Merrans travels

Jingle bells

The last time I had a car trip where my life flashed before my eyes was in KL, on the way to the office in a taxi that had no seatbelts and doors that did not shut properly, and I had worn satin trousers which meant I had to hold onto the back of the drivers seat and brace my feet against the floor to stop from flying out while my driver pretended he was in a PlayStation game and drove at 160km / hour+ while texting. I loosened my grip on his seat at one point to grab my phone and text my daughter Jen to say I loved her. Todays journey from Paris to Strasbourg was less dramatic (didn’t pack the satin pants), but still a bit hair-raising as my crazy-ass driver sped one-handed down the freeway at 151km/hour. When we got to the mid-way rest stop in Metz I was not in the mood to take photos. Which is a shame because Metz is gorgeous. Cobbled streets and winding lanes, a huge cathedral, people wandering slowly through town stopping to chat, lots of happy dogs, amazing cheese shops, decked out for Christmas, and for only 69,000 euros you can buy a 2 bedroom apartment and live a wonderful French life. Luckily we made it to Strasbourg in one piece. Bloody transport strike, I miss the trains. Strasbourg is so gorgeous, with the old town surrounded by a river and inter-connecting bridges, and the whole area is basically one giant Christmas market covered in lights and decorations. So nice to amble slowly around it tonight, and try some of the incredible food and wine from the Alsace region (and I may have bought another pair of earrings). I have four nights here before I start heading to Switzerland, and my next stop (Basel) is just over an hour by car. So in the meantime I will put my feet up, and relax, and get in the Christmas spirit 🙂

Bon soiree

I signed up for wine tasting and cheese sampling in a centuries old wine cave in the Marais district of Paris today, and it was wonderful. Beautiful wine, mouth-watering cheese, and very generous samples of both, in a great space with really nice people. The hosts also provide a list of tips for visitors to Paris which is the most comprehensive I have ever seen, so if you like wine and cheese look them up on Air BnB (with Valkyrie & Harry). I also bought another beret, inspired from the class yesterday, and because I stumbled across a shop that is run by university design students and their products are so original (Shopping for Happiness is the store). I might have also bought more earrings. So now, having left NZ with only one pair, I seem to have acquired more than 10 🙂 At least earrings don’t take up much room. Tomorrow is my last day in Paris and there will be large protests against the government in most of the city, and Paris will be on lock-down. A good opportunity to pack and get ready for my departure early the next morning. I have so loved my time here, and would love to stay longer. I still have heaps on my to do list to see, and a lot of day trips that I would love to make if the transport was easier. I’ll come back here another time. Finland is my favourite country, but Paris is the coolest and most beautiful city. I’m so glad I was able to spend a good amount of time here, and immerse myself in the community. If you come here, don’t stay in the city centre. Venture out a bit further, maybe into the Bastille as I have, and be local for a while. Walk instead of catching the metro, and shop in the local stores. People are so nice, and you will experience life in a non-touristy way. A bientôt x

Our tasting selection, many from Alsace where I am going next 🙂 yay

Green beret

I haven’t used a sewing machine since 1981 when it took me two terms to finish an apron, but today I managed to mark up, cut out and sew a beret 🙂 When in France and all that. This is another bookable experience through Air BnB (I should ask them for sponsorship 🙂 ), and under the friendly watchful eye of Mickael who is an accomplished fashion designer, you are guided through the process. There were three other lovely people with me and we had such a fun afternoon, talking and laughing, sharing a wine and some amazing cheese, and getting creative. Such a unique experience. Berets were originally worn by peasant farmers to keep warm and dry, then adopted by artists, the French resistance and other revolutionaries, and by soldiers because it is easy to pack and emblazon. Now it is making a fashion come-back and is quite the thing to wear. A small piece of France to take with me.

