Lots of walking!

Paris is divided into 20 arondissements, and one of our goals is to visit each one. So far, we've made it to the 1st (where we live, Louvre), 2nd (borders where we live/Montorgueil), 3rd (le Marais), 4th (Ile St. Louis, le Marais), 5th (Latin Quarter), 6th (St. Germain), 7th (Eiffel Tower, Musee D'Orsay), 8th (Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees), 9th (Pigalle, Opera), 10th (but only to the train station there), 15th (where Le Cordon Bleu is located), and 18th (Sacre Coeur). We still have seven arondissements to go (11th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 19th, and 20th).

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Today, we ventured off to the 13th arondissement to add it to our "been there, done that" list. The 13th arondissement is known as Paris' chinatown, but our goal for today was to indulge in some pho. It's been raining on and off for the past couple of days and today was a perfect pho day.

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Based on some online recommendations, we headed to Le Bambou on 70, Rue Baudricourt. It was almost a 3.5 mile walk from home, but it was definitely well worth it. The broth was tastier than usual, the noodles hit the spot, and the pho bowl was filled with all sorts of goodness. The restaurant was unpretentious and packed full of people. The menu was large and varied, and our food came out in less than 2 minutes. If you visit Paris and can make it out to the 13th, definitely try this place out; just be sure to beat the lunch rush! I want to go back and try out something else. I was spying the dishes of barbecued meat and rice on the table next to us, or maybe I'll try their
beef stew next time around.

We stopped by an asian grocery store on our walk back. They had the usual stuff you'd find at Ranch 99, but finding such a store in Paris made the city feel a little more like home.

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We relaxed a bit at home, caught up on some admin stuff, and then headed out for another long walk. We strolled past the Tuileries where we saw the trees are now in bloom, and we stopped at a random cafe for a drink. The service was slow and pretty awful so we ended up leaving. Instead, we just had a glass of wine at home. Quinn watched the Lakers game on his computer (the wonders of the internet!) while I looked up restaurant recommendations in Paris. I can't wait to try out all of these new places!