Buttes Chaumont

I've been trying to visit every park in Paris, so I decided to share some photos of Buttes Chaumont, in the 19th, with you. This park is huge, very hilly, and has tons of open green space. On the Sunday afternoon that I went it was full of people having a picnic in the shade (with the obligatory bottle of chilled rosé), sizzling in the open sun, or playing light sports for very short intervals of time. It's not particularly well kept or manicured, like the Parc Monceau, but if you climb up to this gazebo, perched on a hill, you'll get a great view of the surrounding area:Making my way back from the gazebo to my staked out spot in the shade, I was distracted by the sound of running water. It was too loud to be coming from the creek running through the middle of the park, and searching it out I found this waterfall.I felt like I was on Tom Sawyer's Island! All that was missing was the magnetic mystery mine.

Buttes Chaumont
Rue Botzaris or Rue Manin
Paris 75019
M: Buttes Chaumont or Botzaris
Open 7/7 from 7 am to 8 - 10 pm depending on the season.

tags: sights

Le Plomb du Cantal

I've passed by this café many times and never glanced at the menu. It just looks like your dime-a-dozen Paris cafés, great for a quick expresso or a happy hour drink with friends, but not necessarily known for the kitchen's skills. One day I was walking by and noticed the enormous salads dwarfing the tables, and made a mental note to myself to return. Last week I finally did, and boy am I glad. I can safely proclaim Le Plomb du Cantal the best place for salads in Paris.

Le Plomb du Cantal has an entire page on the menu dedicated to salads, ranging from the basic to the decadent, and all with reasonable prices (avg 11-15€) for the size: the salads are a meal in themselves, even for hearty eaters. I got my favorite, a chèvre chaud, which was the usual green salad and tomatoes, covered this time with thin slices of jambon de bayonne, and 3 entire rounds of melted chèvre on toast. Perfection. R. got his usual, the Périgourdine, which included magret de canard and gizzards. The summer specials, with fresh melon, also looked very refreshing.

The invasive terrace, taking over the sidewalk in front on the neighboring stores, affords great people watching opportunities, and you are practically shadowed by the Porte Saint-Martin. While the service is what you'd expect at any café, you're sure to find something you like on the gigantic menu.It's too warm right now for aligot, but I can't wait to come back here in the winter to try it with their steak.

Le Plomb du Cantal
4, bd Saint-Denis
75010 Paris
01 42 08 01 11
M: Strasbourg-Saint-Denis
7/7

tags: grub

Oh shiz...

I'm a reference on Wikipedia! For my awkward English translation of the "Coup de Boule" lyrics!

tags: surf's up

I'm a cheap date

-Punch cocktail at Happy hour at Les Etages: 4€

-Falafel & Orangina at L'As du Fallafel (to go): 5€
-Picnic on the Seine, at sunset:
Just another lovely Paris summer evening...

Les Etages
35, rue Vieille du Temple
75004 Paris
01 42 78 72 00
M: Saint-Paul
7/7, 3h30 pm - 2 am

L'As du Fallafel
34, rue des Rosiers
75004 Paris
01 48 87 63 60
M: Saint-Paul
Closed Saturdays

tags: grub, sights

Coup de Boule Paroles

So, the lyrics for the "Coup de Boule" Zidane song, by La Plage Records

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Coup de Boule
Attention c'est la danse du Coup de Boule!
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
Coup de boule à droite
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
Coup de boule à gauche
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)

Allez les bleus!
Allez,
Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (Coup de boule!)* 4x

Le rital, il a eu mal
Zidane il a frappé
l'Italien ne va pas bien
Zidane il a tapé
L'arbitre l'a vu à la télé
Zidane il a frappé
Mais la coupe on l'a ratée
On a quand même bien rigolé

Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (Coup de boule!) 4x

Trezeguet n'a pas joué
Quand il a joué il a raté
Il a tout fait capoté
La coupe on l'a ratée
Barthez n'a rien arreté
C'est pourtant pas compliqué
Les sponseurs sont tous fâchés
Mais Chirac a bien parlé

Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (Coup de boule!) 4x

Attention c'est la danse du Coup de Boule!
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
Coup de boule à droite
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
Coup de boule à gauche
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
Coup de boule avant
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
Coup de boule arrière
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)

Et maintenant penalty
Attention il va tirer
un, deux, trois...c'est raté!

