Dennis & Aimee's Big Gay Paris Adventure

I would like it to stop raining, s'il vous plait.

Today (Sunday) I got into the office (which is locked, and guarded by a non-bilingual man) by saying "S'il vou plais, je voudrais visite mon bureau!" It worked!

This morning I spent an hour and a half in the farmer's market outside of my hotel (It's there on Thurs and Sun) and I bought:

2 kilos of little clams (coques)
2 lemons (citron)
spinach (espinace, I think)
a shallot (very similar if not the same)
a rotiserrie chicken (poulet) (cooked) with onions and raisins inside
4 tomatoes (tomates)
5 baby avocadoes (avocat)
a bottle of white wine (vin blanc)
a tiny pecan pie (pecan pie)
a small container of whole dried cayenne peppers (?)
a bunch of cilantro (I have no idea)
1/4 kilo of bacon (lardons) that's cut crossways, into little strips or "bacon worms"

I'm making steamed clams tonight! Woo! Their farmer's market is outrageous. SF has *nothing* on Paris in the fresh food department. We will have no shortage of delicious things to eat. Sausages and beefs and porks and cheeses and veggies galore. It was outstanding. Also, salt cod. I want to learn to make something with that.

I bought a great ring with funny beads that look like eyes dangling from a round band that's like the matching rings I first made for me and Dennis.

A fountain at Rive Gauche (meaning pretty much exactly "the left side of the river"):

The city is filthy with arches. This one is in Saint Denis, which is where the hookers hang out. It's much smaller than the Arch de Triomphe.

This is a typical, cute paris alley. Just precious.

This is at Pont Neuf (new point) and I'm not sure what the deal is, but it's pretty and deco and made of glass and steel.


p.s. I soaked the clams in the sink for a few hours to get the sand out. After scrubbing them I cooked them by frying the lardons in the bottom of a big pot, then pouring in white wine, clams, spinach, tomatoes, lemon, and hot peppers. Boil for 15 mins or so until the clams are open, and eat. So so good. Yes, I ate all of them in one sitting.

--Aimee