I am now on my flight back to Paris and am deeply disheartened. I wasn’t ready for it to end at all. While I am ready for some of the comforts of back home, I’m also not done with my adventure in Europe. I spent so long planning and anticipating this trip; I can’t believe that it is over.
A bunch of us were talking this last week, and it is impossible that this experience was 4 weeks long; it seems like half the time. We all recall the first and last weeks, but the middle just seems to blend together. I had such an amazing time and met some really amazing people that I don’t want it to be over! I’ll miss my little flat that Tessa and I squished into. I’ll miss seeing Mon Petite Chou ever day, what will I do without him bugging me for Pringles every day and “booping” me? How will it feel to completely understand all of the conversations that are going on around me? What will it be like to drive again and not take the Metro for every little thing? Paris held so many wonderful things that I can’t imagine being without it.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Parisian Chow
So, when I first thought of my time in Paris I didn’t really consider what I’d be eating. The only thing I really thought about was how I was I was going to get by being a vegetarian because I was told often that it would be difficult (however, everyone on the trip can verify that it is actually quite hard to get meat in your meals). I did get by just fine, but I ended up eating quite a few of the same things over and over; which is exactly what I end up doing at home. Plus, whenever something said “vegetarianne” on the menu I ordered that to be safe (and it was usually a salad or a cheese sandwich). So, here are a few of the things I ate quite typically (some of which are not very exciting at all).
1) Coca Cola: While not a “food” it was a very big staple in my diet. I probably drank at least 2 a day every day. They don’t really carry very many different sodas, so whenever we grabbed a bite to eat, a Coca would be included. I don’t even like Coke, but it was a very large part of my trip.
2) Pringles: I know, the list thus far is very foreign to all of you. I was just really hungry for chips, and they don’t carry the same kinds we have here, unless you get Pringles. I did try to venture off and try some different flavors, but the Pringles always came back. However, I didn’t eat as many as I bought because David probably consumed about ¾ of my Pringle purchases.
3) Onion Soup (the “French” is implied): Onion soup is by far my favorite food I ate in Paris. They make it so unbelievably well. Every restaurant makes it a little bit differently, but most all are really good. I did have some at one restaurant that was tangy instead of salty that didn’t please my palate, but other than that I gobbled up everything else. My favorite Onion Soup was at the Acropolis, it was perfectly salty and cheesy and we always had extra bread to dip into it.
4) Crème Brulee: I spent many meal times searching for a restaurant that had crème brulee as a dessert option. I had only had it once before I came to Paris, but now I’m an addict. The best brulee I had was at this small café on the corner of the Latin Quarter that we just so happened to stop at on our way home one night. There was a bunch of sugar on top of it (not all of it was burned which made it even better) and the crème was actually warm. The worst by far was at a restaurant that specialized in mussels. I and a student from Florida ventured there after a meal of onion soup (as the onion soup restaurant didn’t have crème brulee). It took a really long time to receive our dessert and it was grainy and cold. It almost turned me off from the dessert forever, but I gave it another chance the next day and indeed fell back in love!
5) Twix Bars: Again, not very adventurous, but I ate a Twix bar about every day we had school. We’d go out someplace for lunch and then come back and I’d feel like a little snack before class began, so a run to the vending machine would always result in a Twix. I did try some of the Europe-only candy bars (i.e. Lion) which are pretty good, but that cookie-caramel mix can’t be beat.
6) Cheese Panini: Hot sandwiches don’t allow for many choices when you are a vegetarian, so I ate an abundance of cheese paninis. The first couple of times it was okay, but after a while it just gets too bland. The Tunisian restaurant by our school put peppers in their vegetarian cheese sandwiches, which proved to be a very welcome change of pace.
7) Frites (aka French Fries): With this one you might charge me as not being adventurous, but pretty much everything over here comes with frites. I really love fries, but I love mine salty, which doesn’t happen often in Paris. Their fries are far less salty than ours, I even considered carrying around a salt shaker with me to solve this problem. But then, once again, the Tunisian restaurant saved me with some incredibly salty, delicious frites.
While I did try some other things, those were pretty much my staples. I blame my unadventurous food choices on being a vegetarian, but I am actually just a very unadventurous person when it comes to food. But I enjoyed what I did eat and would happily return to eat the same things once again.
1) Coca Cola: While not a “food” it was a very big staple in my diet. I probably drank at least 2 a day every day. They don’t really carry very many different sodas, so whenever we grabbed a bite to eat, a Coca would be included. I don’t even like Coke, but it was a very large part of my trip.
2) Pringles: I know, the list thus far is very foreign to all of you. I was just really hungry for chips, and they don’t carry the same kinds we have here, unless you get Pringles. I did try to venture off and try some different flavors, but the Pringles always came back. However, I didn’t eat as many as I bought because David probably consumed about ¾ of my Pringle purchases.
3) Onion Soup (the “French” is implied): Onion soup is by far my favorite food I ate in Paris. They make it so unbelievably well. Every restaurant makes it a little bit differently, but most all are really good. I did have some at one restaurant that was tangy instead of salty that didn’t please my palate, but other than that I gobbled up everything else. My favorite Onion Soup was at the Acropolis, it was perfectly salty and cheesy and we always had extra bread to dip into it.
