Paris, Je t'aime!

I'm in Paris, and it's just a great city. Here's why:

Metro
It's extensive, cheap, and reliable. Clean. The signs for various exits in the stations not only tell you what street you'll be exiting on, but what sites are around there. These signs are not only at the exits themselves but on the track platform as well.

RER
It's a suburban transit line, with stops all over the city! Not only does it link easily with the Metro, but it can stand on its own as an inner-city mode of transit.

Wide Boulevards, Narrow Sidestreets
There's nothing like walking down a wide boulevard, packed with people, then veering off onto a little sidestreet where you walk down the middle and no one else is there. If you ever get claustraphobic, just hop back onto a boulevard.

Food Shopping
They have this down. Every neighborhood has its market several times a week, plus there are specialty stores, such as the row around the corner from my hotel in Place Maubert Mutualité. There's the boulanger/patissier for breads and pasteries, the cremerie for cheese, the boucherie for meats, a fishmonger, a green grocer, and a wine store. And they're all great quality, great prices.

And more, of course, including the sites, the restaurants, but that's what I've been enjoying this trip. Paris of course has its flaws, but for my 5 nights here, I'm content just thinking about what makes it great.

In Search of Herb

While I was cookin' up some soup, I realized that instead of buying basil at the market, I bought mint. While that would've been an interesting experiment, I needed basil and I needed it quickly.

I looked at my watch: 8:30. I thought the supermarket would still be open, so I ran there, but no luck. Closed. I ran around to various little markets that were for some reason still open, but the closest I got was sage. So then, I decided to go into some restaurants and ask (in my best Italian, of course) if I could buy some basil from them.

Now this is something I wouldn't even consider doing back at home. But here, it seems to be a lot more acceptable. The first place had about 5 leaves to offer me, but that wasn't enough. I tried to pay, but of course he wouldn't accept any money. The next place I tried didn't have enough to give away, so I had one more restaurant in mind. It's not a very good place, but I've gone there a few times because you can get a cheap takeaway pizza, and it's right across the street. The woman recognized me, and of course, wouldn't let me pay, but gave me just what I needed. I thanked her profusely and got back to cooking.

What I think is different here is that owners see their restaurants as more of an extension of their home and personal kitchen. Food here is about sharing, even at mediocre places that I only frequent due to convenience. You just don't get that back in the states.

You do, however, have access to groceries 24/7 basically wherever you are.

Before I Leave Florence: A To-Do

I've written this list up for myself, but I figure getting it up here will help me actually accomplish all these things:

• Cook ribollita (it starts tonight!)
  
• Cook a market meal
• Santa Maria della Carmine/Brancacci Chapel
  
• Climb cupola of duomo
• Santa Maria Novella church
• BIG meal at Trattoria Mario (osso buco Saturday anyone?)
• Uffizi
• Buy shoes that are good for traveling and everyday wear
• Buy a pair of jeans
• Go to Siena
• Museo San Marco
• Walk, walk, walk
• Rent a bike if there's nice weather
  

I can do this.

Claiming a City as Yours

The other night, I was walking with a friend of mine, and we were chatting about how little time we have left in Florence (11 days if you were wondering). It's clear that everyone at NYU in Florence has very mixed feelings about this fact: eager to get back to New York or wherever else, but not ready to leave Florence. Why is that?

My friend was saying how he no longer puts Florence up on a pedastal, it is no longer this destination with a ridiculous amont of art and culture. Florence, for us, has become everyday. It's not like we're taking the city for granted. But, I think we are finally all just about getting used to Florence as where we are living right now, and yes, it really did take almost four months to get to that point. It is at that moment when we stop seeing Florence, or any city you have recently moved to, becomes a part of you and you a part of it. However, as this is only study abroad, in eleven days we are ripped out of the place we are just now getting used to. What an interesting way to experience a city.