5 Places to Eat and Drink off The Beaten Path in Paris!

When travelling, it is easy to get suckered into those tourist trap type places so, 3 months in Paris and 10 pounds later, I want to share my favorite spots in the city with you.

For Dinner

Al Caratello

Not French but oh so worthy. This Italian restaurant is not only located in a neighborhood that screams Paris (Montmartre) but the food is amazing  and comes at a small price point. 20 Euros will cover your dinner, wine and then some.    The restaurant is cozy and the service personal.  Though the staff may take time to get to your order, it is only because the place is full every night of the week, so make a reservation.  If you love pasta, you will love this place.

Here is the Trip Advisor link since there is no website to speak of.

5 rue Audran
75018, Paris

http://www.tripadvisor.fr/Restaurant_Review-g187147-d788378-Reviews-Ristorante_Al_Caratello-Paris_Ile_de_France.html

For lunch

Le Pre Verre

Very rarely would I say you need to make a reservation for lunch at any given restaurant in Paris, but with a lunch menu like this one, it is almost a certainty that you will need one.  French bistro with a an interesting decor, the lunch menu here  is two courses for E  13.90 and includes a glass of wine and an espresso to finish off your lunch.  The food here is made with the finest quality of ingredients.  Located in St-Michel, taking a stroll around here after your long relaxed lunch is easy.  There are lots of shops around and the neighborhood also screams with Parisian charm.

Le Pre Verre
8 rue Thenard
75005, Paris

http://www.lepreverre.com/en/paris.html

For Sweets

La Fabrique

An independent dessert spot unlike any other, Lisa and Alice have done an amazing job creating beautiful yet mouthwatering desserts to please the palette. Both of them specialists in their fields, the quality of their ingredients is top notch.  The presentation is undeniable. Located in the up and coming trendy neighborhood of Le Canal St-Martin, this remarkable little shop is surrounded by interesting independent boutiques, bars and other great little restaurants.

34 rue des Vinaigriers
75010, Paris

http://www.yelp.fr/biz/la-fabrique-a-gateaux-paris

For Drinks

La Famille

A friend of mine who had been living in Paris first introduced me to this bar. The drinks are impressive to say the least and  the service here is quite striking. The bar tender-Thibault's -personal service and friendliness to the entire clientele make this fancy drink spot special without the pretentiousness that can often come along with this kind of place.  They have a selection of Mojitos made with liquid nitrogen and few other little twists to the drinks. I've never seen another drink quite like it. Also located in the cinematic setting of Montmartre, this place is worth the detour.



41 rue des Trois Freres

75018, Paris

+33142521112

For Happy Hour

Le Cri du Glacon

Some of the cheapest happy hour drinks in town-wine for  2.5 Euros and a variety of choices for around 4 Euros until 8 pm.  They have great service and atmosphere   and Wednesdays are quiz night (for those of you who speak french).  If you don't speak French, just watch the crowd get excited and try one of their cool cocktails.

74 rue Jean Pierre Timbaud
75011, Paris

Meat Montreal! The Girl Who Started it All!

Have you ever heard someone call a city...just another city!  I understand how the perpetual tourist eventually starts to feel this way.  A lot of touristy stuff feels the same after a little while.  There are only so many churches and museums one can handle.

As someone who has lived in different places,  I have have developed intimate relationships with them beyond that and I would argue that places are in fact much like people-not made of the same mold.  We connect with some, we dislike others, we fall in love with them  and YES, there is chemistry. I think the energy of the world circulates in places just as they do do in people.  The histories and stories of places mark them and leave behind traces. Some traces are obvious  like the monuments and buildings but some  are simply felt, not put into words and completely abstract. This is where that connection comes in.

In  a small miniseries of blog entries to follow, I will Introduce to all my cities personified! To start it all, meet Montreal!

Montreal-My hometown- She's my best friend! My old friend!

She has an uncanny sense of style- boho, sexy and classy mashed up in her eclectic way!  She tends to succeed at this with a  casual  veneer to her  manner. She is a North American girl. She is a European girl. She is old and she is new. She is frightfully cold at times.  Few people know how painfully hot she can also be!

