Sunrises, Strikes, and Styes (Oh my!)

Hi all!

This was our last week of rehearsals in the studio for Les Demoiselles de Rochefort before moving into the Lido Theatre next week. It was very busy and very fulfilling, so come along!

But first, the weekly food/music roundup:

Music I listened to this week:

• “One Man, One Woman” (ABBA)

• “Mr. Eclectic” (Laufey)1

• “Go Go Juice” (Sabrina Carpenter)

Food highlights:

• Bouillon Julien: Baba au rhum

• Chez Marguerite: Lentil dahl

• Boulangerie M. Pain: Croissant/pain au chocolat

If you remember where we ended last week’s post, my friend Rachel and I got back late after a night taking in the eiffel tower.

The next morning, however, we were up by 5:45 to make our way to watch the sunrise on the steps of the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. I had this idea that we would have beautiful views of the city and the sun rising over it.

When we got there, we were met with the remnants of a wild Sunday night of partying. The steps were covered with discarded beer bottles and were thus sticky with residue. And to be quite honest, it was an underwhelming day for a sunrise. The typical overcast Parisian weather overtook any beautiful hues we might have been able to see.

However, the Basilica was open starting at 6:30 so we were able to walk in and look around. Side note; it’s completely free to the public! I still never understand how as a society we ended up with brutalist architecture when we are capable of beauty such as this. It always blows my mind looking at all of the beautiful architecture in Paris.

Afterwards we walked through Montmartre and stopped for some delicious croissants and coffee at Boulangerie Raphaëlle. Honestly I was so scared to get viennoiseries2 in this area as there are so many overpriced tourist traps, but I found them completely normal priced. Let me know if you’d like a guide on how to find a good authentic boulangerie that won’t break the bank; it’s something I’m really passionate about!

Once we finished our viennoiseries, we made our way to Notre Dame. Even though I was there last week, Rachel had never been inside. And it’s free, so it’s really not breaking the bank. This time we were in line for less than 5 minutes! I can’t recommend going early enough. Honestly I think the key for most monuments is to get there early in the morning to avoid the crowds and really get to enjoy them.

After doing some perfume shopping at Adopt’ (my favorite place to get the perfect travel sized perfumes), we made our way to Café Kitsuné. I’ve seen this place hyped on social media, as well as seeing Laufey recommend it, and Rachel is a matcha connoisseur. So naturally, we had to check it out!

I’m going to be so completely honest: I thought it was so mid… The matcha was overpriced for the quality (although the blueberry syrup with it was quite delicious and fresh), and we split a matcha cookie that was also overpriced for the size and quite frankly just not good. It had the consistency of a bad gluten free cookie with a bad aftertaste. I don’t think I would return there and honestly won’t be recommending it to friends who are in town.

We went home for lunch, and then stopped by the Lido on my way to rehearsal. We took a peek inside at the set being built (no spoilers!) and then took a picture in the lobby. The idea was to recreate the picture my friends and I took when visiting the Lido back in May, as we were manifesting Rachel working in Paris someday!

After that I went to rehearsal, and Rachel went to go see a friend perform in a cabaret show. I finished up my blog from last week (isn’t that so meta??) and had a lovely quiet night in.

Tuesday morning? Croissants and pain au chocolates again, this time from M. Pain, a boulangerie near me. They aren’t my go to for bread (I prefer Boulangerie Leonie), but their viennoiseries are excellent. Also I promise I’m not out here eating like this every day, but it’s important to celebrate having friends in town!

I had rehearsal from10-3, where we mostly were working on the finale. If you’ve seen the movie, the ending scene for my character is quite different in the stage show. If I’m being honest, I think it’s a vast improvement. My castmates keep crying during it so I know it’s really effective. I can’t wait for people to see the show!

Rachel and I then had dinner reservations at Bouillon Julien, one of my favorite affordable restaurants in town. One of their signs say that they have the best rapport qualité-prix3, and I have to agree with them. You eat wonderful authentic French cuisine with large servings in a beautiful art deco space. It was a perfect place to celebrate Rachel’s last night in town!

We started out with escargots and vinegar leeks as entrees, then I had the ratatouille and Rachel the duck for our main dishes. The star of the show for me though was the dessert. I got the baba au rhum (which I watched them dose very liberally with rhum) and Rachel got the mousse au chocolat. I go through phases with my desserts and previously had a baba au rhum phase, so this was very nostalgic for me.

