永遠的異鄉人－－The Eternal Outsider

從新橋跨到左岸，我們信步走到聖傑曼德佩區喝點東西。聖傑曼德佩區咖啡餐館林立，也有許多小小的個人工作室，長久以來一直都是許多哲人、文人、藝術家喜愛群聚的地方。印象派大師如馬內、德加、巴吉爾等人都喜歡在聖傑曼德佩區的咖啡館高談闊論，巴吉爾甚至曾在雙叟咖啡館附近租用一間個人畫室。

Crossing the Pont Neuf, we turned to St-Germain-des-Prés for some drinks. With countless cafes, restaurants and tiny private studios, St-Germain-des-Prés has long been an area where many philosophers, writers and artists gather. The Impressionists, such as Manet, Degas and Bazille, were all once part of the chatty scenes in cafes here. Bazille even rented a studio near Les Deux Magots (a famous cafe).

出發前買的寂寞星球導覽上，提到了雙叟咖啡館，據說過去海明威非常喜歡這家咖啡館，經常來此坐坐。Sunny讀了之後，成天就在碎碎念說我想去雙叟咖啡館啊。麻煩先生看了導覽上說這裡的熱巧克力非常有名，也想嘗試看看，因此我們自然是免不了來一趟雙叟咖啡館。

The Lonely Planet guide we bought before our trip mentioned that Les Deux Magots was Hemingway's favorite who used to be a regular of this cafe. After I read this, I just couldn't stop nagging Mr. T to go there with me. Since Mr. T also wanted to try their "famous shop-made hot chocolate" (exact quote from Lonely Planet), there is no way we would pass on this cafe?!

雙叟咖啡館據說得名自門口兩尊中國人偶，店名的magot意指通常以蹲姿出現的中國或日本人偶（字典請點這裡），不過因為咖啡館內人多，我也就懶得費神去找這兩位老先生的存在。

因為magot這個字和英文的蛆很像，我和麻煩先生來訪前，整天就拿這個蛆不蛆來說笑。

沒想到竟有種一語成䜟的感覺。

The name, Les Duex Magots, refers to the two Chinese statues on a pillar near the entrance, and the word "magot" means "a Chinese or Japanese figurine usually in a crouching position". (Click here to see the definition) But I didn't spend time looking for such two figurines because the cafe was just too crowded.

The French word "magot" looks very much like the English word "maggot", so before we went, we had been joking about this all around.

What we didn't expect is that our silly joke turns out to be a curse to ourselves!!

因為這裡的熱巧克力有名，當天儘管天氣晴朗，氣溫其實不高，我們兩人自然便決定點兩杯熱咖啡。

Since the hot chocolate is so praised and also it was quite cold that day despite the beautiful sunshine, we, naturally, ordered two cups of hot chocolate.

這樣一壺兩人份熱巧克力，用照片中的咖啡杯，大概可以倒四杯左右，所以等於是一人兩杯。看起來不多，聽起來也不多，但我的天！！！這是我喝過最濃最濃的熱巧克力了！我和麻煩先生兩人事後開起玩笑，都覺得感覺像是直接把巧克力火鍋裡沾食物的巧克力拿來喝一般濃稠。

A jar of hot chocolate for two may fill around 4 cups using the cup shown in the photo, making it two cups per person. It might not seem much or sound much, but OH MY GOD! This is the THICKEST hot chocolate I have ever ever had in my life!! Afterwards, when Mr. T and I talked about this, we joked that it was almost like drinking directly out of a chocolate fondue!!!

性不喜吃太多甜食的我，自然是無法把這壺熱巧克力喝完。此時，咖啡館的女侍端著看起來應該很可口的甜點，來問我們是否想試試，我們兩人只覺得巧克力充腦，完全不想再吃任何甜食了。

Since I am not a big fan of sweets, I just couldn't force myself to finish the hot chocolate. Even though the desserts brought by the waitress asking us whether we would like to have some did look good, feeling like we were soaked in hot chocolate, we had simply no desire for any more sweets.

在咖啡館中小憩片刻，我們決定前往蒙馬特。這時候我前面說到的一語成䜟就發生了...

After we had the hot chocolate, we decided to go to Montmartre. Just so, our curse just laid its hand on us!!!

