First Weekend in Paris

I took the metro down to Chipotle today. I guess it's a part of my daily adventure over the weekend. The spot is actually directly accessible from where i am staying now (M8 to Richelieu-Drouot stop) and it takes about 5 to 8 minutes door-to-door, which is pretty good. I was hoping to eventually find a Starbucks after I get there, but as soon as I got out of the metro, there was an SB right in front of my face. I thought to myself how perfect all this must be. 

Nevertheless after I got my starbucks and got into the chipotle's, I was pretty disappointed. The line was slow, the quantity small, the price high, and the quality is definitely not comparable to the one even in London. I think there's a reason why they only use brown rice though - likely because it's more filling for the smaller amount. The experience is pretty droll though because as soon as you are near the joint, you are surrounded by only english-speaking people, talking about chipotle. The Americans explain to their friends the concept of chipotle and how it compares, the non-americans exclaim at the concept of burritos, the assembly, discussions on what kind of things are available. The idea of having a full conversation on chipotle is so weird. Maybe that's what it's like when the french listen to us talk about the louvre and the eiffel tower? I don't know. I guess what i find funny is the fact that every single person in there is talking about chipotle while eating in there. 

 After i sat down upstairs with my tiny bowl (i need to mention that the steak here is not well-done but really pink) and i listened to the two ppl sitting next to me talk about chipotle. the girl is american and the guy is british. The american girl seemed to have been in paris for a while now and has been waiting for this chipotle since its announcement in 2010. the british guy has never had it before and every time he took a bite he would exclaim that the burrito is very "nice." i find hilarity in having hear a burrito being described as nice. After i finished eating, i wandered around in the direction of home. 

The more I walk around paris, the more i am impressed by it. Although i have been here several times prior to moving here, I never took time to notice how beautiful it actually is. In spite of all the times that i've been told paris is beautiful, i've never truly appreciated the city until today. 

 

    

It took me about an hour to get home and the walk was quite enjoyable, even though everything besides restaurants are closed. When I was near the intersection of the place im staying, two guys and a girl about my age asked me if i spoke french and i said "un peu" and one guy asked me if i knew whether there is a grocery store, supermarket, convenience store that is opened where they can get some drinks that's not are restaurant. Although I just walked around for an hour in the city, i couldnt think of a single place that's opened. I told them all the stores are closed today and the only thing i can think of is starbucks down the street. they looked disappointed and thanked me. i felt really bad for them. This must have been the third or fourth time i've been asked directions while walking around in paris. I think it has to do with being alone. If you are walking around the city alone without a map in your hands, then you must be from around here. Hopefully the next time someone asks me about directions i'll have better things to tell them.