NYE 2015: When it 'RAINES' it POURS!
Paris & Rome: January 19, 2015
Ciao all! And Happy MLK Day to all you Americanos!
Unfortunately, the never-ending lack of WiFi/Internet-saga continues at the Robinson/Schwing household, thus my life updates are again slightly delayed. Nevertheless, buon anno nuovo, happy (belated) Epiphany, Three Kings Day, START of Carnival season or better yet, another happy Italian national holiday to everyone! One day (January 6th) with so many names and so many ways to celebrate. Italy’s traditional celebration for Epiphany actually includes the tale of a witch known as La Befana, who arrives on her broomstick the night before the 6th and fills stockings with toys for the good children and some ‘coal’ like equivalent for the bad ones. Frankly, I think I prefer an overweight, jolly Papa Natale in a more welcoming red fleece suit to greet me with toys or coal, but when in Roma…
la befana
Like most of the world (or readers), I am in full recovery mode post the many holiday and New Year celebrations over here in Italia and Parigi (where I spent the actual New Year). But if I were back home in New Orleans (maybe a blessing in disguise I’m not), the entire holiday season would have been what many party people may refer to as a ‘pre-game’ for the most wonderful time of the year…Mardi Gras. January 6th may be the official end of the Christmas holiday everywhere else, but in NOLA, Twelfth Night is a significant day for a better reason. It’s the official start of CARNIVAL that leads up to the day before Ash Wednesday (huh?), more commonly known as Mardi Gras (ohhhhh!). I am definitely planning to throw Roma’s rendition of a ‘Mardi Gras’ festa as we near Ash Wednesday, thus hoping that my next care package (obvious hint here) will come in the form of Manny Randazzo’s King Cakes, Mardi Gras beads, Mardi Gras ‘coozies,’ Pat O’s famous drink mixes and whatever else Papa Sam decides to surprise us with.
But let’s get back to my pre-Epiphany days and how I spent New Year’s Eve and the days following in Paris – the city of lights, love, and baby bottles (at least on this vacation).
First off, the weather was absolutely amazing. How so?
Because it RAINE-D (pun intended) and by RAINE I mean one of my best friends, Raine Rafferty (now future Dr. Johnson) was proposed to by the love of her life in the city of love on New Year’s Eve. And as many of you know, when it rains it can POUR – which pretty much sums up the intensity of fun that was had celebrating the happy couple. Ballard Johnson, our resident weatherman for the trip, provided us with an ideal and sparkly forecast that will without doubt last the rest of their lives. Not to mention, Raine’s name has provided us with one of the most clever wedding #hashtags ever: #BallardMadeItRaine
The morning of the 31st, Ellie and I took the first Ryan Air flight out of Roma to what we thought was Paris (Beauvais- Paris), but to our surprise was a town about an hour and a half outside the city via a packed shuttle bus. To be fair, I guess that was probably to be expected if we were looking to get the most ‘cluck’ for our ‘buck’ if you will. So although our arrival into Paris to meet up with the Rafferty family was slightly delayed, we managed to finally arrive at Hotel Bonaparte in the Latin Quarter of the city. For those of you looking for a hotel in this particular part of town, it’s important to note that breakfast at Hotel Bonaparte is NOT included with the stay. Ellie unfortunately learned this the hard way after a late night/early morning of ringing in 2015 when she arrived back at the hotel to an assortment of what she thought were (unlimited) complimentary chocolate croissants and fruit yogurts. Needless to say, for the rest of the trip, Room #19 was kept on close watch during said ‘breakfast buffet’ hours.
Unlike the rest of our group traveling from the USA and Dubai, the trip from Roma to Paris did not set us back in terms of jet- lag or lack of sleep. Thus, while Raine rested up for what would later be one of the best nights of her life, Ellie and I explored the neighborhood, picked up to-go cups of warm mulled-wine, and visited the beautiful Musée Rodin. Given the actual day, I thought it appropriate to visit within the museum the famed marble sculpture commissioned by the French state known as The Kiss (just incase I didn’t get mine when the clock struck midnight). Even though legend has it the ‘kiss’ recreated in sculpture form led the two lovers (from Dante’s Divine Comedy) to wander eternally through Hell.
