Centre Georges Pompidou

On Saturday I went to the Centre Georges Pompidou, a modern art museum, with Vanessa and Daniel.  Vanessa and I both got lost trying to get out of the station (it was HUGE and contained a mall).  When I finally reached the outside world, I stumbled upon a Canadian guy giving a unicycle performance.  I watched while I waited for Vanessa and Daniel to show up.

One of the greatest things about being in Paris is that almost everything is available for students for free or at a reduced rate.  We all got into the museum without paying, and even got to check our coats (and my extra bag) for free, too!  We spent a few hours roaming around.  I tried not to go overboard with pictures, instead attempting to appreciate what was there, not through my camera's viewfinder.  There were a lot of... interesting pieces.  That's modern art for you!

La blouse roumaine by Matisse

I realized that I do like Henri Matisse's work, though.  I wasn't familiar with a lot of it, but after seeing quite a few pieces by him...  Well, I was charmed.

We talked about wandering around, maybe even seeing a movie at some point (there's a cinema in the museum), but in the end we were all just hungry.  We left the museum in search of dinner.  French food sounded like a good idea.  That was the general consensus.

"Is that what I think it is?"

Upon our initial wandering, we came across a boulangerie/pâtisserie (bakery) that had some delicious-looking stuff in the window.  Normal-looking stuff that we were very tempted to buy.  Once we walked into the bakery, though, we realized what part of the city we were in.  There were pastries and breads in some odd shapes...  Well, now I know that « baguettes magiques » does not necessarily mean "magic wands."  Indeed, we found ourselves in the gay district of Paris.  Daniel bought something that we all ended up trying (a type of cheese bread... yum), and we were happy... but now even hungrier for dinner.  We continued our search!

Eventually we found a brasserie with a decently-priced menu, complete with a formule (a special deal).  It didn't work out the way we thought it would, but we ordered anyway.  Daniel really wanted to order duck, and I didn't want to eat beef (I'm admittedly afraid to because, uh, hello... steak tartare?!), so I ended up ordering it, too.  I felt guilty for doing it, because I really like ducks... but it was a very French food, and I felt obligated to try it at least once.  I couldn't remember for sure if I'd ever had it back home.  Even if I had, France is definitely the place to eat it--they know what they're doing.  It was very good, too.  Lots of dark meat, which I usually don't eat... but that's practically all it was!  Vanessa was a little braver (or maybe just more Portuguese) and ordered steak à cheval, which I learned does NOT mean horse meat... but is basically a hamburger (w/o bun) with an egg on top.  The egg "sits" on the meat like a person sits on a horse.  Now I get it!

...  Also, I really want to try the onion soup while I'm here.  Daniel ordered it and it smelled so delicious.  I regretted not ordering it, too.

After dinner, we wanted dessert (of course), but didn't want to order it at the restaurant because it was a little expensive to do so.  We went off in search of cookies and other treats, only to be disappointed by the places we stopped in.  What did we really want to do?  Go back to the bakery we originally found in the gay district.  I took a picture that had the name of the place, so we tried to retrace our steps--not an easy task.  We asked for directions, which to me was just funny...  No one knew where it was, though.  Oh, well.  I think we'd only be able to find it if we came from the direction of the museum again, but maybe that's just me.

We wound up picking a really nice little bakery that had pretty cookies in the window (yay), but also these gorgeous fruit tarts... which I couldn't resist.  I dropped all intentions of getting cookies and macarons and opted for the tart instead--an excellent decision.  I think that this may be a regular treat to get.  For example, when I'm not sure of a flavor/type of thing to get, I usually go with raspberry, and I have liked it every time.  Maybe I'll have the same luck with fruit tarts?  I mean... how wrong can you go with fruit?  Especially when it is this visually appealing?  I'm willing to take that risk.

We ate our treats outside of the bakery, which is not the most economical decision...  I resisted temptation to go back and get something else, but Daniel ended up walking back in to get what I think was called a cannelle--well, it looked pretty good.  The woman in the bakery ended up giving it to him for free!  That was sweet.  We'll definitely go back there if we come across it again...  Well, I will, if I do!  Now if only I had the address...  Ha ha!

We went back to my building to print some things (Daniel's concert ticket, my convention ticket), and I showed off my newly decorated room and was all hospitable and such.  Afterward we went to Vanessa's foyer for a wine and cheese party with a few of our other friends, and some people I didn't know.  I didn't have any wine, but I did try some new cheeses.  Yum.

Ugh...  Why do I always write about food this late?  I just want to have it all over again!