We then went for happy hour drinks in the Marais, because why not take advantage of happy hour deals that go until midnight? To get there, we strolled down the rue Saint Denis which was filled with so many delicious looking restaurants. I got plenty of ideas to come back and try someday!

We ended up at the bar Au Diable Des Lombards which was honestly so cute and picturesque. We had really yummy inventive drinks that were only 7€ each. Then it was time to get home, help Rachel pack, and do a tarot pull before heading to bed.

Wednesday was the feared September 10. This day was planned to be a huge blackout day nationwide, with lots of strikes and protests planned. One thing about the French? We love to go on strike. Rachel was flying out this day, so we were scared it was going to be a nightmare to get to the airport. It was unclear which subway lines might be affected, as well as if her flight would be affected.

To our delight, it was so easy to get to the airport. We left with so much time to spare that we had time to grab a coffee and croissants at the airport. While I’ll say they’ve made a lot of progress with recent renovations, Charles de Gaulle (CDG) airport remains one of the most confusing to navigate. I say that as a native French speaker, and I know the sentiment is shared with fellow Francophones.

After a bittersweet au revoir (because we will see each other again), I sent Rachel off back to New York. I made my way back home and took a Power Nap™ before heading to rehearsal.

The next few days of rehearsal were pretty busy. We were going over past scenes that we hadn’t really looked at in 2 weeks, and doing a couple of runthroughs. We ended the week with a full runthrough of the show on Saturday. This show is going to be spectacular. The level of talent in this cast is out of this world, and it’s been incredible to see how much hard work and heart everyone is pouring into this production.

I didn’t do much outside of rehearsals, other than continuing to be on my running grind and going over notes. My plantar fasciitis has all but gone away since getting rid of my arch support inserts I had in my shoes.

However on Friday in the middle of the night, disaster struck. I woke up in a cold sweat to realize I was developing a stye on my left eye. I’m no stranger to styes, having gotten 2 in the exact same place this past year. The first one left me looking like Quasimodo for 3 weeks, so needless to say I have ✨trauma✨.

I immediately applied some of my antibiotic eyedrops I had leftover from last time and popped an antihistamine, but to no avail. She’s been steadily developing over the past few days. I’ve been freaking out because next week we’re doing press shots in costume for our show. I cannot have a giant stye on my eye for the promotional materials!

I don’t know why I keep getting them. I don’t wear makeup, I always wash my hands/face, and I don’t wear contacts. The only thing I could think of was that the 2 nights leading up to it, I slept with my sleep mask on which might have gotten some bacteria on it.

This has preoccupied my mind for the past few days to be honest. I got some products from the pharmacy to rinse out my eye as well as a pommade to put on it, but nothing seems to be really helping. So if anyone has hacks to get rid of styes quickly, please let me know.

After my last day of rehearsal for the week Saturday, some castmates and I decided to go out to a jazz bar to celebrate two days off before heading into tech rehearsals. We tried going to Le Caveau de La Huchette, as I’ve heard it recommended by so many people. The line was quite literally down multiple blocks, so we did not go there. We will try again on a weekday and get there right when it opens, because the line was so crazy.

We ended up at a bar in the marais for some drinks, and then walked by the Seine. I love walking in this city late at night. Most parts of it are pretty safe, and it looks so pretty lit up with the soft lighting. It’s so romantic. It makes me want to fall in love!

For whatever reason I have no pictures from this evening. I must have been living in the moment!

Sunday, I rotted in bed most of the day… For whatever reason I was experiencing a lot of anxiety so I wasn’t particularly productive. I’m finding that unless I have very specific plans scheduled, days off are not for me. And even worse is sleeping in. I need to get my 8 hours, but I also need to wake up around 7am to feel on top of my day.

However, I pulled my shit together because bestie Elijah was in town for a few days! I met Elijah and parents for dinner in the Pigalle area, and it was so lovely to catch up. I walked home after dinner and then midnight hit, hence ending my week.

For those of you who are new here, hi! I’m Paul Amrani, and I just moved to Paris to star as Andy Miller in the Lido Theatre’s production of Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. I was born in France and moved to the US when I was 2 and a half, but it’s always been a dream of mine to come back and live here. I post weekly diary style (or however I feel that week) entries detailing my life in the city of light. Subscribe to Paul in Paris to follow along on my journey!