Back to Paris

My first weekend back in Paris has been quite eventful.  Although a solid 50% of it was spent on the couch in my apartment.  First of all, I am so excited to have a few of my friends from Michigan join me in Paris this semester.  Having a little UofM RC French reunion in the city of love was the perfect welcome back present!

Felix Faure in the Snow 

Thursday night was my good friend Sofia's birthday, so we took her to dinner at a restaurant called Aux Tonneaux des Halles. For those of you who have a craving for steak frites while in Paris, I would certainly recommend this place.  The atmosphere is totally relaxed and there are no reservations required (unheard of in Paris) and if you don't trust my opinion that the frites are so crispy even my mother would approve, you can check out its reviews on Paris by Mouth or David Lebovitz' blog (a hilarious american food writer living in Paris).  The restaurant is in the 1st arrondissement, located right next Les Halles and the horrific underground shopping hell that Parisians like to call Forum des Halles (seriously, don't go there).  So, despite its precarious location, this place is pretty good for a simple steak without the sometimes annoying pretention of parisian restaurants.

Bypassing the time spent at the bar and moving on to Sunday, a day spent waddling through the snowy streets of the marais (paris' Jewish neighborhood) with friends.  Sunday was an amazing day from the second my roommate Casey and I walked out of the door, that is to say, as soon as I started trekking down our block, I was pelted with snowballs by a French family enjoying the unusual Paris weather.  Needless to say, retaliation was necessary and Casey and I had a brief snow battle with our neighbors. After getting out all of that pent-up energy, we headed to the Marais to meet up with some friends of mine from back home.  After a delicious lunch of falafel and eggplant at Chez Mariane, we wandered around the neighborhood only to find some top-notch street art and vintage clothing shops. Hilarity ensued, especially considering the fact that the snow quickly turned to solid sheets of ice (Parisians have no concept of salting or plowing it seems), falls abound.

Street Performer in the Marais

Now time for classes....