Superbowl Sunday/Monday Paris Style

Superbowl Sunday-American mini style

I've been in France for four Superbowls (and one in Ireland) and I must say, Paris is getting better at televising big American games. Normally I go to the Great Canadian to watch because it's a sports bar and one of the few places that will stay open until 4 or 5 a.m. in order to show the entire game, but this year I had a lot more places to choose from. After scouting out a few joints, I decided to go to Le Players off of Grands Boulevards and it was quite an experience!

French "Cheerleaders" doing a very random routine

Like all American/Irish/Indian things the French try to do here, they absolutely missed the authentic mark and instead came up with their own little, unique holiday. For example, there were no fattening finger foods but lots of goofy distractions, an annoying d.j. who talked over parts of the game, silly 'cheerleaders' who ran around the club at various intervals and a really cool fire dancer. The show was aired via ESPN America so we only saw a few commercials; it was rather disappointing because as everyone knows, the advertisements are half the fun.

Not really sure what they were supposed to be.

The game itself was disappointing; I was rooting for the Colts and to see them give away a game like that was a bit hard to take, especially as I was surrounded by about 400 Saints fans (for the obvious reasons, the French were cheering for the Saints, though I doubt many of them actually understand the rules of football.). I screamed so much I lost my voice. It was a good thing I decided not to work on Monday.

Awesome American fire dancer

Chinatown

Tang Freres on a Sunday-My favorite supermarket in Paris.

One of my favorite areas of Paris is Chinatown. It is located in the 13th arrondissement and while there is little there to make it a tourist destination, it is fantastic for finding strange cooking ingredients or if you happen to love the Asian flavor, whether it be the food, the atmosphere or the people. It is particularly fantastic if you go in the Spring when the horse chestnut trees along the main rues are blooming.

I particularly enjoy going on Sundays. Well, I love and hate going on Sunday. Most grocery stores are closed on Sunday, but not the ones in China town so toute la monde is there, dining, shopping and wandering around. I love it because it is one of the few areas of Paris that does not feel absolutely dead on Sunday. Often my laundry does not get done because I opt for a trip to the 13th instead.

I usually take my shopping caddy (I resisted buying one of these things for 4 years because I thought I would feel like a 90 year old lady with it but now I am ever so grateful to have it.), eat some delicious pho, stock up on lots of cheap fruits and veg and end up cursing like a sailor when I have to drag that damn caddy up the zillion steps of the metro. And no my metro does not have an escalator or elevator.

Anyway, I braved the awful weather last Sunday and went with a friend to Chinatown; we ate pho, did the normal rounds of shopping, indulged in lots of fantastic desserts and enjoyed the normal long walk to price check different items at different stores (miss Wal-Mart so much). Along the way, we noticed that the crowd was larger and more aggressive than usual. Finally we figured that it must be because the Chinese New Year is just around the corner. Neither of us had the courage to fight the crowds too much so we gave up sooner than we normally do and headed home.

Apparently if you are Italian and/or drive a Porsche, you get to park on the sidewalk.

The Grand Rex

The Grand Rex: 1, Boulevard Poissonnière 75002 Paris
Métro Bonne Nouvelle

I was going through my pictures and I am pretty sure I have never posted a picture of the Grand Rex. I've never been in this Grand old theater, but I pass by it about once a month when I go on one of my big walkabouts. I took this picture the opening night of the Michael Jackson show, This Is It. I tried very hard to get some of the images of Michael flashing on the screen (wasn't a big fan, but thought it would be cool to have a photo of the event), but I didn't manage to get any good ones.

I have to admit, the facade of the building is very impressive. The neighborhood is a bit dodgy, but it is sort of a mini-theater district. This being Paris, there are tons of theaters, but I am pretty sure the Grand Rex was one of the first big ones constructed in Paris. It opened in 1932 and at the time was the biggest theaters in Europe (or so the website says). If you are in Paris, you should walk by it as it is near the Opera Garnier.

A Long Overdue Christmas Post

The magnificent Christmas tree inside Galleries Lafayette. Absolutely worth the crowd to get a look at this.

I am just slightly ashamed that I did post these before Christmas and would be even more so if I hadn't been so busy. But packing, working, buying presents, organizing my apartment so that nothing would be damaged during a month's vacancy, well what can I say? It was a bit much this year. I did however, take photos of some of the Christmas lights in Paris. So here are some belated pictures for those of you who have never seen Paris really lit up. Christmastime is a lovely time to visit!

Lighted chandeliers on the rue leading up to Place Vendome

Place Vendome (kind of disappointed as it was decorated exactly the same as last year)

No idea why this particular street is Canadian-I am sure there is a good reason, though.

Sidewalk outside Printemps. The windows are decorated beautifully but I didn't have the courage to fight the crowd in order to get a good shot.