Let’s march

There is no end in sight for the transport strike in France, with more large protests expected in the days ahead. The government says reforms to the pension schemes are crucial and it won’t back down. The unions are vowing there will be no truce (even for Christmas) unless the government withdraws plans for the reform. So I find myself in the midst of the biggest French strike in 24 years. C’est la vie. Not so impactful for me unless I want to leave Paris (which I will do soon!). But for shop owners and workers, life is very difficult. One local news site I read talks of people sleeping in their office or classroom, because it is easier than trying to get home and back again. Another says people are walking 3+ hours home after work, because there is no other option (keep in mind it is winter). Bike and scooter rental companies will be making a lot of money right now. There is a long history of downing tools and striking in this country, supposedly more so than any other EU country. This fiery spirit can be traced back through centuries and a famous revolution. It became legal for workers to strike in 1864 and since then it has become common for strikes and protests to bring the country to a halt. Only 8% of French workers are part of a union, but they tend to be in sectors like transport, teaching, health and energy, so when there is a strike it massively impacts life for everyone. So this is how it is in France. The national anthem says ‘grab your weapons and form your battalions citizens, let’s march, let’s march’. Even though I packed fairly light, I don’t fancy marching out of Paris with my suitcase, and I have a room that will be ready for me in Strasbourg on Wednesday night (400km away and 4 days walk according to Google maps 🙂 ). Trains and buses are running inconsistently, and there is no guarantee yours will be ok even if you have a ticket. Flights are running at 80% today, but air traffic controllers and ground crew will strike in the next two days, and maybe for longer. Some highways and petrol stations are blockaded, so driving yourself is tricky unless you know the area. So I have booked a private car to pick me up just before dawn on Wednesday morning, and whisk me out of the city. Fingers crossed.

Photo walking

Wandering the streets with my camera is a new favourite pastime, and today I had the help of a professional photographer and Parisian local. We walked in and around the Canal Saint Martin, I learned more about how my camera works, and had good company. Cool day. If you’re here and interested, look on Air BnB for the Canal photo walk with Rick. He’s awesome and it is like spending a couple of hours walking with a friend (who is a way better photographer than you 🙂 ).

Speak easy

I had such a fun night exploring hidden speakeasy bars in Paris. Tucked away inside grocery stores, laundromats, hotel kitchens, car garages and cafes is a maze of hidden bars and cool night spots, some even have hidden bars inside the hidden bars! You can look many of them up on Google, but entry is not guaranteed if you just walk up. For some you need a secret napkin or handshake, or it helps if you know the bartender. Scarcity is the ultimate marketing trick! Luckily checking out these cool places is a bookable experience through Air BnB, and Felix who has created the experience is an awesome host. I had a brilliant night, and made new friends. Highly recommend this experience if you are in Paris. There are plenty of non-alcoholic drinks to choose, and the cocktails are also legendary. Also, the whisky sour at the Laundromat is great (you won’t find many other places here that know how to make one).

Hidden gems

I booked an awesome photowalk in Paris today with Welly (short for Wellington) who is in his 20s and has set up Parisplore as a tour business, after leaving his career in accountancy because he didn’t love it. He loves history, and meeting people, and he loves his city, and his tour is wonderful. He took me to rooftops that are free to access, but probably unknown to tourists, hidden parts of the city, and beautiful places. And he shared his love of Paris through stories, snippets of history, and laughter. Such a talented young guy, with a Kiwi name 🙂 I have told him he must come to NZ because it is the most beautiful country in the world, and because he loves photography I showed him pictures of some of our amazing landscapes online. “If NZ looks like this, why are you here?” he asked. I tell him I like to see the world, and he says, “well you are in the most beautiful city right now”. And I have to agree.