4) Crème Brulee: I spent many meal times searching for a restaurant that had crème brulee as a dessert option. I had only had it once before I came to Paris, but now I’m an addict. The best brulee I had was at this small café on the corner of the Latin Quarter that we just so happened to stop at on our way home one night. There was a bunch of sugar on top of it (not all of it was burned which made it even better) and the crème was actually warm. The worst by far was at a restaurant that specialized in mussels. I and a student from Florida ventured there after a meal of onion soup (as the onion soup restaurant didn’t have crème brulee). It took a really long time to receive our dessert and it was grainy and cold. It almost turned me off from the dessert forever, but I gave it another chance the next day and indeed fell back in love!
5) Twix Bars: Again, not very adventurous, but I ate a Twix bar about every day we had school. We’d go out someplace for lunch and then come back and I’d feel like a little snack before class began, so a run to the vending machine would always result in a Twix. I did try some of the Europe-only candy bars (i.e. Lion) which are pretty good, but that cookie-caramel mix can’t be beat.
6) Cheese Panini: Hot sandwiches don’t allow for many choices when you are a vegetarian, so I ate an abundance of cheese paninis. The first couple of times it was okay, but after a while it just gets too bland. The Tunisian restaurant by our school put peppers in their vegetarian cheese sandwiches, which proved to be a very welcome change of pace.
7) Frites (aka French Fries): With this one you might charge me as not being adventurous, but pretty much everything over here comes with frites. I really love fries, but I love mine salty, which doesn’t happen often in Paris. Their fries are far less salty than ours, I even considered carrying around a salt shaker with me to solve this problem. But then, once again, the Tunisian restaurant saved me with some incredibly salty, delicious frites.
While I did try some other things, those were pretty much my staples. I blame my unadventurous food choices on being a vegetarian, but I am actually just a very unadventurous person when it comes to food. But I enjoyed what I did eat and would happily return to eat the same things once again.
Normandy: 2nd Try
Yesterday we took a second chance at taking a look at the D-Day Beaches of Normandy. We did in fact get to the right town this time and it was well worth the second trip. We ended up spending the afternoon at the American Monument, which is located at the Omaha landing site.
When you first get there, it doesn’t really hit you as a memorial site because it is so absolutely beautiful. The grass is so lush and the sounds of the ocean are so peaceful. It is still hard to understand how such bloodshed occurred at such a beautiful spot. We first just went to a couple of the lookout sites that they have set up for people to look over the beach. Next, we went to the gravesite, which is when it really hit me. You walk past some trees and all of the sudden you are looking at thousands of white crosses (in some cases Stars of David). There are over 9,000 soldiers buried there. It is just aisle after aisle of people who gave their life. The front of the cross bears each soldier’s name, rank, and when they passed. Each one is sad and hits you, but the absolute hardest ones to see are the Unknown Soldier crosses.
After a very depressing time in the memorial site, we decided to walk down to the beach. It was quite a walk down, but well worth it once we reached the sand. Again, it’s so hard to even comprehend what happened, it looks like any other beach. Trying to put myself in the soldiers place, seeing the exact beach that they saw when they were landing, I know I don’t even fully get it. We spent a while down there, but you feel bad relaxing there so it’s kind of an uncomfortable spot.
After the beach we went into the Tourist office/Museum. The first thing you see when you go downstairs is a movie that is playing. The movie talks about 3 different soldiers who were involved in D-Day who eventually pass away. All of them are undoubtedly heroes, the movie really made the whole experience hit home.
We were lucky enough to have actually chosen the weekend of the 65th anniversary of D-Day (the exact date was actually the day before we went). But there were a lot of veterans there, which made the experience that much more real.
When you first get there, it doesn’t really hit you as a memorial site because it is so absolutely beautiful. The grass is so lush and the sounds of the ocean are so peaceful. It is still hard to understand how such bloodshed occurred at such a beautiful spot. We first just went to a couple of the lookout sites that they have set up for people to look over the beach. Next, we went to the gravesite, which is when it really hit me. You walk past some trees and all of the sudden you are looking at thousands of white crosses (in some cases Stars of David). There are over 9,000 soldiers buried there. It is just aisle after aisle of people who gave their life. The front of the cross bears each soldier’s name, rank, and when they passed. Each one is sad and hits you, but the absolute hardest ones to see are the Unknown Soldier crosses.
After a very depressing time in the memorial site, we decided to walk down to the beach. It was quite a walk down, but well worth it once we reached the sand. Again, it’s so hard to even comprehend what happened, it looks like any other beach. Trying to put myself in the soldiers place, seeing the exact beach that they saw when they were landing, I know I don’t even fully get it. We spent a while down there, but you feel bad relaxing there so it’s kind of an uncomfortable spot.
After the beach we went into the Tourist office/Museum. The first thing you see when you go downstairs is a movie that is playing. The movie talks about 3 different soldiers who were involved in D-Day who eventually pass away. All of them are undoubtedly heroes, the movie really made the whole experience hit home.
We were lucky enough to have actually chosen the weekend of the 65th anniversary of D-Day (the exact date was actually the day before we went). But there were a lot of veterans there, which made the experience that much more real.
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