Vacay Trip # 4: Paris (8) Things I bought お土産偏

Here comes the traditional posting of what I bought in Paris.
Undoubtedly, the most expensive things I bought were books in French and Japanese. I must've spent close to $100. But to be fair, these are something impossible to buy in Switzerland and I have no regrets!

恒例の旅のお土産偏。フランスで一番お金を浪費したのは食べ物でもなく、ブランド品でもなく本！スイスは本が高い上日本語書籍は絶対に手に入らないのでブックオフとジュンク堂があるパリでは真っ先に行ってきました。後フランス語の参考書は数冊。多分100ユーロ近くは使ったんじゃないかな？；＾＾

Ah yes, Japanese food. I still have a lot of leftovers from what my mother left me when she came to visit in May but these were wonderful and about half the price of what you could find in Geneva.　

オペラ座近くにある日本食品店でもちょこちょこ買いました。この時はラーメンがものすごく食べたかったので棒ラーメンも　笑。これがおいしいのよね～　他には海苔、インスタント味噌汁、玄米茶。なんとも地味な品揃え　笑

And of course, French food as well. I knew I can buy most things at the border crossing in Geneva so I didn't stock up on too much
ジュネーブに戻っても国境を越えてスーパーにいけるのでそんなに買わなかったのだけどとりあえず数品

Never forget the drugstores at Rue du Four where all cosmetics are in bulk and comes at a price about 30% cheaper than normal places, which means about half the price in Geneva. I stocked up on the winter essentials like moisturizers, and chapstick (the best moisturizers on my lips from Nuxe!). Also the standards  like makeup removers, and sunblock....even dental floss! hehe

そして今回ももちろん行ってきましたよ～Ｒｕｅ　Ｄｕ　Ｆｏｕｒにある激安ドラッグストア。今回も激戦の末ゲットした戦利品！これらスイスでも全て手に入るのだけど半額　；＾＾

Let's not forget Muji, the best stationary store in the world. I even convinced R and he likes them too now. I had to buy some notebooks because in Europe many of the notebooks are not in lines or college ruled but have so many lines (I don't know how to explain, you'll see it when you come here) and it makes it really hard to write. Plus Muji uses recycled material and in very minimalist styles which I love. Really happy to see that their brand is taking off in Europe.

無印はやはりはずせません。しかも地元の人にもかなり人気なよう。シンプルなデザインはどこ行っても人気なようです。

What a pot? you ask. Yes, I haven't had a pot since I moved to my dorm in May and the ones in the kitchen are disgusting. Very good buy! Also some adhesive hooks for my bathroom :) I know this all sounds silly but seriously they're very costly in Switzerland!

And lastly some warm clothes I needed to survive the cold winter in Switzerland. Wish I had more time to shop!服飾類は時間がなかったのであまり買えなかったのですが、スイスの寒ーい冬に備えてペタンコブーツと厚めのマフラーをゲット

あ、一つだけブランド品買いました！ロンシャンのトーとバッグ。以前使っていたものがボロボロになっていよいよ壊れそうになってきたのでシャンゼリゼ本店にて購入♪　店員さんも見て笑ってました。4年間ヘビーローテーションでたくさん使わせていただきました。お疲れ様～

Vacay Trip # 4: Paris (7) Japan carvings satisfied パリで「日本」満喫

As you may well know, I haven't been back to Japan since May 2013. Although Japan is not technically my home, it is a place dear close to me.  As Paris has one of the biggest Japanese concentration in continental Europe (both as immigrants and tourists), I just knew this was a close to Japan as I could get. First of all, I dashed to book-off, a well known mega-chain second hand bookstore where I infused myself with Japanese books. I forgot to take a picture but there's also a proper Japanese bookstore, Junkudo clsoe by as well.

今回のパリに来た目的は友達に会う事であるのは間違いないんだけどそれ以外はブランド品を買う訳でもなく、高級フランス料理を食べるわけでもなく、「日本」を堪能するため。2014年5月以降日本に行っていないため、もう餓鬼状態。夢にまで日本食や東京にいる夢を見る　汗。パリはヨーロッパ大陸にて一番日本人の比率も多いので日本のものが溢れている上、値段もお手ごろ！まずはオペラ座でブックオフとジュンク堂へ。

お次は和食！
ジュネーブで和食のランチは普通の定食で3500円、ラーメンは2500円します。ありえない・・・
今回は地元と日本人在住者に人気のお店へ。お昼時間少しずらしていったのにほぼ満員！5品コースでなんと20ユーロ。シェフはもちろん、店員さんも全て日本人です。あーおいしかった～

Next day: Japanese food. Yes there is of course Japanese food in Geneva but it horrendously expensive (seriously, 30 CHF~ for lunch?). I went to a Japanese restaurant tucked away right near the military school in the 7th district. It's run by Japanese people (quite rare globally) and their dishes are so authentically Japanese it wants to make you cry. I had the 5 course tasting menu for a whooping 20 Euros and it was worth every cent possible. If you are craving Japanese food, you cannot go wrong with this place, and this comes from someone who lived in Tokyo for 7 years eating the most gourmet food. On another note, there are also a wide variety of menus available for dinner (you can only choose from a few for lunch) which I've heard excellent reviews but should be more expensive. :

