something."











I was in love!

Paris 2011 - Arc de Triomphe

After the sh*t that happened, we were able to arrive at Arc de Triomphe without too much more drama afterward.

It was beautiful.




We also stopped in the middle of the street (thank goodness for the traffic light and the islands in between the lanes) before going across street.

Paris 2011 - sh*t happens

The last night we were in Paris I thought to myself... I really wanted to see the Arc de Triomphe! I knew we could wait until the next time we visited Paris, but the idea of seeing it that evening just sounded so great.

This idea came about when we were taking a break at the hotel from walking around the city earlier in the day, and before we went out to dinner (with a reservation.) It was also the time when most people probably just got off work, and during traffic peak hours.

We had avoided taking the train anywhere during peak hours during the whole trip until then. We didn't want to be in a train that's too crowded and to take a chance on missing our stops, etc.. But we decided we would do it, because the few times when we were in a fairly crowded train, Parisians seem to be respectful and kept everything to themselves, and they never would push or "squeeze" anyone:


Like this.

But something happened on our train ride to the Arc de Triomphe.

As we were waiting to get on the first train at the station there were lots of people around us. A group of young girls were talking to each other, laughing, and such. When the train came everyone started walking toward the train in an orderly fashion, and one of the girls from the little group mentioned above began pushing and squeezing among the crowds to get to the door. I thought it was strange and rude, but didn't think too much of it. She was the only one from her group that got on the train.

When everyone was on the train the girl was pretty close to both John and I. Again, most Parisians would not have direct contact with you or your body even if it was crowded on the train. But the girl was still leaning on people. Eventually she leaned on me and my bag (like a small messenger bag). It was weird and uncomfortable so I stepped backward and stood by the seating area.

The train made a couple stops, and every time it stopped and went people in the carts would "shift" a little. All of a sudden the train jerked and John seemed to be losing his balance a bit. He reached out to the metal bars to keep himself from pushing onto others, like so:



All of a sudden John looked at me and said, "My wallet is gone," and then he told me it was the girl (who was leaning on everyone) who was then facing toward the door. She was also the small girl pictured above... the one on the left standing between me (camera) and John!

I asked if he was sure. He said yes, so I then said, "then get it back!"

The train was still moving. John poked the girl's shoulder to get her attention. She turned her head and was like, "what?!"

John said, "MY WALLET. GIVE IT BACK."

Everyone standing around them was looking. A couple people started talking (and I had no idea what they were saying.)

She didn't speak. Just looked at him. John then said again, "Wallet. Give it."

The girl slowly reached down toward the floor and pulled up John's wallet and gave it to him.

A couple guys standing by the door nodded at John (a gesture of approval?) and an old guy started scolding the girl, until everyone got off a larger station (to transfer.)

John and wondered if the old guy scolded the girl because she was stealing, or because she didn't get away with it.

Fortunately John discovered that his wallet was gone soon enough, and before anyone got off the train. The girl didn't have time to take anything from his wallet before she was caught.

John said he knew it was the girl because he felt the girl's hand on his leg when the train was stopping too quickly. He thought she was just trying to grab onto something for balance. But then he felt her hand again a bit higher, and he realized that spot was where his wallet was (deep in his front pocket!) and he knew she took his wallet.

We knew we had to be careful, but I think we got a little too relaxed and was not being more cautious of our belongings, and almost got taken advantage of. Lesson learned.

Oh, and this was confirmed: A good Parisian would not push or touch you in the train station or on the train, but a bad one probably would.

Paris 2011 - walking around the Marais (d)

John and I visited the Marias many times during our stay in Paris. Once we were all geared up to visit the flee markets in the area (near St. Paul), but when we got there we didn't see any; however there were cool little shops that sold antiques and I had a great time browsing through the shelves after shelves of old kitchen gadgets and cafe au lait bowls.

Anyhow, here are some more photos taken from the area:



















Marais = Good times!