First full day. – Find Walden

1/13/2020

Active Summary: This morning I slept in until about 9 AM. My brother and I followed this up with a bit of walking where we where procured a breakfast tart and then visited a garden and a hardware store called Leeroy Merlin (more in TIL). We returned to the room afterward where I wrote for a time before heading out with my brother to find lunch. We visited La Sainte-Chapelle first and then ate a lunch at Cocorico. More walking ensued during which we got to see Paris light up, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre.

On the way back to our room for the night, we stopped to get a couple desserts – a couple small praline chocolates (have not tried yet) and a couple chocolate pastries (got the Duo Chocolat with lots of nuts) which I will eat after compiling all the day’s events / images into this post (pictured at top).

The same tower in Paris that I pictured yesterday. I still don’t know its name but it does have a statue inside of it.
Random ornate building in Paris with a Merry-go-round out front.
Lemon cheese-tart and Coke 0 for Breakfast.
A random building with an exceptionally large clock and even larger red doors at the base.
A golden statue atop an oxidized pylon.
Bamboo passage in the Paris high-garden. (It was a cold walk.)
The outside of Sainte-Chapelle.
Each stained glass is unique, meaning that there was no machinery used in the creation of the window or of the plan by which it was built.
The intricate insides of Sainte-Chapelle.
Yet another random building in Paris. Reminiscent of the Capitol building in the United States. Here, however, such buildings are much more commonplace.
The Louvre, across a bridge which resides over the River Seine.
French Onion soup in France. Less sweet than the American versions I have had and much more ‘beefy’ flavored.
Lunch in Paris with my brother.
My brother’s Croque Madame. All of the bread and all of the cheese here surpasses any bread or cheese I’ve experienced in United States’ restaurants. The cheeses especially.
Goat cheese on toasted honey-thyme bread. Served atop a bed of fresh and lightly dressed greens.
The most ridiculous wine shop.
Night on the Seine.
Eiffel tower in the distance.
The Louvre’s glass pyramid.
A blurry picture of Louvre Arch and Eiffel Tower.

TIL: Today I asked a server at our restaurant two questions. How do I say “very good” and “how much do I tip“?

The first answer was simple. To say “very good” in French is “très bon (tray-bone)”.

The second answer was also simple. “However much you want.” He proceeded to tell us that French Restaurants unanimously include service charges with the food costs. This means that anything added on top is appreciated but not required. So, if one has spare change / small bills in their wallet, include that. If not? Just let the restaurant take care of it.

Commentary: I dislike the feeling of being away from home. It is almost painful. Routine is difficult if not impossible to maintain, there are many strange and noisy people, I am lacking all of my home’s comforts, cleanliness, and stable amenities, and I’ve left half of the people I truly respect and enjoy behind. Alas, being away from home is also how one acquires otherwise unattainable experiences such as ‘staring at the incredibly ornate innards of an ancient chapel‘ of ‘learning French words directly from the populace‘.

I don’t really have much more to say than that. I’ve been walking all day, and there’s been that internal battle being waged for much of it. At least there has been some excellent food and sights to help me through. That, along the fact that home is just a plane ticket and 20-34 hours away.

Even the video does not compare to reality.

(8:35 PM Update:) Feeling better than I did yesterday evening. Thank goodness. Maybe the chocolate helped:

A fresh chocolat (chocolate) bar. Accidentally ordered two. Was not sorry that I did so.
Cross section of chocolat bar.
A fresh macaroon / cream bonbon.
Of incredible size.
Cross section of bonbon. Bottom layer (left) is very crunchy and light. Center is chocolate cream. Top (right) is sweet cream.
Le BonHeur coconut chocolate. A 3.5 euro 1x1x1 inch chocolate (50g).
Le BonHeur coconut chocolate. A 3.5 euro 1x1x1 inch chocolate (50g). Back side.
Inside the package.
Inside the Bonheur. Taste, quite chocolatey with not too much sugar and slight hints of coconut. Texture, soft with very satisfying crunches throughout. Smell, reminiscent of a high quality fudge. Though the chocolate was expensive, it pleased all the senses.

Final note: Tomorrow, we may end up going to some gardens a short distance outside of Paris. It will be nice to get away from all the people and graffiti if that is the case.

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