Paris....coming to an end....

It may be a little surprising, but we have not taken the opportunity to shop in this fashionable city.  Though, we have realized that we have many of the same things at home.  However, it was fun to see different boutiques, even though they may be out of our price range.  We walked around the Marais area, window shopped, bought a famous Parisian stripped shirt, and enjoyed a stress-free day. 

Noticing that there were many tea shops in the area, we decided to stop in for some afternoon tea at Mariage Freres. Since we did not do this in London, it seemed like a perfect thing to do to check it off of our list.  It so happened that we were seated next to some English women, who directed us in the right direction out of the 600+ teas to choose from.  I ended up have some delicious tea called, Marco Polo, and bought some for myself to bring home.  We topped off the afternoon tea with some English scones and some marvelous jams.  It was perfect.

Later that night, we met up with one of my brother's friends from college.  She is studying abroad in Paris, so she invited us to a night on the town with her and her friends.  We started out at a cute little fondue restraunt and had meat and cheese fondue.  Then, they invited us to go to their favorite bar called, The Moose.  It is a Canadian bar with a bartender from Texas.  They feel very comfortable here since everyone speaks their language, so they continue to come back night after night.  It was fun to get out of our apartment and see some of the nightlife. 

We stayed out late that night and decided that the next day was going to be lazy and relaxing.  We started the day at the laundry mat to do a quick wash of some dirty clothes.  We planned to spend the rest of the day walking around the city, but the rain ruined our plans.  However, we did have a little fun in the famous cookware shop, E. Dehilerin.  It was so overwhelming, so many things to see! I ended up buying a little copper sauce pot.  Julia Child once said that a copper pot from Paris is the best thing to have in the kitchen, so I thought, why not, I have to have one!  I also bought some steak knives with the E. Dehilerin logo on them.  It was worth the money, and I can't wait to have them in my kitchen at home, wherever that shall be when I return to reality. 

On our way back, we decided to buy some fresh food from the markets.  On the menu; seared scallops with a basalmic shallot reduction, fresh peas, mushrooms, and shallots, sauteed in butter, salt, and pepper, and some fresh strawberries and cantelope.  We bought some other things for our lunch tomorrow on our 6 hour train ride to Nice.

It is sad that Paris has come to an end.  It has definitely been an interesting experience.  I am not sure if I actually fell in love with this city, but I had a great time!  I am excited to get to Nice and Cinque Terre, and to hopefully get out of the rain!  We are more than likely not going to have the internet while we are there, so this may be my last post for a while.  I am not sure what my internet situation will be like when I am in Italy, so it may be hard to keep in touch. 

I am looking forward to teaching this summer, but I must admit that I am slightly nervous of the unknowns.  However, I have overcome all of the unknowns of the foreign cities that I have been in, and am more confident in myself.  I am blessed to have experienced all of this, and am excited to see what the future holds! Hopefully I will write soon, so keep checking back!!