I started my day waking up bright and early at 8:23 refreshed from my first night finally getting a full 10 hours of sleep. Following my discovery of 6 new, baby bruises and a side of soreness from the previous day’s antics on the high ropes course, Eva and I headed out to meet up with Joyce and Colombe for a cute Saturday morning brunch at a cozy store called Colette. Our appetites were not to disappointed as a sumptuous spread of smoked salmon, fresh avocado, and perfectly runny sunny-side-up eggs awaited us. We took our time working through the food and warm coffee as we made small talk and gradually cleared out plates – leading me to once again be reminded of my lack of dexterity and neatness while watching Colombe and Eva’s smooth use of cutlery.
Upon finishing our lavish meal, we headed out to complete some much needed shopping. Stopping first at a small jewelry store called Marceau & Ines, I picked up a pair of bracelets as gifts for family. Unfortunately, none of the other girls seemed to find anything to their liking, and we went back on our way. Next, we went to check out a fancy-looking chocolate store just beside La Rue Nationale, on recommendation from Madame Jones earlier in the week. There, Joyce and I picked up some chocolates and candy and were surprised with complimentary chocolate samples after purchasing our choices. I thoroughly enjoyed how the stores in France seemed much more personalized. It seemed as though each store had its own aesthetic and atmosphere unlike the commercialized chain stores that make up for a majority of shopping in the US.
From there, after we had secured our gifts for our families, we briefly got distracted by a rather peculiar store called La Chaise Longue. Inside they had everything from shoe shining kits to Olympic games merchandise to various cute plushies. What really caught our attention; however, were their massage pads which were on display for customers to test. As we took a moment to sit down, I noticed the store also carried funnier options of massage pads such as one shaped like a corgi’s butt and another shaped like one giant UGG boot meant for both feet. Later, having parted ways with Joyce and Colombe, me and Eva stopped at L’Univers, a restaurant near Jean Jaures, to have a drink before catching the bus home. I was quite surprised by the idea of sitting down at a dine-in restaurant to simply buy a soft drink, but according to Eva this is a very common practice in France.
