on paris: survival

**Because of the quantity of lists that would be required to explain all we did in Paris, we'll instead be doing a series of "on Paris" posts, reflecting on the time as we prepare for life in Nancy. For details on where we went, check the ::itinerary:: page.

Well, we've made it. We are in Nancy, in our hotel room again after a long afternoon of walking about town for our first glimpse of the schools where we will work & a louer signs–studios for rent.

Our walk took us to the Arab Quarter of town, a spot where several apartments are available & affordable; usually, we find one or the other. This is the only part of town where stores are open (outside of a lunch bread-buying window from 10:30 to 2 p.m.). We took advantage of it & bought ourselves some groceries to help our budget while we're trapped in a We're-Economy-Apartment-Hunting hotel room.

This is what 13 euros of groceries looks like when you have no can opener, hot plate, microwave or fridge:

1 sac of pain grillés (crunchy crackers), 1 reduced-sugar orange marmalade, 1 can of tartine canard (duck SPAM), 1 small cheese, a baguette, digestif cookies filled with chocolate, 4 apples, cherry tomatoes, peanuts, an avocado, a kitchen knife for eating things

 We're learning. We've got some protein in there. We're still really struggling to fit vegetables into our diet, which is heartbreaking for me. At least we're getting a shit ton of fiber. (Get it?) Our pacing (in eating, walking & taking in the sights) has gotten a lot better based on a few key things we learned in Paris...

So this is what got us through Paris:

1. Paris Museum Pass: Joe spoke to this, but it's true. Not only did it save us money, it kept us motivated to go see things. When we didn't, we felt like we were wasting money.
2. Our youth: Paris is the city of stairs. Truly. Every monument is covered with them, & every hotel uses them exclusively. Without our strong knees & solid hip bones, we couldn't have made it. The first few days took a bit of adjustment (& naps in parks) to get through.
3. Sandwiches: We ate these for lunch & dinner many days (5 out of 7, actually). We got too full eating the whole thing the first day & opted to share them for the rest, meaning a meal (1/2 a baguette of sandwich + a pastry + an apple) set us back about 6 euros.
4. Sweaters: Apparently, fall starts in mid-August around here. I thought it was odd the first day when women were wearing so much clothing, but when I got to the top of the Tour Eiffel in only my sleeveless dress, I realized that I was the one looking crazy. From then on, we wore sweaters, socks & a scarf.
5. The métro: After a few days, we realized that we could have walked truly anywhere in the city from our hostel. Regardless, it was easier & more timely many times to utilize Paris's outstanding subway system. The signs, set-up, price & amount of stops make it the easiest way to get around the city.
6. Macarons, as seen above: I was too strapped for cash last time I was in France to let myself enjoy any French pastries. That's right. My pastry experience was limited to pain au chocolat & croissants. This time, we're finding inexpensive ways to get pastires (like buying one piece of cake for two euros and sharing it after dinner or four macarons when they're on sale). It's a delicious cultural experience that we love sharing with each other. The best so far were the macarons: coffee, almond, lime and raspberry flavored.

And that's not to mention cheap beers that could be found in our neighborhood & the great people that worked the bars. Joe had this Pelforth on our first night out, while I stuck with my tradition biere pêche. I know. Peach beer sounds disgusting, but when you're drinking the cheapest of cheep blond beers, the light peach syrup really helps the flavor & saves the head. Dieu merci for pub life.

This was especially helpful when we bought a bottle of wine that we thought was a twist-off & realized it was a cork. This happened Monday. We are still searching for a corkscrew. Come on, France.