She is openly conflicted.  She loves her diversity  and her complexity but on some days, she gets into an emotional frenzy about whether or not office microwave buttons should be in French or in English.

Friday nights, her European flair comes out. Her streets come to life and with all the people out about who  make her who she is.  She is easy going.  Go on, just bring your own bottle and dine in those charming little bistros.  It's cold out tonight! No matter!  Al the more reason to have a good time!

We are not always together but just like an old friend, I see her again and it is like nothing has changed.   We reconnect and bond over old memories and create new ones with the familiarity our relationship has.

Criticize My Hometown or Anywhere for That Matter!!! It's Your Right to Do So!

When moving somewhere new, the biggest and most daunting challenge is meeting people and integrating.  I think I am pretty good at that now but-that said-I don't fit in everywhere.   No one does!

The simple truth is that every person comes with a set of values.  Sometimes the places we live come into direct conflict with our core value system.  There is nothing wrong with that.  "To thy own self be true."   The fact is, someone can live in a place that, say  has a beautiful landscape, but if their dream is to live in a cultural hub.  It's not negative to see what a place has to offer and to realize that it is still an incompatibility.

I was inspired to write this because I read something earlier this week that got me a little peeved.  Someone had expressed that they were having difficulty making friends where they lived on a Facebook group page.  The hostile responses “If you don't like it go home” and “It was your choice to come here” at this request for help baffled me. It takes a lot of courage for someone to ask for help when they are feeling lonely.

Moving is hard and travelling is an adventure.   This means that there are bumps along the way and the person who embarks on a journey is taking a chance on life.  No matter how much research you do beforehand or how many contingencies you put into place, there is only one guarantee.  Things will not go according to plan!  It takes a certain type of person to take this leap and their courage and sense of adventure should be regarded positively. 

It is alienating for the person who does not like the place they are in.  They are often referred to as negative or someone who talks a lot of s****.  What ends up happening thereafter, is someone who is both afraid to be themselves and ends up feeling secluded.  This will certainly not help improve the perception they have of the place!

Being from Montreal, and currently living in Paris, my hometown gets a lot of praise. Every once in a while, however, someone tells me that they didn't like their experience there.   That's fine because it is not a reflection of myself.  It was their experience.  To all you locals out there anywhere, please meet criticism of your hometown with some understanding.  Just because someone does not like the place you come from, does not mean that they don't like you.  Also, remember, that being a foreigner comes with a different set of challenges than being a native does!

No Place is Perfect but There is Something to Love Everyewhere!

It's been a little over 3 years since I have lived in Montreal and I think that I more fond of it now than I was before.  Leaving home has helped me become aware all the wonderful things my city has to offer.  What we often think of as usual is actually particular to where we are, but there is no way to know that until we leave and delve into new places.    Below are the things I love most about Paris and the things I miss most about home.

The things I miss most about Montreal are:

1. How casual the people are.   I like the easygoing nature Quebec has.

2. Appliances.  I miss real working ovens that don't have built in microwaves and I miss having a dryer.

3. Kale.  There isn't much kale to speak of in France.  In fact, there is no word for kale in France!!

4. Sprouted Grains.  I miss the guiltless feeling of eating really healthy grains.

5.  The beauty of the Canadian natural landscape.  Now granted, this is not exactly Montreal but rather all of Canada.  I just remember the magnificence of being in an outdoor spa, in the middle of winter, while deer roam around in plain sight.  Whether you see Mountains on the West Coast or  the middle of a white, snowy and frosted forest in the East, Canada's natural beauty is truly unique and breathtaking.

6.  The ease and fluency that come with being at home.

7. The BYOB restaurants and the variety of Restaurants Montreal has.  I also love the all the new and innovative ways Montreal Chefs put stuff together.

8. The people.  I always miss the people I leave behind.

The things I love most about Paris:

1. How sophisticated and knowledgeable the people are.  There is a real interest in global issues, culture and the arts here.

2. The incredible transportation system Paris has.  There is a vast array of choice when it comes to getting from point A to point B: Metro, Bus, Velib (community bikes), RER (intercity trains)and Autolib (community cars).

