Bryan in Europe: Bryan in Paris- February Edition

First off, Harry Potter is going to be shown in France (13th of July) before the US and the UK (15th of July). How is this fair? I'm in Edinburgh. Everyday I cross the cafe where Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book. Also the US is the biggest exporter of entertainment in the world. I don't know who France had to please to arrange getting it first. Insane.

Ok, that I got that off my chest let me tell you about my wonderful second trip to Paris.

Last time I went to Paris my main gripes were
1) Too cold and windy which led to me getting really sick and being unable to sleep
2) Language barrier like a brick wall
3) EasyJet was a hassle on my return flight

This second time I was in Paris all of last times problems disappeared like a miracle. Also, the food was as good as ever. Let me start off by saying that if you ever want great macaroons, you have to go to...

Above: Maison Larnicol.

The store is covered head to toe in amazing chocolates, meringues, macaroons, anything.

Avalanches of Meringues.

Above: Mountains of Macaroons (+ Chocolate holder).

One thing they don't get here is scaling. The prices were as follows (serious, this is what it said)

1 Macaroon - 1€
7 Macaroons - 7€
16 Macaroons - 16€
64 Macaroons - 64€
112 Macaroons - 112€

They must really not believe in discounting.

Above: Segragation, eh?

Above: Perfect for those who lacked candy shoes.

So Caiqian and I went all out and bought candies and desserts to bring back to the apartment.

Above: Delicious Cheap Meringue.

Each of these had a unique flavour, and all were delicious. From left to right the flavours are Lucky Charms Marshmallows (really!), strawberry, caramel, and mint with chocolate topping. The meringues were so soft. In Caiqian's words, they were

"Softly crunchy when biting into [them] but full of melted soft goodness on the inside" -Caiqian

Above: Left: Rose Right: Berry.

The macaroons were even better. They put up no resistance when biting into them, and were full of filling. Caiqian opinion is that they're

"Deceivingly soft and full of flavor"-Caiqian

Above: The best kind of egg.

These were fun and chocolatey. Some had nuts, some had a hazelnut chocolate inside, while others were white chocolate. The ones without nuts were my favourite.

Couldn't eat desert forever however much I wanted to. So we went out to eat. We walked down this really nice food market on the way to a Chinese restaurant. We have future plans to try out fondue places.

Above: Food Market.

Above: We didn't trust others with my camera.

We eventually made it to a Chinese place that had great roast duck and fried rice. It was so good we went there for lunch the next day even though it was out of the way. Sunday's meal was a bit more delux since we also had the roast pork.

Above: Saturday Lunch.

Above: Sunday Lunch.

Above: Caiqian is anxious because it's so amazing.

After going to the Chinese place we decided to go to Berthillon. a recommended world-famous ice cream joint in Paris. On the way we passed by Notre Dame, which I only know because of the Disney movie. Unfortunately I lacked the foresight to do a hunched picture, but we snapped some pictures of ourselves in front of it.

Above: Notre Dame.

Above: It's hard to do the arm-length group shot.

Above: Almost as Spiky as Scotland.

Eventually we found it. I'm surprised it was only 60 years old, I guess I'm used to Scotland where <500 years means it's young.

Above: Berthillon.

After we were seated we shared a cup with three scoops of ice cream. Our flavours were white chocolate, vanilla, and chocolate praline with orange. Do you know which is which?

Above: Well DO YOU?

If you thought the one on top was vanilla, you are like me, dead wrong. The top is white chocolate, the caramel-looking favour on bottom is actually vanilla! I suppose if you leave vanilla bean scrapings in long enough, they bleed and darken the ice cream. Either way, when we started eating, I could see why it was so pricey. The spoon went in effortlessly into the ice cream, it was so soft. Caiqian liked mixing the white chocolate and vanilla. Maybe I can slowly convert her to white chocolate...

Above: It also came with a crunchy wafer.

Caiqian's official ice cream review is that it was

"Heavenly soft but still fully formed ice cream. a perfect balance of freshly fragrant and richly sweet in a spoonful of vanilla and white chocolate flavors. [The wafer] was crunchy but not too crumbly, crisp but not hard, and was infused with some sort of nut and nut oil" -Caiqian

One thing we did that was a bit of a no-no was splitting an order of ice cream. To make us not hated by the waiter, we also ordered a hot chocolate. That's when we got this.

Above: DIY Hot chocolate.

Instead of giving us hot chocolate, they gave us a cup and two pitchers, one with molten chocolate and one with foaming hot milk. We then mixed them to make a fresh-made hot chocolate.

Above: Perfect Swirl.

Before going I did a quick bathroom run. This was peculiar. Anyways, that's neither here nor there.

Above: Apparently Parisians have square buttockses... buttoxi?

This wouldn't be a proper Caiqian-related post without crepe pictures. This week features bananas, nutella, and vanilla ice cream. What a perfect girl. She's going to be a crepe master someday!

Above: Art being made.

We then had some hot chocolate (except is was called something else) from a Haagen-Dazs store. It wasn't DIY like the Berthillon one, but it was nice and hot and creamy.

Above: Some Variant on Hot Chocolate.

Its only defence was how hot it was, once it was bearable we drank that stuff down fast.

Why Bryan Will Never Stereotype Parisians Ever Again

So we woke up from a nap with only two hours to get to the airport. I wasn't ruined, but I was rushed. I packed my charger, mouse, hard drive, clothes, homework, and got out there. We started running to the train, and rushed down to see it, there was no time! Caiqian and I squeezed in a crowded car and then several things happened in one second. This part for me is remembered in slow-mo

1) A lady to my right on the train looks at me and said "pardon!"

2) I see a horrified look on Caiqian's face

3) The train makes the ding sound of doors closing

4) I look and spin around in confusion

5) I see a hand extending in the car holding my BOARDING PASS and PASSPORT, I grab it immediately

6) The doors close as the hand barely avoids being trapped

7) The train zooms off, I didn't even know if it was a guy or a girls arm.

I never saw the persons face who completely saved my life. A complete stranger risked their arm to give Bryan his citizenship. The whole ride back Caiqian and I were in a daze, amazed by my luck. I decided that I can no longer generalize the French population and call them snooty or rude or any other thing Hollywood has taught me. Someone in France saved my life. I am eternally grateful.

After arriving at the airport, Caiqian and I said our goodbyes. When I went through security to find my laptop, and it was not there! Oh no, I must have left it Caiqian's! My flight then delays for an hour, so I look for something to do. I decide to try extra homework.