8:00 PM - So weird to go for supper this late but that's when most restaurants kick into evening gear here. Il Naturale, the Italian place I mentioned, was just a block from the front entrance of the Palais des Congres on Grand Armée - relatively inexpensive Italian food, as mentioned before, from the menu I saw in the window, but with a French flair of course.
8:17 PM - It seemed to be getting busy, and all tables outside were full, but I got a table inside right away. You pay more for the privilege of sitting outside, by the way, at most good restaurants in Paris - and I recommend not bothering, because that's where all the smokers sit. Unless the view is worth it (and the Palais des Congress and most of Grand Armée doesn't qualify) there's no benefit to sitting outside. I know all the movies show Parisians eating outside, but that's a myth - you get so much road noise, and gawking tourists looking at your food. Plus, this street gets a bit sketchy at night with the supposed homeless and gypsies coming out of the woodwork at dusk, and they'll come up to your table constantly. I was always more comfortable inside carrying my wallet, camera, phone, etc. anyway.
Some Americans outside are talking so loud you can't think, but they soon left. I made the mistake of saying bonjour instead of bon soir to the waiter when I first came in, and I wanted to speak nothing but French tonight. He switched to English right away because that was a dead giveaway, but I still (with the help of my trusty phrase book, which I hid from view) tried to order, ask for the bill, etc. in French all evening anyway, and he eventually played along. The phrasebook actually writes out how to pronounce everything, which makes it way more fun. But don't get in over your head - you realize if you ask for something in French, they will break into an answer you may not always understand. I actually didn't experience much of a problem. The menu wasn't in English but most French words are close to the English variation so I was ok. Example - "lasagne" is pretty easy to identify as "lasagna" in English.
I ordered a glass of rosé (pink) wine that's sweet (it's cheaper than pop at 4€, and better for you in small doses) and lasagna bolonese for 11,30€. Plus, the wine that I've had here (and I don't really drink much) is 100 times better than the US. Though it seems much stronger in your mouth, it doesn't go to your head like in Canada. I can see how people can drink a whole bottle on their own - not sure if the alcohol content is less, but it seems to affect you less.
By the way, I didn't mention before, but the € sign is always used after the currency, even though I know it looks weird. Sometimes I see it with a space after the number, but I use it without to make it easier to understand I'm talking money. They also use commas, not decimals, to separate euro and cents (yes, it's called the same thing as in Canada) - like "11,30€" = "11 euros, 30 cents". Takes awhile to get used to. Many fancy restaurants, like in Canada, don't bother with the € sign (the price will just say "29" or something like that, without cents). Also, when you get the bill for any purchase - food, etc. - they usually say "EU" or "EUR" after the number - the computerized bills hardly ever show the € sign. I also noticed at McDonald's the other day that they state there's a 5.5% tax, but it's built into the cost of the food.
The waiter first brought a big wine bottle and glass to the table and I panicked - it looked like white wine, and it was clearly a full bottle! I had ordered the pink version so I got scared and wondered if I had to pay for this mistake? But I realized it was water fairly quickly - haha. They don't do glasses of water in Paris, I've learned - and you don't have to ask for it, it comes automatically.
They also bring out bread or some other snack at every restaurant I've heard of so far in Paris, and of course you aren't charged for it. When I first came in, they had a big pile of pre-cut French bread on a table near the front in front of an old-fashioned looking bread warmer (see picture left, click for larger). The waiter picked up a little tin pail from a stack by the warmer, put in a paper napkin as a liner, and chose several pieces of the French bread. Then he opened the warmer and got out a few pieces of what looked like Russian black bread, and brought it all to the table with my wine. You could tell it was all baked fresh that morning - in fact, the French bread may have been baked just hours before I came. It was amazing, and it was really neat to watch them do it in front of you, so you knew it was relatively fresh.
Within about 10 minutes, out came my meat lasagna, which had an unbelievable amount of cheese on it. Lasagna bolonese usually has onions, celery, carrots, and has pork, veal and beef in it, plus tomatoes, pasta and cheese, etc. of course to top it off (see picture right, click for larger). Sorry folks, my camera battery died and I had to use my iPhone camera for the food picture, which doesn't do that great indoors with less lighting.
9:30 PM - after a wonderful meal, I said "apportez-moi l'addition, s'il vous plait" (please bring me the bill - I think I got it perfectly with my phrase book), and it came to about 16€ total. I left a 20€ note and walked slowly back to my hotel. I know that normally people don't tip in Paris, but this guy hustled all night long and was really nice to me with my poor French, so I felt he earned a bit extra.
It's a bit windy and cool out tonight, so didn't really feel like hanging outside too much, but I wasn't in a hurry to walk anywhere. In fact, I don't see anyone anywhere that seems in a hurry to go anywhere. People don't start eating supper/dinner until at least 8 and don't leave restaurants until 11, but rush hour seems to start at 6:30, so not sure when these people sleep.
I felt much more energized than the night before, so I went back to the hotel and watched some TV while I worked more on catching up on the blog. I mostly write it during the day while I'm doing things (while on trains, etc.) to save time and remember everything, so I should catch up fast now.
English TV in this hotel sucks. There are 9 channels and 6 of them are news - CNN International, France 24, BBC World, Euronews, Bloomberg, CNBC and NASN (an ESPN sports spin-off for Europe). The only "entertainment" channels are Cartoon Network and the Disney Channel - which itself sometimes had French programs on it. Hannah Montana in French is a bit disturbing - becasue it's just French dubbed over the real show. Kind of silly when you think about it - the whole premise of the show is Miley Cyrus as singer Hannah Montana. Um, who on earth do they use for the French version, and why doesn't she have her own concert tour if she's that good?
CNN International is so much better overseas, and people who travel mostly agree with me. The US version is just a 24-hour commercial for the Democratic Party. Gets so lame after awhile. It's more balanced overseas. My favorite though is BBC World - they have great specials and shows on travel, etc. that are really good. I'll start watching that more on my digital at home when I get back.
I actually like watching French TV - watched CSI Miami last night for a bit, and was entertained with the French voices they chose for the American actors - Horatio Caine sounded almost the same! Cartoon Network is pretty cool too - and pretty funny (more adult oriented) late at night, on Adult Swim (whoops - not that kind of adult, just not for little kids!).
Good night! Last day at the Congress in the morning, and I need to be there at 8:00.
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