In France, the weekend of June 21st is called Fete de la Musique. This means that all of France is invited to country wide music concerts...for free. In Paris, there are huge concerts that happen throughout the city. Everyone from local artists to well known groups come to perform for the public. This year, France brought in Lana Del Rey to perform for free at a venue called L'Olympia. If you don't know who Lana Del Rey is, you should look her up. She is, in my opinion, similar to Amy Winehouse. I always think its interesting that the French love American singers and artists so much when they have some great musicians themselves! Despite the waiting in line for three hours in the hot sun, she was totally worth seeing. Before she went on stage, there were local artists from around France that performed and they were all very nice to hear. This festival is so huge that on my way back to my apartment, I ran into five other stages that had live performances. It is quite the event.
The other night, my roommates and I went on a walk around Paris. Sometimes we choose a random Metro station to go to and then walk around at. That night we chose the stop "Madeline" because it is the location of the Madeline church. There was something special going on that night because the giant steps leading up to the church were covered in beautiful flower arrangements. The Madeline alone is beautiful, but the flowers made it even more lovely. We also passed the Chanel store, the Place de la Concorde, and the Tuileries Gardens.
If you are in Paris and looking for a great gluten free meal, I would highly suggest Helmut Newcake or NoGlu. Both of these restaurants are gluten free and sell phenomenal baked goods. NoGlu made a delicious smoked salmon and toast, brie and cheddar pizza, and chocolate tart for dinner when I went. NoGlu makes a mean chocolate lava cake, or in French, "fondant au chocolat." One of my roommates is gluten free as well so sometimes we go and get a "fondant au chocolat" and enjoy it on the canals. For the youth of Paris, sitting on the banks of the Seine or banks of the canals that run through Paris is a popular thing to do. People often bring a picnic and some wine and make an evening of watching the boats go up and down the river. Its really nice to sit on the bank enjoying the atmosphere of Paris while eating a killer chocolate cake.
While I am on the topic of food, a few nights ago, I went to a friend's apartment for a lovely dinner party. A fellow student from Sweden had made a amazing menu for dinner. He made a fresh cheese platter from the market, roast chicken with herbs and white wine, roasted asparagus and potatoes, and a salad with anchovies and capers. After eating veggies and rice in my own apartment for the past couple of weeks, this was a very welcome change. Let me tell you, I am going to try to make that chicken soon. Too good!
On another walk, a roommate and I ventured to the Louvre at dusk. It is so nice to see large tourist attractions in the evenings because almost no one is there. There is something calm about these places at night. Besides the occasional person trying to sell you a light up Eiffel Tower, there are mostly locals there. Walking through the Tuileries was much the same since most of the people there were locals having a picnic on the lawn of the gardens.
And now for some photos:
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| The Madeline Church with Flowers |
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| Fete de la Musique |
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| Lana Del Rey-L'Olympia |
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| Fondant au Chocolat: Courtesy of Google Images |
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| The Chanel Store |
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| Nutella and Raspberry Macaroons |
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