Amuse-bouche: A combination of California rolls, soy-sauce infused chicken, cucumber salad, and vinegar seaweed　
まずは前菜。海草サラダ、カリフォルニアロール、鶏の醤油佃煮、きゅうりのサラダ

Hors-d'oeuvre: simmered daikon with thick sauce　2品目：ふろふき大根のあんかけ

Vegetable course: charcoaled eggplant with miso-sauce　3品目：茄子の味噌田楽

I forgot to take a picture but there was also a seaweed salad after this!4品目は撮り忘れましたが、わかめの酢の物でした

And finally the main tempura course. Not too oily, very crunch and perfect dipping sauce. YUM　そしてメインの天ぷら定食。カリッと揚がっていて美味しかった～

Wakaba 
Address: 20 Rue de l'Exposition 75007 Paris France
Phone: +33 1 45 51 90 81

そして何を血迷ったのか、ラーメンも食べたい！ということで最近できた千葉ラーメン「なりたけ」のパリ支店へ。開店5分前に行ったのですが、既に列が！どうやら観光客と地元人にも人気なよう。入店した瞬間これが「ラーメン屋だー！！！」と涙出でそうに（；＿；）。こちらではスープベースを日本と同様「さっぱり」「普通」「ギトギト」と選べます。回りは「さっぱり」が多かったけど、ここは「普通」でしょ。チャーシュー麺をセレクトして待つこと数分・・・ｷﾀ━━━━(ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━!!　ホント泣きそうでした。多分日本国外で食べたラーメンの中でダントツ１位！次回来るときはお腹空かして餃子も食べるどー！

パリ滞在中は「日本」を多いに満喫できたものの、やっぱり日本行きたい～

As if that wasn't enough, I also HAD to satisfy my ramen craving, but time after time I have been disappointed with ramen overseas. Seriously people, why can't you get it right? I wasn't expecting too much from this place but I had some hope since it was a direct branch of a well-renowned ramen chain shop in Japan. I came to the store 5 minutes before opening and there was already a line: quite a rare sight in Paris for me (the French couple behind me was on their first date hehe). Nevertheless when I enetered the store, I knew this was going to be good. The setting, the ambiance was all what you'd expect in a ramen shop. You can choose various levels of oiliness: very oily, normal, and light. It just means that there's more pork fat which makes the ramen more richer in taste. I noticed many of the French were ordering light but I decided to go in for the normal. I mean come on, it makes the dish itself much more rich and thicker in taste. Plus if its too thick, you can ask for extra broth which is also really good. I also added chashu (roasted pork) toppings which I have been dreaming about for weeks! What came out was pure heaven. I enjoyed every noodle, every spoonful of it. There's no doubt I will come back here very hungry and will order the pot-stickers there. But beware as the lines can get long...come before it opens or at odd hours! 

Kotteri Ramen Naritake
Address: 31 Rue des Petits Champs 75001 Paris
Phone: +33 01 42 86 03 83
Hours: 11:30am-3:00pm, 6:30-10:00pm

And folks, I must say my Japanese cravings are satisfied....for now!

Vacay Trip # 4: Paris (6) Memories

Last day in Paris was of course, spent shopping :) Nothing too crazy though, just needed some short flat boots and a thick scarf for the upcoming harsh winter back home.. which was quickly accomplished at Galeries Lafayette. Fantastic interior and so many shops to choose from and surprisingly wide range of sticker tags. It's swarmed by tourists but good place to compare shops.

And that wraps it up for Paris. I WILL BE BACK!! Miss you Paris!

Thank you for your hospitality Yukari-san!

Reminiscing the past few days on the platform

Au revoir Paris. Ciao!

Vacay Trip # 4: Paris (5) Versailles

Versailles was also a place where I couldn't come last time due to time restraints. First of all, Versailles is about 40min by RER and plus the estate is huge. You need at least half a day to fully enjoy yourself in the premise. It's worth noting that as of Sept 2015, the train passes were modified. Before you needed to pay extra money to go to Versailles as it was outside of the central Zone 1. But due to the changes, all 5 Zones are merged, hence you just pay that same if you renew your weekly or montly trianpass (Navigo) which is a real deal. The trip to Versailles is quite pleasant as well with RER trains running regularily.

The palace it self was spectacular especially none other than the hall of mirrors. Marie Antoinette's room was also fascinating to see as well. I highly recommend that you read some books or have a guide at Versailles since it makes such a difference. I read a book in the souvenir shop after going through the palace and there was so much that I've discovered and wished I knew when I was actually there. Also regarding the lines, I heard that they go crazy during the summer like the Vaticnan. However, we arrived there around 3pm and we got in in 5 min so just beware of when you're going there. If you're going there during the summer, expect to wait unless you're part of  a group tour.

And as you might exepct, the gardens are absolutley beautiful. If you have time, be sure to go into other buildings in the estate such as Temple of Love and Grand Trianon Castle. If you get there too late, they will not sell you a ticket for those locations (just the main palace) so beware!