Père Lachaise

The Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris covers 44 hectares, and is the final resting place for many famous and wealthy people. There are over 70,000 burial sites here so a map is needed, and some good walking shoes. I had booked a tour of the cemetery, but the transport strike has made it hard for guides to get into the city so it wasn’t able to go ahead. Instead I picked up a free map from the tourist office inside the cemetery and walked up to the very top of the hill to see who I could find. It is quite a beautiful place to walk through on a cloudy winters day (with or without a map), and the large black crows sitting atop the mossy tombs adds to the atmosphere. Jim Morrison from the Doors is buried here and his grave is the most popular; a little too popular perhaps because so many people stopped by to see him and pour him a beer or whisky that it is now fenced off. Oscar Wilde’s tomb also is partially fenced, with a note asking people not to write messages on it. Chopin looks very stately in marble. Victor Noir, a journalist who was shot by the cousin of Napoleon, has become a sex/fertility god in the afterlife. Atop his grave a life sized bronze statue shows him as he lay dead, and it has a rather large bulge in his trousers that people come to rub (along with his shoes and lips) in the hope that his virility will pass on to them. At one stage a fence was also erected (pardon the pun) around his grave, but there was such a huge protest from the female population that it was taken down! Some graves have been carefully tended and are easy to find even by a poor map reader. Others are in such disrepair you cannot tell who resides there. Delacroix, Proust, Marcel Marceau, Molliere and many others are visited only by the seasons now as their tomb sites are too weathered to be recognised. But maybe that is ok. Soundtrack for the day is La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf, who is also buried here with her family.

Fresh

The Marche d’Aligre outdoor market is right on my doorstep and I love walking through it, checking out the fruit and vegetables, cheeses, spices, flowers and on some days there is a vintage flea market. I don’t take photos when I go because I want to experience it as a shopper, not a tourist. The stall holders are there every day from 9am – 1pm, and 4-7:30pm, so that people can choose the best ingredients for lunch and dinner, and they are world class sales people. Make eye contact, or let your glance linger on something for more than a moment, and it is proffered for you to inspect. Stop to look and it is put in your hands. Hold it and a bag is wrapped around it (sometimes with your hand also in it) and you’re expected to buy. Tourists who come to take photos or in a tour group can be subject to innocent fun – one American woman asked for three onions in semi-passable French only to be given three kilos of them (while the stall holder tried not to smile and called out to his mates that he had the best customer in all of Paris). She tried again to say she only wanted three, only to be presented with another three kilos 🙂 Then, taking pity on her, he quickly wrapped three in a paper bag and she paid and moved on, smiling and laughing at her charming experience. At the moment tiny leeks are in season; delicious browned with some butter and served with crusty bread. Clementines are also plentiful, a sweet orange that is small like a mandarin and easy to peel. Small vine tomatoes like grapes are piled high, as are giant ones the size of a fist. Endives, eggplant, dates, lemons, green beans, and tiny potatoes. And onions 🙂 So many recipes run through my head! Clementines are the winner today though, and I manage to buy 5 without mishap 🙂 I really love this style of shopping for fresh produce and eating it that day.

Crème brulee with pear and candied almonds

Spoiled for choice

The Musee D’Orsay contains a powerhouse of art that is actually more impressive to me than the art in the Louvre. Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Cezanne. Amazing. This museum is well worth a visit when you are in Paris, across the river from the Jardin des Tuilleries and the Louvre. I bought a ticket to also see the Musee Orangerie, which I’ll go to on another day. The restaurant on Level 2 is awesome, set up in a stately mirrored room adorned with gilt and frescoes that would be at home in Versailles. You will be waited on attentively while you sit and absorb the amazing art your eyes have feasted on, and the food is really good. Outside is chaotic again today as the transport strike drags on, roads are blocked due to more expected protests, the police are out again in force, and pedestrians are looking fed up. It is hard to see how this will end as both sides have their heels firmly dug in, but it must be hard for the workers who are losing days of pay. Public opinion is mostly in favour of those on strike, with people saying what they are fighting for is important and they should continue. Tomorrow will be significant because the Government is expected to present the proposed reforms (all of this union action and the proposal isn’t even out yet!), so things will either flare up or calm down. I would prefer the latter.