Mes Parents in Paris

Today is a national holiday in France, although I don't know the significance of May 1. And all over the city, on literally almost every street corner, people were selling lillies-of-the-valley. Again, I don't know why. But my mom bought me one for the apartment.


We visited Marais this morning, although many stores were closed for the holiday. The elusive falafal shop was actually open, so we had shwarmas for lunch. We walked around the area and shopped in the stores that were open, including an olive oil store and Thanksgiving, a small American grocery store. I ran around Thanksgiving like a little kid. "Marshmallows! Cheerios! Cream cheese!" A small bag of Nestle chocolate chips cost 5.50 euros. A jar of peanut butter, 6.70 euros. I bought an obnoxiously overpriced box of brown sugar Pop Tarts, which is strange because I haven't really eaten Pop Tarts in years. But a few weeks ago I had a weird breakfast craving for brown sugar Pop Tarts, and who knows when it could come back. Best to be prepared.


Naturally, my parents weren't as amused by Thanksgiving, and were more appalled by the inflated prices. When I came home and told Dave about it, he wasn't interested, either. He said "Why would you want to eat that stuff? (the marshmallows, pop tarts, etc) We didn't eat it when we lived there." True, but sometimes it's nice to have a reminder of home, and it's good to know that if I really get homesick I know where I can find a box of Cheerios.


After Marais I wanted to visit Fauchon, but considering May Day I decided to play it safe and steered us toward Montmarte. We hiked to the top and met Dave, who had spent the morning running. He came prepared, and dropped his book and an orange into my backpack.


My parents did a walk through the cathedral, then we hiked the dizzying spiral staircase to the top of the dome for a beautiful view of Paris. Then the usual walk into Montmarte, which was as crowded as always. We took an alternate path down the hill to pass Les Deux Moulins, the cafe from Amelie. It looks larger in the movie. And cleaner.