For those of you who do not know the Rafferty family or their matriarch Ann, who was responsible for coordinating the UBER posh New Years Eve rooftop party, words cannot adequately describe how gracious, kind and fun-loving they are. Ann planned a phenomenal trip and we were fortunate enough to tag along as part of the family. While Raine and Ballard went to dinner before midnight where the BIG question would be asked, Ellie and I met the rest of the famiglia at AnnBnB (the incredible apartment Ann managed to book for her fam better than any AirBnB out there) not far from where we were staying. Per usual, when in the company of the Raffertys there is never a shortage of food, snacks, Pellegrino, and for this occasion obviously, champagne (no prosecco when in Parigi)! And as we know, New Year’s Eve is synonymous with champagne, thus Palmer, Raine’s older brother, and his finance Caroline, were given the task of picking up the life-size bottles of champagne along with other liquors and beverages for the evening. Even in the nicest of apartment buildings I’ve come across in Europe, including the one from ‘AnnBnB,’ elevators always seem very outdated. They can barely hold ½ a person and appear to still use with a pulley system that I am certain is still man-operated.
And after living abroad and frequenting many apartment buildings sans elevators or elevators that appear to have been installed at the turn of the century, I typically opt for the stairs when given the choice. I only wish I had been at the Rafferty’s apartment an hour earlier to assess the elevator system prior to Palmer and Caroline opting to take it up to the 5th floor with the requested magnums of champagne (case and point below). I will say, for those two to remain in good spirits and not break out into full on panic mode (as I would have done) upon being trapped in the mini elevator was very impressive. And if it’s any reflection of how they handle tricky situations -marriage will be a piece of cake. Thankfully, the building was able to find someone LAST minute to free them (and the alcohol) from the claustrophobic elevator cell just in time for us to Uber to the 34th floor of the Concorde La Fayette hotel to continue to the festivities at bar ‘La Vue.’ I’d also like to point out that the hotel rooftop party was voted one of the top five celebration locations in the WORLD for NYE in 2013 (little did they know who would be in attendance for 2015). And thank goodness the said trapped elevator incident happened in Paris and not Roma, because without a doubt, Palmer and Caroline would still be trapped to this day.
ALL SMILES while trapped in the elevator!
After ringing in the New Year at the Hyatt property, the whole gang made moves to the ‘Moose,’ a dimly lit, Canadian, dive-like sports bar that Kevin and Ann had discovered the night prior. It was definitely a complete 360-degree atmosphere change from essentially models and bottles over a picturesque Parisian skyline to beer and billiards accompanied with sour cream and onion potato chips. From the Moose, Ann and Kevin called it a night (but not before leaving us with 20 plus bags of potato chips to help soak up the copious amounts of celebrating) and the rest of us had a nightcap at what would later become my favorite bar(tender), Café Mabillon. Even on Raine’s special day, in typical Rafferty fashion, she had her eyes peeled for any and all potential suitors for her single friends. And let’s be honest, New Years Eve is potentially the most overrated holiday of all time. I just don’t necessarily need another yearly reminder (after my birthday) that the world and me are getting older. But this year thankfully, Ballard was able to one-up all my other New Years and make it Raine for me- BEST one yet.
The next day got off to a later start given the ‘weather’ the night before and we all took advantage of the New Year holiday with the lack of tourist attractions open to relax at the apartment and finish off what was left of the food and champagne. All it took was a little encouragement from the bella Ella (who must have been restless just lounging around the apartment) for Zia Malpal and the rest of the gang to get a second wind for more Parisian partying. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves at another chic Parisian hotspot, Hotel Costes, (definitely the place to be seen and a scene) for a fancy cocktail (or sippy-cup for Ella) at the hotel bar. From there we were pointed in the direction of a local ‘jazz’ bar, where we may not have found the best jazz ensemble (I mean, we are from New Orleans), but we did find at this bar one of the craziest manes of hair on a man since Lionel Richie’s release of Endless Love and a lead singer who loved to share the microphone with the audience (yay!). You think after forcing impromptu karaoke performances late into the New Year that the lot of us would have been ready to call it a night, but fortunately we had a University of Alabama graduate in our midst (Ellie) who would not take sleep for an answer on Game Day (or a 3am kick-off time rather). I’m pretty sure Ellie found the only bar in all of France that would turn on the game and let us sit until (unfortunately) Ohio State won or so I was told the next morning (since I’m pretty sure I ‘slept’ watched the entire game).