Zidane il a frappé, Zidane il a tapé (4x)

On a quand meme bien rigolé
Zidane et Trezeguet
La coupe on l'a ratée
Zidane et Trezeguet (2x)
Et Trezeguet...et Trezeguet...et Trezeguet guet guet
Trezeguet
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
et Trezeguet
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
et Trezeguet
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
et Trezeguet
(Coup de boule, coup de boule)
TrezeguetDodgy English translation to follow... ***edit*** My own English translation, take it with a grain of salt.

***2nd EDIT: I am cool with anyone cutting and pasting this in their own blogs or webpages, but make sure to give me credit and to link back! Thank you! I have also changed the line about Chirac given the comments.***

***3rd EDIT: For those teachers using this in their lesson plans, or for all those who are coming through BlackBoard links, I'm really curious to know how it's working out. Please comment or drop me a line. Thanks :)***

Etienne's Translation of "Coup de Boule" lyrics:
Watch out, it's the headbutt dance!
(Headbutt, headbutt)
Headbutt to the right
(Headbutt, headbutt)
Headbutt to the left
(Headbutt, headbutt)

Go Blues!
Go,
Zidane, he hit [him], Zidane, he slapped [him] (Headbutt!)* 4x

The guido, he was hurt
Zidane hit [him]
The Italian's not doing well
Zidane slapped [him]
The ref saw it on the TV
Zidane hit [him]
But we lost the World Cup
We had a good laugh anyways

Zidane, he hit [him], Zidane, he slapped [him] (Headbutt!) 4x

Trezeguet didn't play
When he played he sucked
He screwed up everything
We lost the World Cup
Barthez didn't stop anything
And it's not even complicated
The sponsers are all angry
But Chirac was eloquent spoke well

Zidane, he hit [him], Zidane, he slapped [him] (Headbutt!) 4x

Watch out, it's the headbutt dance!
(Headbutt, headbutt)
Headbutt to the right
(Headbutt, headbutt)
Headbutt to the left
(Headbutt, headbutt)
Headbutt to the front
(Headbutt, headbutt)
Headbutt to the back
(Headbutt, headbutt)

And now it's the penalty
Attention please, he's gonna shoot
One, two, three...he missed!

Zidane, he hit [him], Zidane, he slapped [him] (4x)

We had a good laugh anyways
Zidane and Trezeguet
We lost the World Cup
Zidane and Trezeguet (2x)

And Trezeguet...and Trezeguet...and Trezeguet-guet-guet
Trezeguet
(Headbutt, headbutt)
and Trezeguet
(Headbutt, headbutt)
and Trezeguet
(Headbutt, headbutt)
and Trezeguet
(Headbutt, headbutt)


*You can't really tell if it's "il l'a tapé" or "il a tapé"...R. said the latter and thus it goes, although given the original Zidane song is "Zidane y va marquer"...who knows. Explanations welcomed.

tags: French characters, AV

Coming Attractions

I've been meaning to get these up forever, be patient...
Le Fils du Soleil
La 25ème Image here it is
Rue Princesse - A Creperie, an English Pub, a Soup Bar, and a Club
Le Bistrot des Oies
Le Petit Chavignol
Le Petit Marcel
Jean-Pierre Frelet check it out here
My return Au Cambodge, Zen Zoo, & Chez Stella

In the meantime I'll give a quick rundown of the crêpe stands (not creperies/restaurants) around Paris. While I can't claim to have visited them all, and this list will only mention a handful, all crêpe stands are not equal.

My favorites:
-Blvd. St-Michel, right after the main Gilbert Jeune (I think it's also the cheapest, at 2.60€ for a Nutella crêpe).
-At St-Augustin, at the café on the corner of the main place and Rue de la Pépinière. They are so buttery!

The Worst:
-At the refreshment stand in the Parc Monceau. 3.50€ for a soggy microwaved mess? No thank you.
-Next to the McDonalds at Strasbourg-Saint-Denis. I think they put a lot of water in their Nutella.
-"Aux Meilleurs Crêpes de Paris" - Grands-Boulevards, right next to Le Brébant. What really bugs me is that they have the audacity to proclaim themselves the best crêpes in Paris when actually they are the worst, hands down. The crêpes are heavy, thick and rubbery.

