PARIS - DAY TWO

We woke up on Sunday morning to what was another amazingly beautiful day. The sun was shinning and I didn't even have to ask for blue sky - there it was, hanging above me.

We had already made plans to hit the cemetery bright and early, and I was really looking forward to it. Although I had no designs on checking out the remains of Jim Morrison (I am really not digging the doors), I did have romantic notions of sitting beside Oscar Wilde's grave. But before we could head to the dead, we had to fill our unsatisfied bellies from the night before (see previous post - NO apple). We did this with a quick stop at the corner market (same prices as Brussels, but a wider selection of apples - Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Pink Lady (yes!), Royal Gala and some other local varieties made up the offerings, this is in juxtaposition to what you get (unless you go to my favourite little bio shop in BO/FO) here in Brussels - Pomme Rouge or Pomme Vert.

We found the most amazing cafe just across the street from our hotel, where we sat and enjoyed the most amazing double espressos ever. They called for a bit of sugar, but I wasn't hurting for my lack of soy milk. They were amazing and the service was excellent. However, it wasn't until a woman and her tiny terrier made their way to the table that I knew I was in love.

We set off for the cemetery, and after a change over on the metro we made it to our destination, stopping only to pick up a map of the rot that was awaiting us. It was perhaps the most astounding and thought provoking experience I have encountered thus far - nothing, in the whole wide and mysterious world of China managed to have the same impact on me as our walk through the cemetery. Searching for the graves of Abelard and Heloise *** took me to a new and almost sacred place of thought. Gertrude Stein in her radical feminist kind of way presented the world with an almost totally word-less grave. When I came across Oscar Wilde's display of grandeur, with its opulence and somatic touches despite it being a cold body of stone , was also quite arresting. This plot of land where so many thinkers, makers and believers find themselves was a heavy morning.


I needed silence and tucked myself in for some mental solitude. It might have been the fact that our previously daring duo was now reduced to the brain capacity of one that could have accounted for the way that we spent the next two hours. We walked forever. And ever. Not a second was a waste or a regret. We did manage to see the massive Eiffel Tower, the Arc d'Triomphe and walk down Champs Elysees. We were not so much lost as we were both trying to find something that was no where near our location - a cafe/restaurant that was vegan friendly. My kisses to K for being so wonderfully patient with me, though I was on my best trying not to be too picky - there just really was almost nothing. In the end we opted for more Japanese, which, wasn't as good, but seemed to satisfy our most immediate needs: food and a place to sit. I munched on a 4 piece roll of kappa maki, a bowl of rice, and some edamme beans. The food was moderately enjoyable, but the service and the atmosphere was subparre. Alright, alright, the food wasn't that great either - but it was good enough and the company was amazing.

We couldn't leave without one more trip to our new favourite cafe and another apple/pear pitstop before heading to the station, a journey which took us past more restaurants than our previously starving bodies could have imagined to have existed in all of paris let a lone this tiny strip! Always the way.

The train ride home was body-jammed and filled with the sound of a cranky baby (or was that me?). The second evening culminated in a chick pea, onion and mushroom meal that I lovingly created for two very exhausted bodies.

Being a vegan on a Paris holiday will require a bit more research. I never did make it to a vegan/veg specific restaurant, but that wasn't the point of the trip - we went to have fun, to explore and to have a new experience. We managed to satisfy all of those desires and so what if we ate Japanese twice - I don't think either one of us were complaining.

This morning I awoke with a burning desire for the simple make it yourself world of fig and banana shakes and my new (and apparently totally Canadian) tea tumbler filled with loose tea. Paris is great, cemeteries are great....but so is my duvet and the shop around the corner. I have to love it all - even (or especially) the rooster on the corner. I listened to Andrew Bird make sweet noises whist thinking about the morning. His song Left Bank seemed ever so fitting this morning. Thanks Andrew.

I just want to close this post with a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Tori - one of the most amazing teacher-people I know. She is fantastic - even if she does eat cheese (sooooo kidding Tori). Happy Happy Birthday.

***Abelard and Heloise are by far the most romantic couple coming from Medieval History. Do a little research if you are into literature, forbidden love, and letter writing. Fantastic story.