我們從聖傑曼德佩站搭乘地鐵四號線，打算在巴貝斯洛書雅站轉搭二號線前往蒙馬特。但極少暈車的我，在巧克力滿到喉嚨的狀況下，坐在空氣不流通悶燥的車廂裡（舊車款沒有空調），隨著列車搖搖晃晃之下，開始覺得萬分不舒服，頭暈想吐，因此不停啜飲著水，一面在心裡數著還得坐幾站。最後好不容易撐到巴貝斯洛書雅站，我請麻煩先生停下腳步，讓我先在車站的椅子上坐一會兒，呼吸一下新鮮空氣。

稍坐一會後，麻煩先生說既然只差幾站，我又這麼不舒服，不如直接出站散步到蒙馬特去吧。

We planned to take Metro line 4 from Germain-des-Prés stantion to Barbès-Rochechouart station where we would transfer to line 2 to Montmartre. Unfortunately, I, who rarely got car sick, was so stuffed with the hot chocolate that I started to feel nauseous and have headache sitting in the shaky metro train where the air circulation was really poor (no A/C in the old trains). I kept sipping water and counting down the number of stations we had to go through. When we finally brought ourselves to Barbès-Rochechouart station, I asked to sit on the bench in the station before we transferred so that I could get some fresh air.

After sitting there for a while, Mr. T said that since I was feeling so sick, and we were only a couple stops away, we could just walk to Montmartre from there.

沒有料到的是，交通繁忙的巴貝斯洛書雅站外一帶，由於算是巴黎地價較便宜的區域，因此移民聚集，各式小攤販擠得水洩不通。在我們出地鐵站前，就有許多人拿這（可能是假的）煙、仿冒品等物品對我們兜售。出了站後，更是有種混亂的情景，和巴黎其他地區所看到的華美差異頗大，霎時讓我們有一點不習慣。一路上我們快步行走，過去曾在曼谷鬧區被劃破包包差點被扒的我，對於這樣擁擠的狀況格外不安。事後查詢了這區域的相關資訊後，發現這裡其實是許多人喜歡前往撿便宜貨的地方（如果喜歡仿冒品的話...，當然也有一些紀念品店可以買紀念品啦），但也確實是需要特別小心注意扒手的地區。如果有心想前往，或者像我們一樣不小心誤闖的話，逛逛不錯，但要多注意財物喔！

What was waiting for us outside of the station was a scene of messiness. The area surrounding the busy Barbès-Rochechouart station is where a lot of immigrants stay due to the fact that the real estate price here is much lower. Tons of street vendors gather on the sidewalks. Even before we got out of the metro station, there were people trying to sell us (possibly fake) cigarettes, knock-off bags and so on. Outside of the metro station, we were really surprised by the somewhat chaotic scene which is very different from the breezy atmosphere that other parts of Paris present. We walked pass by quickly and I felt really uneasy for such an environment because of my previous experience in a Bangkok night market of someone slashing my purse and almost stealing my wallet. Later on, I researched on this area and found that it is actually a place where many would like to go for some cheapies (if knock-off products appeal....  Well, of course souvenirs are also available), but also where one should keep a keen eye for pickpockets. If anyone intends to go, or gets there by accident just like us, it's better to pay extra attention to the valuables.

事後麻煩先生和朋友聊到這個事件，朋友玩笑地問起「那麼那熱巧克力喝起來真的像蛆嗎？！」，我笑笑地回答「像不像不知道，因為我沒吃過蛆，我只知道喝完之後我覺得滿肚子蝴蝶。¹」

我只能說雙叟咖啡館的巧克力依然很值得品嚐，但請記得，兩個人點一份，再點杯不甜的飲品共享，會比較好唷！

Thereafter, when Mr. T talked about this instance with a friend of ours, the friend asked whether the hot chocolate does taste like "maggots", and I replied that I don't know since I have never eaten a maggot, but after drinking the hot chocolate, I had butterflies in my stomach!

The hot chocolate in Les Deux Magots is still highly recommended, but I would definitely suggest that if go with a companion, order just ONE cup of hot chocolate and another non-sweet drink to share!

附註1)  butterflies in the stomach是英文諺語，通常是用來形容緊張或者愛上一個人，而見到對方時，那種腸胃糾結，偶爾伴隨輕微嘔吐感的感覺