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France 2010
Day 4 - 6th October - Paris: 16eme (Part 2)
Pile of leaves
I was tempted to throw myself in, but reminded myself that the following could happen:
(it had been drizzling - as the carnival grounds were wet, there would probably be worms here)
Novel creation of parking space in the area between two streets
Rue de Franqueville
Rue Verdi
Chausée de la Navette
Rue des Vignes
"Ouvert 7 jours"
They have their priorities right. Supermarkets don't open 7 days a week (actually, virtually nothing does), but the Tanning Centre does.
The skate scooter seemed very popular with kids. The Parisians were like a decade behind.
One kid on a skate scooter was staring at the box of Krispy Kremes I was carrying around. I would've given him one, but I didn't want to be mistaken for a pedophile.
Rue de l'Assumption
A manifestation of Dirigisme: government-decreed rates for 2 star hotels. But ah, there're preferential rates.
While I was standing outside my hotel one guy came up to ask me for directions. It was a cheap thrill to utter "alors" while pulling out my Google Map printout.
I saw a schoolboy with a pink bag. Presumably it doesn't have the same connotations here.
Do you hate your hair? Hair removal pamphlet. At these prices I hope it's IPL.
Men can get hair removed from their fingers (!). Meanwhile women have hair removed from their chin (menton), bellies (bande de ventre).
Rue Donizetti
Lebanese place - half the menu is appetizers
I decided to visit another part of the Bois du Boulogne, since it was supposed to be exciting (and also because there wasn't that much to do at night). I'd visited the northeastern part (at the East of Lac Inférieur) earlier and was told the rest was nicer.
You are now leaving the City of Paris
Métro at boundary of park
Naturally, I was quite disappointed with this part of the park as well.
"Tous sauf Sarko"
("Everything except Sarkozy")
Cute dog
The woman had a lot of them
Lots of Dogs
In all there were 11 dogs
This one was massive
More dogs
Old men waiting around in the carpark of the Bois du Boulogne, Paris. But for what? :0
(The place is supposedly a hotbed of prostitution and criminal activity in the evening. This was about 6:30pm)
I was told that this was possibly mistletoe
Dead hare on road
All in all this part of the Bois du Boulogne was also disappointing. Even past 6:50pm people were coming in - and not just old men, even couples. Perhaps the dangers of the place at night were exaggerated.
Random menu
"Certains considèrent le chef d'entreprise comme un loup qu'on devrait abattre,
d'autres pensent que c'est une vache que l'on peut traire sans arrêt,
Peu voient en lui le cheval qui lire le char.
- Winston CHURCHILL"
("Some think the entrepreneur a wolf that has to be killed, others think he's a cow that one can milk endlessly. Few see in him a horse who pulls the chariot")
Original quote:
"Some people regard private enterprise as a predatory tiger to be shot. Others look on it as a cow they can milk. Not enough people see it as a healthy horse, pulling a sturdy wagon"
I originally assumed that the boss took liberties to stress the misery of his existence, but this quote is not unknown in the francophone universe, so it's probably a protest against dirigisme.
"Véritable Cheeseburger Américain, frites et salade"
("Authentic American Cheeseburger, fries and salad")
Quite why you'd want to have an American cheeseburger when you can have so many other nice things is beyond me, but de gustibus non est disputandum.
For some reason there weren't many restaurants in the 16eme. Probably because it was a rich residential district.
You can get laid anywhere and at any time: buy condoms in the street
L'église d'Auteuil
Faced with the lack of dining options, we eventually had dinner near the hotel.
5 types of steak tartare. Very good.
Epilepsy-inducing Eiffel Tower lights! Maybe someone watched too much Pokemon
"
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I'd ordered the small plate for snacking, but they brought (and charged) me the big one.
"Croustillant de chèvre"
("Croustillant with goat's Cheese")
Bavette
Escalope of Chicken with mashed potato (Normandy-style Chicken - with lots of cream)
Dinner was great, with one downside - the bread was disgusting.
"swapping partners encouraged. Si vous n'êtes pas satisfait, n'hésitez pas à changer de partenaire"
Normally I think the law requiring all slogans in foreign languages to be translated to be silly, but here it actually sounds etter in French.
Singapore invades Paris
"Planche de charcuterie ou fromage et pourquoi pas un duo. Assortment of pork meat or cheese and why not a duet"
The Italian, Mountain and Norwegian bread slices are also amusing. Some things don't translate well!
Supper. There was a suspicious pool beneath it.
I'd forgotten how long the RER wait times were. A route that uses the RER which looks deceptively near or simple can thus take longer than a more complicated or far route which only uses the métro.