France is for food. Both Hui and I came to that conclusion not longer after we arrived in the city. No, seriously, France has the best food out of all of the countries that I visited, and yes, while I did indulge in a few memorable food experiences back in Denmark, I think that this short 4-day visit confirmed the fact that this place is a foodie's paradise.
For the first two days, the two of us decided to get an Airbnb at a small apartment which was about a 20 minute commute away from the center of the city. It was there that we learned to read the fine print when booking our lodgings; while it was cheap, we discovered that our rooms didn't come with heating. With fall transitioning to winter in the middle of November, the cold in the mornings and nights were absolutely brutal. Besides that, the two of us followed the maxim: "When in Paris, do as the Parisians do." Of course, on the very first day of our chilly stay, we HAD to try out their pastry. And what better way to start than your classic croissant? Personally, I was wary of romanticizing Paris because I knew better than to believe all the idealistic portrayals of the city that I saw on the internet and in movies. Nobody wants to live out a caricature. But there is one thing that they did get right: Paris is bread heaven. For less than $2.00, both Hui and I had the best croissant that we tasted in our lives. And it didn't stop there--we had macarons, and eclairs, and pain au chocolats, and... well you get the point. While eating out, especially near the center, was expensive, literally everything that we ate was excellent. Paris itself is a wonderful place to visit if you're a tourist; drifting on the canal at night, gazing at the lights of the Eiffel Tower is simply mesmerizing. On a Friday night, the streets of Paris were rife with people window-shopping, dining, or simply strolling. Because our budget was limited (we wanted to save most of our money for the food), we stuck to walking landmarks like the Basilica of the Sacred Heart or the Arc de Triomphe. We even accidentally stumbled upon places like the Little Prince Shop, a cute little store which sold memorabilia of a children's book we both loved, or the location of the filming of Amelie--one of the most famous French films of all time. After two days in Paris, the both of us took a train to Nice, and thankfully, our lodging there was much more comfortable. It was warmer as well, which only made sense because it was next to a beach and was more south than Paris. The colorful and charming buildings of Nice felt like the complete opposite to the oriental and bougie feel of Paris. Of course, we took a picture at the famous # Nice monuments, but the most memorable moments for us were browsing the fresh produce and flowers at the Old Town market on a Sunday morning and viewing the Promenade des Anglais from an overhead view. With the tropical feel of the French Riviera, I couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of longing for my home in Hawaii. On our last day, I had perhaps the best meal of my life, all thanks to a middle-aged French woman who was apparently meeting up with a friend for the evening; we were looking for a place to eat for dinner, and the original location we had decided on in the morning was closed because of personal reasons. We met this woman talking to the shop owner, and they both happened to speak very good English. To our surprise, when we asked them if there were any good restaurants that were reasonably priced for our budget, the woman offered to take us to a place where she personally liked to eat out a lot; we accepted, and it was the best decision we made. For less than $25.00 (our most expensive meal of this entire trip), I had the most filling, most savory and delicious risotto I had eaten in my life. At a first glance, it looked like a regular risotto, but the portion size was huge. I recall it being extremely creamy, but at the same time had a kind of wholesome heartiness that I could not place my finger on. It reminded me of my Mom's cooking in the best way. Yup, France is for the food.
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Matthew Calulot
Aloha! I am a fourth-year Marketing and International Business student currently studying at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. I have never been to Europe before, which is exactly why I wanted to study abroad as a student from Hawai'i. Archives
January 2023
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