I had only been in Paris for two days at this point, but with all the excitement, I felt it had already been a week! January 2nd was arguably my favorite day and dinner of the trip. We visited the historic Montmartre district of Paris and drank wine out of baby bottles accompanied by pots of fondue. A little background having to do with the day’s activities – the Rafferty’s had visited Paris in 1998 on a family trip (sans me) and the kids each had their portraits painted in the Place du Tertre. Much of the trip I imagine was a walk down memory lane reenacting photos, activities and memorable moments present day. This trip down memory lane seemed to be running quite smoothly as well until everyone decided to have (what they thought would be) their portraits painted again by different artists who churned out tons of these types of paintings daily. This would be ‘piazza’ is filled with watercolorist, portrait sketchers and caricaturists – each with their own unique style as illustrated by their Michael Jackson, Selena Gomez, and Meryl Streep masterpieces that hang alongside the blank canvases as advertisement to visitors. Those in our group who decided to have their portraits painted (Raine, Ellie, Caroline and Baby Ella) were each given their respective artist’s interpretation of self-portrait. Raine felt hers was just a mere sketch relative to the amount of Euros she shelled out. Ellie was unrecognizable (but in color!). And Baby Ella looked like a child of the opposite sex. I opted not to pay to have my portrait done as I just don’t think I photograph well, thus probably would not ‘caricature’ well either…
As sunset approached, we walked up to the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur for obligatory sunset selfies, but the most amazing thing I saw that day (and probably EVER) was the aerial, acrobatic, soccer player who scaled a lamp post while simultaneously juggling a soccer ball the ENTIRE time. I could not take my eyes off him- it really was incredible. His name is Iya Traore, apparently the best futbol free stylist in the world and once a professional futbol player for Paris Saint Germain. I was able to find him on YouTube, but was fortunate enough to see him perform LIVE. His story is actually very interesting – you can learn more about him here through an interview I found with journalist Alejandro Tauber. I could have stayed next to that lamp post mesmerized by his talent all day, but I had made a reservation for the 11 of us – including our amazing Aussie addition, Kelly, a friend of ours we met in Roma (also in Paris on vacation) – at Le Refuge des Fondus. Raine and I were introduced to this restaurant almost a decade ago (AH!) on our high school graduation trip through Europe. Not much had changed since Raine and I last sucked at the nip of Le Regue des Fondus’ choice of drinkware, except maybe our age and that we brought a guest who did not have to justify drinking out of a bottle (Ella). So the restaurant works like this (making ordering simple for indecisive orderers): you order red or white wine (brought to you in a baby bottle as pictured below) and meat/cooking oil fondue + bread/cheese fondue. Before the fondue is brought out, you’re given a plate of aperitivos to nosh on (pickles, olives, crudités, dips) as a warm up to what could be well done/medium/medium-rare/or totally bloody pieces of beef (depending on one’s fondue expertise) and the cheesiest croutons ever. The restaurant is very small and narrow, with only two long tables and walls covered in previous patron’s signatures. I spent a good portion of the dinner looking for my ‘MalPal’ autograph I had left circa 2006.
We probably shouldn’t have been ‘babied’ the night before we had to get up early for the very special day Ann had planned for the group, but hindsight is 20/20! We got to the Rafferty’s rental promptly at 10:00 am to be picked up in a mini-bus by our delightful tour guide, Luce. And while it was a little rainy that day (no pun intended this time), Luce did not let it slow us down. I felt as if the mini-bus was our personal classroom as she was so knowledgable and enthusiastic about the extensive history of every landmark, museum, and street corner we visited. I will say that this day also brought the BEST purchase of the entire trip (after my selfie-stick), Palmer’s red beret, which he sported the entire tour to blend in with the locals. Our first stop was Notre Dame, followed by lunch at Au Petit Riche, where Ballard got adventurous and ordered beef cheek. Not something on the menu I thought I could stomach at that point nor something Raine was particularly happy about sharing with him. Next on the agenda was the home of Da Vinci’s MONA LISA (in Italian she’s known as La Giocanda), the Louvre. After checking off all the most important paintings, we piled back into the mini-bus to see the Eiffel Tower and its views of Paris by night. We said au revoir to Luce and Alexander (the bus driver) and ended the day with dinner at what can only be described as the TGI-Friday’s of mussels.
Luckily for you all who are ready for my New Year’s vacay to be done with, it is. I got terribly ill on the 4th with what would later be diagnosed by an Italian doctor as ‘tonsillitis.’ If I was on the verge of getting sick before arriving in Paris, the events that led up to me being confined to the hotel room the entire day with Emergen-C drop offs from Dr. Raine Rafferty definitely didn’t help my tonsils. A full pack of antibiotics later and I am back in the swing of things with school and my day to day vita in Roma. No holiday today for us like the rest of America, but public transportation will probably take a holiday anyway! Hard to be sure.
Until the next time I have internet....
Mal your best pal
(found these in the airport and they helped hold me over until the antibiotics kicked in…chips)
