Day 13 of 30: 80's do's and dinner parties.

We started the morning with a stroll down the Rue du Rivoli. Saint Eustache church caught our eye from a distance. We went in to marvel at the precision and grandeur that religious devotion can produce. Along the way, we admired the diversity of boutique food shops and cafés. 

All the walking got our stomachs a rumbling. Erin had seen the pics of my previous visit to L’As du Falafel and was very much impressed. I lead here down unknown streets by instinct alone. My belly knew the way. Boy did they come through. FANTASTIC! Check out these smiles.

 Today we had plans with Eleanor. My very first chance to be a hostess in Paris. The pressure was on, as Eleanor had done such an impressive job last week. We head to the Monoprix to acquire some “alimentacion” aka groceries. We tried to select a nice cheese and the sweet food counter lady tried her best to not insult us as she described our brie selection as “very mild, meant for small children.” We resigned ourselves to her expertise. 

The whole evening went swimmingly. Eleanor took one glance at the cheese and told us which region it came from and what techniques were used to produce it. We were left wide eyed in amazement. That’s right, ladies and gents, the French can tell you with precision everything about a cheese based on its dimensions. Do they teach this in grammar school? I say we substitute PE. All we knew was it was damn good. 

Marine and Safia, two sexy Parisian ladies took us out for drinks afterwards. Marine is a Coral Shores Alum and we were very excited to see her. The streets were practically empty. They explained that August is the quietest time of year because the locals head to the beach towns for vacation. We ventured into Marine’s neighborhood, Pigalle. The young hipster crowd was out in all of their 80’s coifs and tight pant glory. They were an exceptionally good looking crowd despite the fact that is it not my personal style preference. 

 

Afterwards we took a walk back to Marine’s, checking out the graffiti along the way. Check out Bob. 

We felt privileged to have had a chance to visit places that only locals see. A real glimpse into a scene outside of our own. This is what Anthony Bourdain must feel like. Call us Travel Channel. Ready and willing.