The #Parisian #Love Cult - #Foodie, #McDonald's, #WiFi

We took the taxi to our temporary stay in the 16e district, the neighborhood that is dubbed 'the Manhattan of Paris.' I call it "the Nobhill of Paris" or "the Woodside Peninsula of Paris'. We met the doorman, Francois there for the first time and just like in the storybooks, a tall dark and handsome frenchman awaits us in front of our chateau in a tailored suite and suave hair. Immediately he grabs our two 50 lb luggages and insists on carrying it up the stairwell to our 2nd floor sublet. He did not struggle much because, well he also works at the gym as a personal trainer. We were admiringly in awe and aware that we have now fallen into the 'Paris Love Cult'. 

After meeting a few Parisians, I started to mold my idea of, "What is the Paris Love Cult?". Parisians live for the feeling of being in love. They are all about the long awkward stares across the room and the sweet talk. "Oh, I love the Eiffel Tower. I LOVE American food, I LOVE rap music. I LOVE LOVE LOVE...." There is probably only a handful of things in this world that Parisians do not LOVE. As much as I enjoyed meeting Parisians, I still have unconditional love for Americans. I like the way Americans are a bit more rugged and like what they like, but are extremely choosy about what they "love". And once they love something/someone, it is pretty set in stone. That is probably why Americans say that they "have love" for some things. It is different and we do not get the two mistaken. 

We got ready and headed to the Apple store because my damn iPhone was not able to catch WiFi. Big fail for when you are traveling overseas. I have no idea what the issue was with Apple and iPhones in Europe, but my Wifi button was grayed out. That pretty much sucked because WiFi is the most efficient way to stay connected with people. MCDonald's became our "safe haven" to catch WiFi in Europe, not to mention their extensive MCDonald's International Menu. The golden arches may as well have been flipped upside down to make the letter "W" for WiFi. 

We ate at Frenchie Restaurant later that night - not as good as CommonWealth in San Francisco, btw. Please find details and our menu selection below:

Restaurant Frenchie

5, rue du Nil 75002 Paris

Tél. : +33 (0)1.40.39.96.19

Métro 3, 4 : Sentier, Réaumur Sébastopol

http://www.frenchie-restaurant.com/infos

Pour débuter

 Foie gras de canard au torchon, poire, chapelure orientale  (+16 €)

Entrées

Râble de lapin farci, champignons sauvages, coing, châtaigne

(Supplément +15 € truffe blanche)

ou

Rouget, ventrêche, pomme de terre fumée

Plats

Saint-Jacques, épeautre, topinambour; boudin noir

ou

Biche, trompettes de la mort, airelle

Fromage ou Desserts

Sélection de fromages des îles Britanniques affinés de chez Neal’s Yard Dairy

Accord vin : 6cl/fromage (+15€)

ou

 Glace au pain des amis, clémentine, chocolat, noisette

ou

Perles du Japon, lait de coco, mangue sherbet, ananas

I will have a more extensive review of the Frenchie Restaurant in a week or so. Stay Tuned. 

Paris PT. 2 - Lover's Bridge and www.joycedeguzman.com #abeautifulthing

We landed on September 12, 2013 at 11a.m. and got our first passport stamp. Surreal. We got our stuff from baggage claim and spent a good 45 minutes riding up and down the same elevator because we were unsure about how to get to the Metro. We finally figured it out and hopped on the train toward Notre Dame!!!! In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The train reminded me of the Metro in NYC. After the Notre Dame, we went to see the Lover's Bridge in Paris. The Lockets of Love is a beautiful symbolic tradition of love. You write your name and the name of your loved ones on a lock and link it to the railings of the bridge of the River Siene. Then, you throw the key into the river, symbolizing everlasting love with your significant. My Bestie and I enjoyed looking at the lockets, but we decided to hold off on getting a lock until we revisit that spot with our significant. It was a very trying time in the "City of Love" without a significant, but I truly felt that it was a great time for Kat and I to get away from the San Francisco scene and reflect, reminisce and cherish our time on this earth. Our trip to Paris symbolized the love we have for ourselves, our self-love! 

This past year has been especially challenging for us as we are mourning the loss of our best friend and Kat's dear cousin, Joyce deGuzman. Joyce's death spun our community into self-actualization. When she left earth, we all were forced to reevaluate our lifestyles. We questioned our path, intentions, ambitions and goals, and our missions in life.

Joyce de Guzman was born on September 7, 1986 to Josephine and Rodolfo de Guzman. She was the youngest of four children after Dorothy, Yvonne and Sharon. Joyce was a very family-oriented person. Despite the age differences amongst her sisters, they were very much inseparable. They had lots of fun hanging out with each other at home, creating new games and  more. The entire family had great communication and a strong bond with each other. 


Joyce, a hard working woman, raised her two children, Aliyah, 7, and Ryder, 4. When Aliyah was born on October 23, 2004, Joyce dedicated her life to motherhood. On September 8, 2007, Joyce and Paul were blessed with their second child, Ryder. Ryder graduated preschool in July 2012. Her dedication to her children was inspiring to us all. Read more about her story by clicking on her name. The link with take you to her  fundraising page. 

As heart breaking and traumatizing it was to lose Joyce, her legacy lives on through her children and loved ones. It's truly #abeautifulthing. 

Paris Part 1 - 2013

9/11- Our flight to Paris. We had a great flight. It was assigned seating but we managed to work the system to our favor and found two seats side by side. If I have to sit through a 11 hour flight, I prefer to sit next to my bestie, @kat_uh_roo. I liked the vibe of the elderly French man sitting next to me. He was 5'10 with balding Einstein hair. He was traveling with two French women and another Frenchman. They reminded me of the BMCrew(BurningMan Crew). The women put their used cups and napkins on his tray table when they were finished with it. Totally something Kat and I would do to Kevin. When we landed and exited the plane, the other man trailed behind the others, much like Ryan does when we go out. Being away from home allots me time to allow my subconscious to flow outward. I find myself turning into my alter egos: Stephyrae, and Tiffybobo to name a few.