Anyway, so he closed up shop, and we hopped on his Vespa, followed by Joe, his friend from the store across the street, picked up some wine and headed over to his place.
His apartment was a bit empty since he had just recently moved in, but quite nice, with a big terrace; too bad it was drizzling. We popped open a bottle of white wine, clinked glasses, and wiled away the hours chatting and listening to music. I hadn't eaten anything for several hours, so I took it easy with the wine. It goes straight to my head (or more specifically, my cheeks) on an empty stomach. So I was glad when John brought out a plate with lox, mayonnaise, baguette, & veggies. He also heated an out-of-the-box pizza, but it had some sort of meat on it, so I stuck with the salmon. The food definitely helped to ground me and I had a really nice time. It wasn't until John brough out the Jack that things got a little crazy and after a while, I decided it was time to go.I had made plans with Emmanuel, Sebbe's friend (and intern) for friday night, but we put it off on acount of the weather. So after texting back and forth, I decided to go meet him and his friends by Saint Michel. I was able to score a ride on Joe's scooter since it was on his way home.
After a confusing 5 minutes, I found Emmanuel infront of the statue and we walked back over to the bar where his friends were sitting outside. I sat down and was able to make conversation in French! They were very patient with me and helped me out, which is exactly what I need. I was very happy for the practice. But as the night went on, I eventually had to switch back to English: we went to a club/bar were the music was so lound, I really can't understand let alone for sentences in French. I have no idea what the place was called, it was loud, packed with tourists and smoke machine smoke. All I really wanted to drink was water, but I was forced to order something else before the waiter would bring me a glass. So I got another glass of wine, which I barely drank half of. At first, the music was really awful. I'll dance to almost anything, but I just couldn't make myself dance to this. But eventually, it started to get a little better, and with the first song I recognized I got up, grabbed Max, the only guy in our group who was the least bit interested in dancing, and hit the dance floor. Once I get started, it's really hard to stop. We didn't leave until around 4am. By that time, they had played some really good stuff and our whole gang was up and dancing.
In Paris, the subway stops running some time between 12 and 2am. There are night buses, but they're not exactly convenient, and I'm traveling on a budget, so I'd rather not pay 20€ for a cab ride home. E was of the same mind as me, so we biked. First we walked all the way to Jardin du Luxembourg, Emmanuel, Antoine, and I, where we picked up bikes (1€ / 24 hours!) at a Velib' stop and they guided me home. Let me tell you, biking in Paris at 5am is magical. I would be too scared to bike in Paris traffic during the day (at least until I know the streets a little better) but at night, there were hardly any cars, not to mention people. The whole city was glowing. We arrived chez moi just as the sky was starting to go from midnight to bluebird blue. I parked my bike at the Velib' station just down the street and, after saying goodbye at my doorstep, they continued on their way home. I was asleep by 6am.
Sunday morning, or more correctly afternoon, I woke up some time after 12pm. I drank tea, ate breakfast, showered, checked my facebook, you know, the usual. Wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the day, but it was passing by quickly. So by 4pm, I was out of the house, on my way to le Canal Saint Martin. Pierre had tipped me off about it ("the other river") along with some suggestions of restaurant/cafés in the area. I got off at Chateau d'Eau and after walking slightly off course for 15 minutes or so, I found the canal. I bought a peach and sat by the water, thinking about how quickly I am falling in love with this city. After finishing my incredibly juicy peach, I took out my book, with very sticky fingers. When it started getting a little nippy, I decided to go find a place for coffee where I could continue reading. Just down the street, I found Chez Prune, which was one of the places Pierre had suggested! So I went in, ordered a cafe crème and settled down with my book. After maybe 1/2 hour or so, I got a text from Pierre saying he was back from his weekend trip and wondering if I had already had dinner. I told him where I was and no, I had not had dinner yet, and we decided that he would come meet me. So I ordered a Perrier and after about 35 minutes, he was sitting across from me. We ordered some white wine and the little food they had on the menu: hummus and other dips/spreads, fresh veggies, & bread. It was perfect, seeing as neither of us was very hungry. We sat for a while, chatting about our individual weekend experience, my week in Paris, etc. It was getting late, and Pierre has to get up super early for work, so he gave my a ride home on the scooter (I love those things!) and I was able to get a full night's sleep.
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