as i am in paris for thanksgiving, and as i am without family here, i did what any reasonable young american non-turkey eating femme would do...i went shopping. instead of celebrating 'black friday' tomorrow, i opted to turn today into 'black thursday,' and headed towards hotel de ville de pick up some black goods at h&m. i first made a pitstop near pompidou at my favorite papeterie to get some christmas postcards. then off to h&m and had my fun. it really is a good thing that i do not have an h&m near my apartment, and it is really good that i work during the week. i refuse to go into the grands magasins during the weekend, as they are just swamped and hot and disgusting. but the weekdays...oh yeah, baby! i picked up some great black pieces, very excited to wear them in paris and back at home.
one of my frequent activities in paris is to find free public bathrooms that aren't gross and don't require you to actually do anything - you can just go in and you'll be fine. i found another one today...bhv. bazaar de hotel de ville. now, i had never been to bhv, but have heard that it is 1) like sears, and 2) has absolutely everything you could ever want. 1) semi true. 2) completely true. who knew that one building could hold all of your coffee/tea/waffle making needs, just one floor above all of your scrapbooking, knitting, and stamping supplies. need a couch? head up to the top. need a snack? stop on the 5th level. need a bathroom? find the kids clothing and go around the corner. i can now add this public, non-gross bathroom to my list that includes galeries lafayette and the louvre (there is a bathroom in the main area before you actually buy your ticket - you may have to wait in a long line to get through security, but you wont have to pay to pee). there is a wonderful little well-kept toilette in jardin du luxembourg, albeit you do have to pay 40 euro cents (well worth it, though, as it is very clean and there is a delightful woman who collects your money). yes, there are public toilets on the street in little weird containers, but i think they're dirty and i had a bad experience in one last year. dont ask.
so woohoo, score two for me - h&m finds and a free bathroom. i did search for christmas decor at bhv, but was kinda surprised at the prices - this is the time when paris just needs a target. a big old cheap store with all of your christmas decorating needs. perhaps the parisians just think that shit is tacky and therefore it is tough to find. maybe im just looking too early. i have contemplated cutting out snowflakes, though. maybe ill buy some glitter.
i was getting a bit hungry and knew that i had several more stops and shops to hit up, so i found myself a little boulangerie and bought a gruyere and crudite sandwich, along with a big chocolate macaroon.
can we add macaroons to the list of things that i will die without?
after getting attacked by pigeons near notre dame while eating my sandwich, i strolled about and had some macaroon. three bites was enough, i couldn't eat anymore right away. so rich and decadent and soft and velvety and moist. basically any positive adjective could describe my macaroon. i am not a religious person, but i feel as though this food experience in paris is turning me into a believer of a heaven. when i did, my paradise will be made of pastries, tartes, and macaroons. and there will be beautiful men who go skinny dipping in pools of nutella. no, beaujolais nouveau. they will rub themselves with nutella after i towel the beauj nouveau off of them...
alas, i digress. i need to get my hair colored. i have no idea where to go and am a little bit scared. i opted to go to lafayette, instead, and treat myself to some karen millen. i figured that i treated myself to some karen after two weeks of work, why not after seven? and hey, it's thanksgiving. AND its not even black. i was a bit disappointed with the millen girls - there is this one girl who works there who i just love, but she wasn't in today. maybe she was celebrating thanksgiving.
i was getting tired and my back was starting to hurt from lugging around my purchases. i made my way home, tried on my goods, and then scooted back to the les halles area to make a 4:45 movie. i saw 'once.' but i would see it more than once. it was delightful. i had seen ads in the nytimes for it a few months ago while i was back in madison, and when i saw the posters in the metro, i put it on my to-do list. i would highly recommend it. it's kinda sappy, but definitely a feel-good movie.
i LOVE going to movies by myself. my whole day was really quite lovely. those days that i have dates with myself and my city, oh nothing else compares!
and now it is time for some chocolate and perhaps a little french tele.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, everyone! i would give you the french translation, but as i don't know, i will not.
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