Phat, not Fat.

I saw my first fat man today. He had a tiny backpack on and he was waiting for the Metro. I had seen a fat woman two days ago on the Metro. Those are, literally, the only two fat people I have seen in Paris. I have seen, perhaps, 10 other moderately overweight people. Though, I can't be sure some of them weren't Americans, since we have been in several touristy spots (like Angelina). It is amazing how big Americans are. It is equally amazing how thin the Parisians are. I don't know what to make of it. Surely, not all Parisians are walking each day as much as Team Northrup is. But they do walk a lot more than Americans. And the food is so rich. But the serving sizes are appropriate. Not like Cheesecake Factory. It is really bizarre. 7 days to see a fat man. Paris really has nothing in common with the Minnesota State Fair. Except that Quinn did say the toilettes yesterday on the sewer tour looked like State Fair bathrooms...I don't know if that is good for the State Fair or bad for the sewer tour.

Again, we left the apartment by 11:00am. We took a 2 train Metro ride to Bastille, where we snapped a quick photo. And from there we just walked and window shopped. We walked a large section of Paris North and West of the Bastille called Marais. Here there are lots of upscale boutiques, but not the mega brand names like the Champs Elysees. Its like shopping in Carmel California, but a little more practical. You get the sense that the shops throughout Marais are not for the tourists, but for the locals. There are lots of art galleries, mens suits and dress shirts, women's dresses and blouses, shoes, handbags, and, of course, the corner cafe or boulangerie. Window shopping here is fantastic.

We made our way to the Place Des Vosges, where the kids took a break and played at the park. Victor Hugo had a home in this spot. There were lots of fur coats walking around this little nook. And also there were a lot of art galleries. We continued North and West until we got to a little corner cafe called Cafe Breizh (cafe of Breton: a part of France known for their crepes and butter). Pretty much all they do here is crepes. So, if, like me, you are not a fan of crepes, you will probably not love this restaurant. But, since Janna and the girls are crepeheads, we ordered up lunch crepes and dessert crepes. Janna loved both of hers: vegetables, spinach, cheese and egg for lunch followed by a carmel crepe for dessert. The eggs we've eaten so far are brilliant orange and have almost a creamy taste, so good. Also, the cheese (Gruyere in our crepes today) is raw milk, which is living on the edge. From what I understand, raw milk cheeses are prohibited in the US because of the link to listeria...dangerous living! But, delicious, creamy and smooth.

From there we made our way down toward Notre Dame, in hopes of making it to Sainte Chapelle prior to sundown. We got hung up along the way at various shops. Janna coerced me into a couple of men's shops and I walked out with a couple new things for the wardrobe. I kept saying I didn't need anything, but succumbed to the pressure after I heard Janna say, "Maybe you DO." I am good at taking the hint.

We finally made it to Sainte Chapelle at 4:31. Unfortunately, they close at 4:30. So that will have to be another day. After buying some souveniers for the girls and their friends, we hopped on the Metro and headed toward the George V exit on the Champs. Our goal was to have tea at the Four Seasons. But after being told that it would be a 45 minute wait, ended up eating at a sandwich shop on the Champs. It was our first "fast food" experience here in Paris. You stand in line, order your baguette with jambon (ham) or poulet (chicken) or you can have the American style which has an egg (how is that American?) and tomatoes and the ever present fromage. The place was packed as any fast food place in America, but the food was pretty good and hit the spot.

Then, we returned to the bustle of the Champs d'Elysee, which was full of what seemed to be millions of tourists. I will have to say after a day spent strolling through quiet streets with lovely small shops, the Champs is not my favorite place. From right below the Arc d'Triomphe we hopped on the 2 line of the Metro and headed for the Blanche stop which popped us right out in front of the Moulin Rouge. We walked up our favorite nearby street, Rue Lepic and picked up some candies, cookies (the shop in the window said they were American chocolate chip, but they were more like sables with chocolate chips...someone could make a killing with Tollhouse cookies around here) and more crepes (what is up with these crepes?). Janna also picked up some dinner, since she wasn't hungry earlier when we were on the Champs.

All said and done, we were back by 7:30. We are all tired. We walked a lot today. And tho we accomplished very little, we saw a lot of the city again. I don't think I would do Paris any other way. Wake up and walk. That should be the motto here. -- Jeff and Janna