The Hidden Nieghborhoods or Paris

I don't know how much I can claim to have visited the "hidden" neighborhoods of Paris, but I certainly made it into neighborhoods with very few tourists, and a much SMALLER proportion of english speakers. By the way, Thank you Parisians for putting up with my English. Thank you even more for putting up with my insultingly horrid C+ first semester level French! That helped me out a lot.

First Stop: Canal St. Martin.
If you've seen the film Amelie, and remember it... There is a scene in which she in skipping stones on a canal. This scene also offers perhaps some of the BEST filmwork of the early 2000's. It's a really fluid shot that goes from behind her, over her head and in front of her to just above the stone that seems as if it will hit the camera.
THAT:
That is Canal St. Martin. It is really lovely. The only tourists around are on canal cruise boats and so they aren't walking around bothering the normal crowd. Had a "Kebab" from a nearby turkish restaurant and somehow managed to plop my ass down to eat it right next to the canal flanked on all sides by lesbians enjoying the hell out of their sunday afternoons and girlfriends. Saw a guy with a remote control motorboat causing havoc with some of the canal's geese. Great amusement. The "kebab" or what we lebanese know as shawarma was decent. I do have to say, the donner kebabs all over Europe are TOTALLY subpar to those in Lebanon. If Turkey's Kebabs are really done that way, then I should make a habit of inviting people to Lebanon just for eating. Seriously, I know Turkey has a great culinary tradition (or has at least stolen many great culinary traditions from those it has conquered), but their Donner Kebabs as just not that good! Anyway, it was still delicious on a Sunday afternoon in Paris. I was still on the look out for Biere de Garde and when I spotted a group of kids with a bottle I immediately went to them and asked where they got it. They pointed me in some direction and I went.

On the way to the beer store, I got sidetracked again.

Second Stop: Little Jafna (or Little Sri Lanka).
As I mentioned before, I got REALLY excited about visiting a Tamil speaking Sri Lankan neighborhood in Paris. I really like Sri Lankan food, and I can even ask for it in Tamil. This will SURELY get me superb service and instant friends. What I found instead of Sri Lankans were Indians who don't speak Tamil, and an influx of Chinese. There were a few stores that sold Indian clothing, but were closed on Sunday Afternoon. I had no idea that Indians would ever close a shop if they had opportunity to make money. I was totally shocked. So in fact, I got to speak no Tamil, read no Tamil, and show off to no one with my limited Tamil skill. That's ok, because I came across a Lebanese restaurant with good hummus and tabbouleh. I sat around and did the common people watching thing that Parisians do. Eventually I made my way a little further and found the bar waiter who suggested Parc Des Buttes Chaumont.

About that time I got a craving for Vietnamese food. I have been without good pho for FAR FAR FAR too long, and went in search of it. In case you're wondering... Yes, I went in search of the Vietnamese Niehgborhood (which is near the Belleville stop on the Paris metro) and found it. However, I was supposed to meet my host at another restaurant in another part of town for "Persian" food. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I suspect (always a sneaking suspicion) that Lebanese people had something to do with the particular preparation of food. All in all, a most successful day of running around the capital of france.