Au revoir Paris: Day 4 [Part 5]

Paris Day 4

So it’s my last day in Paris. I scraped myself up to eat my last breakfast on the house. Most of the Burnt Sugar crew were heading back to New York except a few of folks who were staying on in Paris and I was heading to London.

Latasha got up early to go to the pharmacy near the Hammam to get a few products because they were much less expensive over there. I wanted to go there myself, but thought I had run out of time when she reminded me that I could leave my bags at the hotel until it was time for me to go to catch my train to London.  I totally didn’t think of that. The rest of the band had to leave around 11am, but my train wasn't until 3pm so I had plenty of time. I waited for the Sugar crew to come down so I could say my goodbyes and then I headed to the pharmacy in the area where the Hammam is, based on directions that Latasha gave me. Well, she was right on the money. Right when I got off the Metro there it was!

Karma, Paula and Latasha couldn’t stop raving about the products that the ladies used on them at the Hammam so I went and got myself some good stuff. Latasha also suggested that I go see the Hammam from the outside because it’s beautiful and she was right. It was also a nice little walk off the beaten path.

Hammam

More Hammam

I walked a bit, then headed back on the Metro. Walking back through the stations I finally saw the billboards about the Sons d'hiver festival and there we were.  It was a great reminder of the days gone by and how much fun we had.  It made me a little sad to leave so soon, but in the paraphrased words of Jay-Z; we came, we saw, we conquered.  I'm sure Burnt Sugar will be back in Paris.

Festival billboards in Metro walkway

Check us out!

After a short ride on the Metro I was back to the hotel. Upon arrival, I got my bags, called LaRonda to thank her for everything (she tour managed) and then headed to the Eurostar train station. Au revoir Rue de Bercy.

It was home for a while

When I got to the Paris Nord Eurostar station I was on the hunt for food. I found a little spot outside of the station and purchased my last sandwich in Paris. Note: Paris should be renamed the city of the sandwich becasue if you can't find any other food you can always find a sandwich. I got to the station a little early so I had to wait a bit for my train to be called.

When I finally heard the call I headed up to go through customs to get on the train. If you have never been though customs trying to get into the UK let me tell you that it is known for being a little tight. I’m usually really prepared for them, but I totally forgot that I needed to have the address of where I am staying. I did have it, but it was in my phone and I couldn’t get online in the train station because you had to pay for wifi in there. So I filled out the rest of the cutsoms form and put the name of the “friend” I was staying with in London and then went to the window. I told the customs agent that I had the address, but it was in my phone and I couldn’t get it out because I couldn’t get online. He told me that if my email messages had cached out then I could see them, but I couldn’t and that was the truth. So he asked me a couple of questions about my “friend.” Where/how we met. How long we have known each other. Etc. I guess I was convincing enough because he let me through. I say “friend” because the person I was really going to stay with was a friend of a friend and I didn't know her really at all. Either way I was through.

I got on the cue with the rest of the folks and headed for the train. I was really ready to sit down and relax for a few hours. I was beat down tired. The original plan was to stay awake and watch the French and English countryside pass me by, but my body said otherwise. I was in and out of sleep the whole ride and then before I knew it we were arriving at King’s Cross/St. Pancras station in London. Au revoir Paris, Hello Governor!

On my way to London

Bonjour Paris! Day 1 [Part 2]

Paris Day 1

When we landed in Paris we were greeted by a representative from the festival who took us to our hotel. It was a short ride from the airport to the Novotel de Bercy on Rue de Bercy.  The hotel was great and right next to the sports arena where they happened to be holding a world judo competition at the same time we were there. So we were sharing space with athletes from all over the world. Interesting combo to say the least.

The rooms weren’t quite ready when we arrived because we were a bit early. So we just chilled in the lobby until things opened up. When I finally got into my room I probably should have just went to sleep, but it's Paris! I can sleep when I’m dead. Lol.

View from my room

Paris Arena [can't remember the real name/from my room]

It may not look like it, but it was the best bed ever!

The situation room. It really was it's own room! LOL!

Some of the ladies in the band were going to the Hammam at the Paris Mosque where there is a spa and baths. There you can steam, get scrubs, massages, etc. I really wanted to go, but I had €100 to work with for the next few days so I couldn’t drop €48 of that on the spa. I later found out I probably could have gone because just to go to the baths and steam it was only €15, but that’s okay. I WILL get back to Paris.

Near Rue de Bercy

So instead of the spa I just walked down Rue de Bercy a bit to see what was what. Mazz and I later went out to get some food. Sadly my first meal in Paris was not exciting at all, but it filled the hole. I then took a short nap. I was beat down, but I was trying to stay up so I could get my sleep pattern in order. The jet-lag was beating me down. Of course I could have stayed at the hotel and got some real rest, but it's Paris and we had passes to see some of the other bands in the festival! So I peeled myself up and went with some of the Sugar crew to check out Graham Haynes presenting Bitches Brew Revisited and Ebo Taylor and Afrobeat Academy.

Me at the Festival

We hopped on the Metro (my first time on it) to get over to the Bastille, where we caught a bus provided by the festival, over to the venue. The spot was a bit outside of the city, but it was nice to ride for a while. When we got to the spot, I got another bad sandwich (ugh), found a spot to sit with Mazz and Chris and we settled in for the show.

It was great to hear Graham Haynes and crew do Bitches Brew, but when jet-lag is riding you Bitches Brew sounds like sweet lullaby. LOL! It just put me in a trance and I was in and out of consciousness for the whole set. I saw them do the show at Prospect Park over the summer and it was amazing. So I know what I missed, but I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I just pray I wasn’t snoring.

Ebo Taylor and crew were way more upbeat. So I stood up and bopped to the music till it was time to head out. The bus took us back to the Bastille and we were hungry. Folks were talking burgers, but that wasn’t doing it for me. Karma and I found this spot called Léon de Bruxelles that was open and they was serving mussels. That was it for me! So we ate, talked and headed back to the hotel. The Metro had stopped running so we decided to walk home instead of getting a cab. I was dog tired, but I was in Paris! LOL. So we began our journey. It was going well, but then we got a little turned around.  Luckily we hadn’t wandered too far out of the way so we found out way back quite easily. By the time we made it home I fell right out. I have to say that that hotel probably has the best mattress I have ever slept on. I slept so hard I didn’t even dream. Big day ahead.