Woe is Me! An Expat's 4th.

I hope everyone had a Happy 4th. We tried our damnedest to try not to be heartbroken and nostalgic, especially after the blast we had last year. To sum it up: Maine, sunshine, parade, lobster rolls, beach, ocean, backyard BBQ, booze, watermelon and back to the beach for fireworks. Anything else you do after that pales in comparison when it comes to pure Americana.

Still. Making the most of it here. River I am crying slowly drying up.

It was a lovely day in here in Paris. Bright and sunny, and while I was out getting summer-sweet peaches at the market, violent sideways rain hail thunder. The usual hijinks.

Consulting with other expats, we decided the best course of action would be to hit the Cantine California food truck.

We ordered a few plates of tacos to share. Oh, yum. I had forgotten how good food from a grill was, and the Mexican flavors are almost alien at this point. It hit the spot.

We were about to order burgers, when horror of all horrors, they were fresh out as they had a busier like-minded expat crowd than usual. Fainting couches were needed.

Action was taken: We must find the Le Camion qui Fume! We will hit the two food trucks in existence in Paris in one night. Had it been done before?

But first, a walk across the Tuileries revealed much had changed since the last time I had been there.

We became distracted by amusements.

Finally!

We found the Smoking Truck, parked in a lot off the Quai near D'Orsay Museum. They set up outside a stationary party ship and serve a pared-down menu to people drinking on the ship. Brilliant! We actually boarded the club ship, and after not finding topside tables, we found an empty dance floor with portholes where we could sit and enjoy our needed dose of Americana. Occasionally a boat would pass and the wake would splash over the portholes, making the whole thing a bit surreal.

Oh, Paris! How well you lend yourself to homesick expats.

Chateau de Vinncennes

Just outside the Paris city limits there is the Chateau de Vinncennes which is conveniently on the both the Metro 1 and the RER A lines. I'm not sure how well-known it is- it seems to be off the tourist path since the only reason why I knew about it was because it's not that far from where we live. Also: not crowded at all despite the fact that it's really easy to get to.

This one was originally built in 1150 as a royal hunting lodge for the nearby Bois de Vinncennes, which still sprawls out as an enormous verdant parkland around it. In the 14th and 17th centuries, it was fortified, moatified and expanded upon, became a prison for a bit and now it serves as a military HQ of sorts.

You can wander around the grounds for free, or pay a few euros to get into the medieval tower and the gothic church. Nothing too interesting inside, as any furnishings or personal touches are long gone.

What makes it worth the visit is that it was eventually turned into a prison. The internal walls are covered with graffiti left hundreds of years ago by prisoners.

Notably, the Marque de Sade was imprisoned here for a spell...for "Lewd behavior at a House of Ill Repute". He wrote the heart-warming family classic "Justine" while locked up.

Aside from that literary gem, it was a little underwhelming. They seem to be doing some heavy restoration on some of the structures, so maybe it will get better. Afterwards, there are cafes across the street and a Botanic Garden at the edge of the park that made for quiet walk.

Skate Park

Parc de Bercy, 12arr.

Fontainebleau

One of the things I love about living in Paris is how very easy it is to get out.

Unlike New York, where I oftimes felt like a prisoner and it was as though someone was against me leaving the city limits for any reason ever, the trains in Paris run frequently to pretty much to everywhere you want to go. As long as it's not pouring rain out and storming, we've been ambitiously trying to get out on various day trips to notable towns within an hour or two outside of Paris. Fontainebleau is a 45 minute train ride out of Gare de Lyon.

Like most towns with an attraction, you can get a shuttle bus straight to the noted Chateau that is timed with the arrival of the train. What fun is that? It took about 45 minutes to walk, and what a gorgeous walk it was. There is a huge forest preserve here (with rock climbers, a whole new sport for us to obsess about!) and plenty of overgrown formal gardens that make it a nice country stroll.

Fontainebleau was an interesting chateau to tour. It's not as grandiose as Versailles.

It actually looks a little cobbled together, since it was built in stages over centuries. What started as a little hunting lodge for the king ended up a sprawling estate, built upon and expanded by kings and emperors to suit their needs and taste. In total, 34 regents spent time here, and the Napoleons used it as their base of operations as well. Unlike Versailles, which was the work of one megalomaniac Louis, this chateau has a really interesting connection to generations of royal families.

François 1st has some Italian artist and architects come in and decorate the place, which in turn helped spur the French renaissance.

The remarkable thing is that it's very well-preserved. Despite some plundering during the revolution, a great deal of the furnishings remain original, and the paintings and art work are exquisite.

It's also nowhere near as crowded as Versailles (but really...what is?). Even on a Saturday afternoon, it was an easy and pleasant visit.

Pretty soon, we were dodging all the wedding photographers in the courtyards. It was a good time for people watching, as there were probably a half dozen wedding parties vying for the primo spots in front of the grand staircase.

We found a peeing doggie fountain.

Afterwards, we took a walk through town. Rather predictably, it was adorable, with a 100 year old carousel in the square and lots of shops and bakeries that lined cobblestoned streets.

Finding a place to eat became a priority, as it always does after a long day of culture. There were plenty of tourist restaurants you typically find in towns like this: Irish pubs, loads of old school french bistros, Italian restaurants.

I try and seek out a place that makes things special. Not necessarily highbrow or super expensive, but a place that will make creative unpretentious food with respect for the ingredients, and not just churn out uninspired pots of cassoulet in midsummer.

We ended up at Le Petit Ardoise. I can not say enough good things about it, and we would go back to Fontainebleau just to eat here again.

They specialize in small plates to share, which to me, are the best kinds of plates. There were briny fresh mussels cooked in a coquette with a wedge of brie, really fresh vegetables, rich and creamy lobes of seared duck liver served with mango chutney, a lovely entrecote, and of course, copious amounts of cheap and drinkable Cotes du Rhone by the carafe.

It was one of the best meals I've had anywhere. I loved it. We couldn't stop raving about it, and it was totally not expensive at all. It made for a pleasantly mellow walk back through the forest and to the train station, where we were whisked back to the city on a perfectly on-time train.

Quai de Montebello

The plane-tree shaded sidewalks along both banks of the Seine are a perfect place to browse the vendors who set up shop almost daily (with a great deal of them appearing on the weekends). Books, movies, posters, post cards, sheet music. It's an interesting place to take in some commerce and sights, maybe find some vintage pages of Vogue to decorate your bathroom at home with. The vendors are usually quite friendly and willing to haggle if you are spending. Many of them are selling eiffel tower keychains, but several of them have some unique finds.