Frenchie Wine Bar

On an adorable side street…

Cobblestones
Candlelight
Good food
Friends
Wine
Laughs

The chef closed down his main restaurant that night for a family meal.  We were at the smaller wine bar across the way.  His little son was kind enough to clean up for the evening.

With pacifier in mouth. 

What? Jillian’s friend Trevor is adorable?  Oh, I didn't even notice.

Ok I noticed.

Must go back soon.  Can you get tired of eating delicious things and drinking good wine on an adorable cobblestone street in Paris?  I'd wager to say no.  I'd WAGER.  And going to the actual restaurant, "Frenchie", is a must.  Been on my list all year.  Evenings like this make me want to sigh all over the place.  Paris is magical. 

Rain Creativity

I already mentioned the week of nonstop rain.  Forgot to mention the methods and tactics for keeping dry when your job forces you to be outdoors during week-long downpours.

Plastic bag shoe liners.

Poncho diaper outfits.

 

The necessity of a lady’s umbrella from the lost and found.

G-L-A-M.

O-R.

 

O-U-S.

Snapshots

Snapshots of life via iPhone. Paris has no shortage of beauty.







Couldn't resist.

Random beautiful building in an unexplored neighborhood.





Cheese board from Spring.  One of the best.




Leaving Eiffel after some late night tour planning.

Full moon on my street late at night.

Ridiculous, as always.






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tour de France

Another “I can’t believe I’m here, doing this” moment.  Watching the finale of the Tour de France.

Fat Tire people camped out on chairs all day in the Tuileries Gardens right at the edge of Place de la Concorde.

 When the cyclists made their way towards us, everyone stood on chairs and yelled. 

Then a few of us had to leave to go into work.  Kristin and I got back 30 minutes before our shift started, so we stopped in to our favorite bistro, Dernier Metro, for a glass of wine and a beloved meat & cheese tray.  Happiness was ours.

We got to see the final moment of the Tour on TV while eating deliciousness. 

It was perfect.

Dernier Metro, Dernier Months

I had so much fun this night with 3 wonderful office gals, Bethany, Patricia, & Kristin.

We went to our favorite bistro, Dernier Metro ("The Last Metro") for dinner. 

Close to work, a Fat Tire favorite, they recognize and give us deals, and it's very French and adorable.  

We got wine, we talked life, we laughed.  Over wooden boards piled with cheese and meat.  What could be better?

We had a fun metro ride that involved purses

Lip gloss

And jeans

One of the tour guides, Peaches, was leaving the next day to go to grad school in California, so we went to his going away party.

I had a moment of realization that night as I greeted everyone in the apartment hello (with “la bise”, French cheek kisses) and talked and laughed with different people throughout the night.  I have really come to enjoy and love these people, all in different ways and with varying levels of closeness.  

And I realized that everyone’s leaving at the end of October.  I have a limited amount of time together with these people.  You bond with people little by little over the course of 5 months, working hard together, dealing with stress & exhaustion, but also spending time laughing and joking around.  It’s weird.  

I’ve made it a point since then to maximize the next couple months I have left with this group of people, some who I might never see again.  I hugged Peaches goodbye and actually teared up while walking back to the metro.  It’s a weird deal…connecting with people and then parting, going different directions in life. 

The good thing I took away from that night is to enjoy being with people while I can, before everyone leaves.  Take advantage of the time.

Firefighters' Ball

Yes. You heard me.  Fire. Fighters. Ball. 

Every year, the day before Bastille Day, all the firefighters in Paris (i.e. the most beautiful men in Paris) throw big parties at their fire stations to raise money.  Because they’re so generous. 

I have known about this for over a year and have been counting down the days until July 13^th.  Okay, I pretty much moved to Paris for the Firefighters Ball.  We’ve already discussed my obsession. 

Please, try to shield your eyes from being overwhelmed by handsome-life-saving-uniform-central:

Help! My cat's in a tree!

I swear one of these guys LEAPED up from the floor onto the counter in a single bound.  Then he saved a grandma, washed a car, put out a fire, and was back just in time to dance to an 80's song with his fire fighting buddies.    

Even now, I'm speechless.

My friends and I just walked around giggling all night, exclaiming with glee about how happy we were, and how this was the best idea ever. In the history of Paris.  Ever.

We went to a station on the Canal St. Martin, so there was a boat, too!

And a billion people.  Let's just say, it’s on my calendar for next year--Foremost and primarily for the importance of the fundraiser, quality time with friends, getting to be on a boat, my undying support for the unknown fundraising cause, and certainly not for any less noble or generally superficial reasons.

One of my favorite days

Let's set the time machine back to July 14th.

July 14th = Bastille Day = France’s Independence Day > My 4th of July

(That means "greater than" my 4th of July, not "arrow" my 4th of July.  It's an equation.  With two equal signs.  It's possible, you probably just didn't go into high enough level math.)

I'm smart.

What I'm saying is: Bastille Day had much more to offer than my sad fruit on the 4^th of July.  Let's do some more math.

[Hanging out at the Eiffel tower + Barefoot in the grass all day + (Picnic x 12 hours) + Friends + Concert + Wine + BBQ] x [(Fireworks + Awesome) / Eiffel]^10 = !

Those of us who were off work had the duty of arriving early, camping out, and securing a good spot in the park for the Fat Tire crew.  Several of us got there around 1pm, prepared for a glorious 12-hour day.

We brought rope & rigged up our own little makeshift fence, saving ourselves a nice big square of grass in the back.  Our own Fat Tire play pen area.  As empty as it was at 2pm...

 By sunset, we’d be elbow to elbow with the rest of Paris. 

Surprisingly…it worked.  People respected the fence.  Look, you can still see it there. 

We had TEXAS BBQ delivered!

I'm sorry, is this real??

IS IT??

The fireworks were outstanding

I cried.