Last night, I had a blast! I had a fun evening and I made 5 new (French) friends. There have been quite a few French men talking to me the last 2 days but honestly, those were not the kind of men that I wanted to talk to. Paris has many really handsome men to offer, but they are unfortunately not the ones that invited me for coffee ;-) But anyway, I didn’t come to Paris to meet men but to inhale some European flair and lifestyle, I just needed a little “taste of Europe”.
Last night, I wasn’t hungry at all (because I had this huge chocolate pastry in the afternoon), but I decided to go out for dinner nonetheless to watch people and mingle with the French. I passed so many restaurants but couldn’t decide where to eat. Some of them had a great menu but where completely empty and others were packed but I didn’t like the food or the crowd was too touristy. It also seems like the people in Paris don’t have dinner around 7 pm unless they are tourists. I couldn’t find a place I liked so I was about to walk back to my room (I wasn’t hungry anyway…). I passed a little Pizzeria on Rue Damrémont where the waiter was just coming back carrying 6 baguettes. He smiled and said “Voulez-vous une baguette, Mademoiselle?” I looked inside the restaurant and there was only one couple in there but he seemed friendly so I decided to stay for dinner. A very good decision! I had a glass of red wine and a “Pizza Quattro staggioni”, the food was really good. ).
I was sitting at the community table (that seats 7) and I was almost finished with my dinner when a group of 7 French guys came in the restaurant. Since they could only fit at that one table where I was, the waiter asked me if I’d be ok switching tables so that they could all fit – of course that was no problem at all. I decided to have one more glass of wine as the place just started to fill up and as I enjoyed watching the people. There were only locals there except one German couple, they were really funny. He was annoyed because he couldn’t understand the menu (although I have to say that “Pizza Margarita, Fungi, Regina and 4 Staggioni” are named exactly the same in Germany, too…) and she tried to calm him down trying to translate (“Aber Schatzi du magst doch Mozzarella und Tomaten, oder? Das wäre dann die Pizza Margarita”…). It was pretty entertaining (and no, “vino rosso” is NOT a dry white wine…!). 
5 minutes later, another group of 5 came in and the waiter asked if they could join my table (since that was the only space left for 5. I wanted to pay anyway and make room for them but before I could even look, they had ordered wine and refilled my glass. They turned out to be a really nice group – three men, two women, all about my age. We talked all evening (mostly English and a little bit of French) and by the end of dinner, we had decided to all meet in Vegas for Christmas and in Munich for the Oktoberfest next year…they were so friendly and so much fun, I had a great evening. We exchanged email addresses and business cards, I hope to stay in touch, they made my Paris-experience a lot more valuable. I am glad I went out last night! 
Today, believe it or not, I have copied an almost perfect “French look”! Ha! I think I have figured out what it takes. So here is my secret advice… First of all, you need a “do-not-dare-to-talk-to-me-look”. Secondly, look busy, e.g. by carrying a book or by talking on the phone (although this is not recommended if you have an iphone 4G because it is a primary target for thieves…). Thirdly, dress a little bit funky and even if your clothes don’t match just pretend that you are the hottest person on this planet. Wear heels. Apply a tiny bit of rouge. And most importantly: have attitude! For a "perfect" French look it seems like you have to smoke a cigarette, I skipped that one. And I didn’t wash my hair today but again it doesn’t matter as long as you wear it with confidence... Even though I spent most of my day in Montmartre which is a very touristy area of Paris, many people asked me for directions thinking I was local, talked French to me in the shops or asked me to participate in surveys on the street (which were meant to target the French population). Also the people in the restaurants spoke French to me today, I was very happy. 
I am also happy to report that France seems to be “scarf-country”! Everyone who knows me knows how much I love scarves! I saw so many beautiful scarves but they were all around $100, quite expensive…I only bought one but I saw at least 5 that I wanted to have… I had lunch before I went to the airport, I ordered a salad but I had no idea what I was getting myself into (as I couldn't understand half of the ingredients listed...). Who said a salad has to be healthy..? But for sure it was VERY delicious! 
I had a fantastic time in Paris, it was a great treat. Now I am sitting at Charles-de-Gaulle-airport waiting for my connection to Nürnberg. I am really looking forward to see my family in a couple of hours. Oh and one more thing: if you love your car, don't bring it to Paris..I would definitely get a heart attack! Driving isn't that bad but parking is crazy (see picture!). I haven't seen a single car that had no dings or scratches...Ok, I am still "very German" in that respect, I know, but we love our cars :) Au révoir Paris, servus Nürnberg!
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