Paris, traîner avec ses amis

I woke up pretty early today, took an amazing shower and head down for breakfast. Started my day with cereal, French croissant and tea. The only thing I had planned for the day was to meet up with an old friend from my residence days. Mathieu was an old roomate for four months in residence. We lived in the same dorm back in 2007. I've gotten in touch with him before coming to Paris and we've decided to meet up and go for coffee. That was supposed to be at seven so I decided to be a tourist and go sightseeing till then. I got on the number four metro and headed south toward St. Michel fountains.

The streets were buzzing with tourists. This is the 'island' area and is regarded as one of oldest parts of Paris. This is where you would find the Notre Dame Cathedral, Sainte Chapelle and Ile de la cite conciergerie. Last time I was in Paris Notre Dame was closed for renovation and I never got a chance to go inside. This time I decided to get in line and check it out. I met two girls who had come all the way from Mexico and were staying in Paris for a week, to go to London next and then back home. I soon noticed there were a lot of Mexicans coming to see the Cathedral. I haven't really looked in to this but I think there is some cultural/historic connection between the church and Mexican Catholics. The church was full of tourists. It was interesting to see flat screen TVs mounted at random spots in the church. They were displaying slides full of tourist focused information. It definitely took away from the 'holy' feeling of the place.

After a few minutes, I left the cathedral and stared to walk north toward the Louvre Museum. I've been to the museum before so I decided to skip it and relax by its fountains. Paris was sunny and the narrow edge by the fountains made for the perfect place to nap. I put on my shades, took off my shoes and lied down. The sound of tourist chatter, moving water and distant traffic made for the perfect ambience lullaby. Seven o' clock was ages away and I had plenty of time to absorb as much Parisian sun as I could. It was great and soon others followed.

Before I knew it, it was getting dark and it was time to make my way to our meeting point. We had decided to meet at St. Michel Fountains. As I started to walk back toward the fountains, I discovered The Great Canadian Pub. I went inside, it was empty. I looked at the menu and scoped the place out. It seemed nice but I didn't have much time to give it a full tryout. So I left, but it was definitely nice to run in to something Canadian.

I met up with Mathieu at seven. He was dressed like a typical white-collar working man. We went to a bar close to the river. He'd been in Paris for a few months working as an intern. Political science was no longer his focus, he was now aspiring to become an auditor. I noticed his English had taken a hit since he left Canada but he was quick to get it back. We talked about all the people we knew and where they're now. After the bar we walked around some more and he educated me on French cuisine and culture. We ended up at a restaurant further north, he recommended a specific duck dish. When the dish arrived I realized I've had something very similar in Quebec city last summer. I complimented the dish with some escargot and French wine from Bordeaux. It was heavenly.

I tend to give the French a hard time every opportunity I get, but when it comes to food, it's as if everything they make is glazed by the essence of culinary Gods. They know what they're doing and they deserve all the credit in the world.

It was getting late, I bid adieu to Mathieu. We decided to meet up again tomorrow night for drinks. I head back to the hostel and slept like a baby.