3. Cheap and wonderful wine...and cheap and wonderful cheese of course.

4. Fresh baked Baguette from the Bakery...everywhere…on the corner of every block…in every neighborhood!!! No shortage or inconvenience there.

The guilty pleasure of eating warm French baguette! :)

5. Paris has the most amazing cultural scene I have ever witnessed EVER! There are so many posters and free newspapers advertising what is happening in this city, it could make your head spin.  You name it and you will find it: music, art, fashion, dance, sport or dining.  You will find something special happening on any day of the year.

6. The unknown and the excitement of discovering new things.

7. The fact that you can walk into a restaurant randomly and that chances of the food being yummy are favorable.

8. The people.  A lot of people travel through Paris.  Even though I have only been here a short time, I have had many wonderful reunions here already…and…well… 

I always miss the people I leave behind.

5 Things About Paris a North American Might Find Odd!

1.  Paris either smells like fresh pastries, urine or both!!!

I have yet to step in the dog poo Paris is notorious for.  I guess I haven't been fortunate enough for that yet (Please see point number 5).  However, no one warned me about the amount of times I would witness a grown man pulling out his privates and peeing in the street like no one is watching.  Having seen this on my way home from a party or bar on a Friday night, there is evidence that this is a far more regular occurrence than just the times I have been there to actually see it.

Walking to the metro for my Wednesday morning classes, bakeries barely open, You can smell the aroma of fresh bread or pain au chocolat (chocolatine)!!!  Now that is exactly what you want to be greeted with in early hours of the day...but then...all of a sudden...that inviting and very tempting odor turns into...whaff...the nasty smell of human biological waste!  Almost 3 months in, I have developed a fear of sitting at the metro station since I am often greeted with that contemptuous scent in the seating area.

2. Flipping words around.

This is probably not something any English speaking North American would know but to all you francophiles and friends out there in Quebec, there is a type of slang that exists in Paris that involves flipping the syllables in words, creating new ones that mean exactly the same thing.

Now don't get me wrong, This is an interesting example of how language evolves.  As it has been explained to me, this was once used as a code language in the Parisian Suburbs so that no one else would understand.  This is now a widely accepted, often used way of communicating.

Louche= Chelou
Lourd=Relou
Femme=Meuf

3. Affordable decent gyms are hard to find

We've all had to sign contracts and agreements on our gym memberships. It seems that in North america, you still have the alternative to the grueling 12 month contracts.  In France, signing up for a gym for anything less than a year could cost as much as your food bill.  The sad truth is, most of the gyms here can't compete with the caliber of gyms found in Canada and generally cost quite a bit more. Nutritional supplements including women's multivitamins also cost 2 or 3 times what it would cost in North america...

4. Having an oven in the kitchen is not standard

The apartments are so small that often, the oven portion of the kitchen is omitted.  In fact, I have seen family residences without ovens...very annoying if you like baking.  Those microwaves with built in ovens certainly don't compensate(common thing in Europe in case you have never seen one).

5. Stepping in dog poo is believed to give  you good fortunate.  

(That one is pretty self explanatory.)

Pushing Paper!

Paperwork must be my least favourite word.  I hate pushing it around other people and I hate having to go through the torturous process (and often people who can't smile and don't know what they are doing-Keeping in  mind that they are likely not smiling because they themselves spend their lives pushing around paper.)   Luckily, Having once lived in Qatar, I have built a resilience to strange and inefficient procedures.  If I can handle that, I can do just about anything!:)

 I have to say that my last two days have not been as much frustrating as amusing.  I got a job and want to open a bank account. Seems easy enough, right?  You just go to a local branch and ask to open an account!!!! Well, in France, you need a rendezvous to open a bank account.  That's when I have to explain that three weeks from now is simply not good enough since without a bank account here, you can't anything from getting a gym membership to finding a place to live.  That's when the bank clerk explains to me that I can do all of it over the phone but the only disadvantage is, I can't go to the bank to do my banking..."You mean I never have to leave my house to do this tedious -pain in my behind- stuff? Hmmmm... hardly seems like a disadvantage!!!" 
So, I go home and I call and I get an answer that goes " Hello, Welcome to HSBC telephone banking. How may I help you?"
ME: "Hi, I'd like to open a bank account?
AGENT: "Do you have an appointment?"
To speak to customer service representative...essentially...I need to book time. 