Just fine:
-The one at Madeleine, right in front of the Orange Store.
-The ones on Avenue General Leclerc, between Alesia and Mouton Duvernet.
-The ones at Les Halles/Châtelet.

Suggestions/additions welcome!

tags: grub

Coup de Boule

And the newest installment in the Zidane saga is the song immortalizing the headbutt and Trezeguet's missed penalty:

powered by ODEO"Coup de Boule" by La Plage, 2:43.

I was glued to the screen during his interviews on TF1 and Canal+. I thought the TF1 was better (more detailed, more personal, less rehearsed?). He didn't say the exact words that Materazzi used, just confirming that the insult involved the women in his family, and he never once pronounced Materazzi's name, referring to him only as "he" or "that player"...definitely still some sore feelings. And this article on Yahoo sports [fr] says that according to FIFA code, teams can be disqualified if found guilty of discrimination or racist behavior...but I wouldn't hold my breath.

***EDIT*** Also I just came across this awesome Zidane compilation. It's long (~9 minutes), but definitely worth it - it has his goals, assists, controls, and of course taking down the defenders in his path.


tags: French characters, AV, Ah, France,

Even ESPN can't accept France's loss...

I know I haven't written much. It's summer, it's hot, I'm lazy, I'm sad/depressed about the final. But I've got to share this with you. This morning I was looking at the France team gear available. I think I'm going to get this shirt, and I'm waffling over jerseys. Since Arsenal has a new sponser, the old O2 jerseys are on sale, and I do like the classic maroon ones. But I was most surprised to come across this recurrent glitch on the Footlocker/Champs/ESPN shop affiliates:Apparently even American shops are having a hard time getting over France's loss.

Because you see, this is the adidas shirt that would've been on sale if France had won. It's a bit small to make out, but it is the French version of the Italy World Champion Tee, currently on sale & available:For some reason the French one is showing up in their World Cup products, even though when you click on it an error message appears. Oops indeed - giving the French fans a reminder of what could've been is like rubbing salt in the wound! Anyone know if I could actually get my hands on one of these anywhere?

***UPDATE*** The France shirt is no longer showing up on the websites.


tags: French characters, AV, Ah, France, shopping, surf's up

Allez Les Bleus!

So, I've caught World Cup fever like everyone else in France...it is AMAZING. I breathed a sigh of relief, along with the rest of France, when they made it past the first round by the skin of their teeth. I was nervous for the Spain match, and they blew me away. By the time Brazil came around, I would've been happy for them to have made it just that far...and yet once again they rocked. And then they beat Portugal's diving team masquerading as the soccer team! What a fabulous comeback story! Already by the quarter-finals I was too nervous to entirely concentrate on the game, so I don't know how I'm going to make it through Sunday. Let me share some of my highlights of it all so far.

De Villepin's take on the Portugal match: "C'est une équipe qui continue de nous faire rêver. Alors bien sûr on a tremblé, mais c'est une équipe qui a la grâce, c'est une équipe qui va aller jusqu'au bout parce qu'elle est soutenue par tout un peuple, par tout un pays, avec beaucoup d'émotion, beaucoup d'amour. Et finalement, au bout du chemin, c'est ce qui fait la différence. Je pense que ce soir on a eu un match particulièrement difficile. Ce qui veut dire que cette équipe est expérimentée, elle a utilisé toute sa sagesse, toute son expérience pour battre le Portugal..."
This dude could go on forever about anything. What a Chatty Cathy! My favorite is the part about how the team is supported by "all the people, the entire nation, with a lot of emotion, a lot of love"...do I hear violins?

The Zidane song that I can't get out of me head (warning: it is very catchy):

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Cristiano Ronaldo's Oscar-winning performances:I'd never seen this joker play before; I always thought he was HOT in the photos, but after the England and France matches with Portugal I can't stand him. What a disgrace.

And of course, a shout out to my favorite #12, Thierry Henry:Gimme a Huuuug!

And more seriously, workin' it in the Brazil game:Dida's look here is priceless.

Fingers crossed til Sunday!

tags: French characters, AV, Ah, France