Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Across the World and Back

Paris was a holiday. I met up with a boy from California- it was half way between Singapore and California, which demonstrates to me just how far Singapore is from my family and friends.

On the way to Paris I flew over Afghanistan - it was strange to think that I was a few miles above the place that seems so far away from America. Indeed, it is so far away from America (culturally and geographically).

I stayed in the Latin Quarter and ate pastries for a week. Luckily I walked everywhere or I wouldn't have fit into any of my tiny Singaporean clothes. My favorite patisserie was Paul but I was rather devastated to discover that it is actually a chain (I even saw people carrying Paul bags in Tokyo!). Paul has an interesting story as a company, apparently it's owned by a family who used to have a patisserie, then moved into bread factories selling generally crappy grocery-store bread, and then they decided to return to their roots with patisseries who only serve top quality products. A grateful pastry-eating nation thanks them...

Despite the bad news that my favorite local patisserie could be found across Paris and apparently in Japan, Paul still had the best baguettes, caneles, and croque monsieur's in town, and I lucked out by staying near a Paul that was a full restaurant rather than just a patisserie. At one point a very distinguished man in what looked like a doctor's uniform arrived. The employees were suddenly on their best behavior. It appears the Paul doctor was in town to make sure each restaurant worked like a well-oiled machine. It was certainly a well-buttered machine....

Paris was chilly and wonderful, especially compared to the constant humidity of Singapore. I always love winter when the weather is cold enough that sitting inside a cafe and sipping hot chocolate is so appealing. Singapore certainly doesn't provide any desire for hot beverages, unless it's late afternoon in the office and the building techs have been messing with its A/C again leaving me and everyone else shivering under light shawls that we keep in our desks. Certainly a hot cappuccino to warm up after a crisp, sunny stroll in the Luxembourg Gardens made the A/C problems in my Singapore office building seem a world away (and indeed it was a world away!).

My favorite thing about Paris was that over the course of 9 days there, I started to feel like I knew the place. I'd been there before but stayed close to the Eiffel tower, in the maze of white buildings near the Champs Elysees, and I enjoyed wandering then, but it wasn't the same. The streets were quiet except for some tourists and haute couture shopping locals, and it didn't give the sense of Paris as a vibrant ancient city that you get in the medieval parts of town. Wandering around the Latin Quarter, St. Germaine, and Rive Gauche gave a little taste of the Paris the Parisians know. Students from the Sorbonne were everywhere, kebab stands were open all night, and come happy hour there was not a spot at any bar in a 5 mile radius. Ah, Parieeee...

After 9 days of eating and wandering, I headed to La Duree on the Champs Elysees to bring back a box of macarons for my French flatmate in Singapore. I'm quite sure that there isn't a more beautiful display of pastries anywhere in the world, and I enjoyed it for the hour and twenty minutes I waited in line for my box of macarons.