Day in le Marais

I finally slept in today! It was much needed since I have been go, go, going since le moment that I arrived! There were no meetings or activities today for AUP so I was able to sleep till 11. But there was that small feeling upon waking up of "Merde - it's 11! I have wasted an afternoon in Paris sleeping!"

It was mom and dad's last day : ( They walked down from l'hotel to meet me in my neighborhood, le marais. Le marais is interesting because it is both the gay neighborhood, and the jewish neighborhood. What an odd yet wonderous mix! As a result, les rues are lined with fabulous shopping, and jewish delis. Le marais is the only part of Paris where you can find bagels, cheesecake, and falefel. Now true, none of those food items are French - but they are all delicious and sometimes (not very often but SOMEtimes) you might want something other than a croque monsieur. Today for example, mere et pere were a little over-frenched after nearly 2 weeks here, so we went to this adorable little jewish deli/diner we found steps from my apartement!
Mom and dad both ordered NY hotdogs that came with the coooolest fries! They were shaped like hot dog buns, so you could pour your ketchup on them and it would look like a mini hot dog, and hold your ketchup to insure some on every bite, and eliminate the possibility of mess! It was genius! I had some very yummy chicken noodle soup, great to keep in mind if I ever get sick.
We walked around le marais for a while, going in and out of all the ridiculously magnifique shops. I stopped to purchase some perfect ballerina flats so I can dance on les rues. I also purchased some mouse poision. Sorry Ratatouille, your doom awaits.

I also did some grocery shopping today, which proved to be quite funny since nothing in the grocery store is even midly recognizable aside from produce, bread, and nutella. It is kind of difficult because I don't know what snacks and brands are good and how to read the nutrition labels to see if things are healthy. Then I reminded myself.... I am in France! Everything is delicious, and nothing is healthy! Just try it all! So I got a small variety of things at the Franprix, and went to the local boulangerie for pain complete (wheat baguette). It is so fun to go buy your bread for your local little bread maker instead of the bread isle in Food Emporium. Another point awarded to France.
Current Point Standing - France= 100 U.S. = 1

The one thing I think is better in the US is the city plan. ONLY because nyc is a grid, so you can learn your way around the whole city in an hour, and you always know where you are and how to get where you want to go! Paris is just about as far from a grid as you could ever get. It is a series of small little rues that go every which way, and often change names several times, intersect with others, and are not all listed on different maps. So trying to find the street of the place you want to go is quite challenging, as is learning your way around!
What is fun, however, is that because of the several windy and unplanned streets, you can start walking without knowing the exact way, just keep following the cuteness in the general direction you need to go, discover hundreds of the tiniest, most adorable rues as you go, and eventually one leads to where you wanted to go! It is quite magicial! So really, the US should only get 1/2 point.