Well I did finally get my banking appointment and I suppose it is small price to pay when you consider that every morning I get to eat fresh baked baguette from the bakery and the awesome wine is as cheap as water!:) At least, after a day of getting my feet blistered and running from one government bureau to another, my glass of Cab Sav is waiting for me when I get home!

French to Quebecois Translator Please!:)

Being a traveller, I sometimes display symptoms of a mental disorder.   I think it might be comparable to multiple personality disorder or perhaps just being a little bit skitzo.  I leave the place I am familiar with because I want to be on an adventure...except I get to my destination and I want everything to be familiar again. (Okay!!! Only a little!  I may be slightly addicted to purposely making myself completely uneasy.)

I had my first real French job interview today! So how did that go???  Well luckily, I don't want the job!  It's a great first step.  Getting your feet wet at an interview for a job you don't want  is great way to remove at least some degree of stress about not understanding culture and protocol!  I think the most terrifying part though, was that I had no clue what the interviewer was saying half the time. That can't be right. I speak French!  Nothing like  Parisian technical jargon to throw this Montreal girl off guard!  Mix it up with an accent I am not a hundred percent used to and VOILA,  it's a foreign language.  I always knew there were differences but, in a social setting, I can carry a conversation in without having to wonder what half the words mean.  Something I also came to notice is how much more poetic the simplest things here sound.  It is not always that the words used are different but they are used in different ways.   I wish I had a photo I could share with you.  The other day I walked by a vegetarian restaurant and what struck me was that it was called "un atelier de soja" which literally translates to, a Soy Workshop!  Does this flowery language reflect something on how an eatery location is perceived in French culture?

 I'll do my digging and one day, I'll get it! For now I'm loving that there is so much to discover about this language! ( Even though my other personality kinda hates it...LOL)


 

Perfection as a Goal is Waste of Time!

Being an outsider can be a little difficult at times.  You may not have followed the recipe given or expected in order to achieve what you want because the one you were told to follow back home is different.  So what to do?  It feels a little overwhelming but the cliché  about just being yourself may have been some of the best advice ever given.  Nowhere I have lived have I been considered perfect but the irony is that my perfections and imperfections are not always transferrable  skills.

So doesn't that just mean that perfect and imperfect are merely a matters of opinion.

My strengths in some places are my weaknesses in others and vice versa.  Living in the English part of Canada, having a Parisian French accent was considered "The Better French". Being here, however, there seems to be a novelty around being from Montreal.  I am different and different can be novel!  With my Canadian spirit and an acceptance that I am in France, feeling comfortable here is only a matter of time.  The lady selling me a SIM card may laugh and think my accent sounds ridiculous but the bar tender gave me a shot on the house for that very same reason. One thing is for sure, when you are different you don't go unnoticed and you always leave behind a lasting impression.

 

A Quick Glance Inside: The Intro to My Travel Blog!

At the moment, all of my physical possessions fit inside of a back pack and a large suitcase.  Though not a large physical  place to put my life's belongings, my most important possessions have been in that suitcase for the last four years.  The values, the broader perspective, the friendships I have acquired, the emotional moments and some severe cases of melodrama all fit inside and tag along wherever I go.  Be warned that the suitcase does get heavier in the metaphysical realm as you become a much denser person.

So why am I writing this? 

For one thing, everywhere I go, I make new memories.  I cherish them and I feel that this is a way for me to hold on to them forever.  I also want to encourage you to leap into the unknown.  I know how scared I still get.  I have now lived in several places and yet I still get nervous.  I think  if you can embark on a plane and change your life, leave behind your belongings, your friends and your families, you should! DOexpect some turbulence along the way! It will be a bumpy ride but you'll also fly higher than you've ever been!:)


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