I had found us a small (although perhaps not by Parisian standards) apartment located in Marais, the 4th arrondissment (district) of Paris -- we had two metro stations, the Seine River, two boulangeries (bakeries), two grocery stores, a handful of cafés/restaurants, and countless boutiques and other shops all within three blocks. It was awesome. By this point, my cousin had become a pro at traveling, and she was an immense help to me at organizing our days in Paris (thanks Nik!). We hit all the standard tourist sites, all of which I had previously visited (with one exception)…
La Musee D’Orsay. Aside from being home to perhaps the finest collection of French impressionist art (think Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cezanne, etc) in the World, la Musee D’Orsay is one of the most beautiful museums. The building once served as a train station before it was converted into the stunning piece of architecture that exists today.
La Tour D’Eiffel. Okay, so we didn’t actually go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or even partway up, but we did enjoy seeing it from afar and up close both during daylight and at dusk. My preference is to see the Eiffel Tower from afar at night, when the tower is lit.
La Louve. If you have never visited Paris, then you may have seen the Louve in the movie The Da Vinci Code. The museum is architecturally beautiful from both the outside and inside. One of the most impressive museums in the World, it would literally take days (if not longer) to really see the museum. It is huge. Not only is the museum itself huge, but many of the paintings inside are huge as well (literally, the Louve houses some of the largest paintings I have ever seen). We didn’t even get through a third of the museum, opting instead to hit some of the art “highlights”, most notably the Mona Lisa. I think my cousin and aunt fought their way up to the front of the mob to snap a few pictures. Having seen the Mona Lisa many years ago, I figured a quick glimpse was all I needed this time around. I still fail to understand why, of all of da Vinci’s work, this piece became so revered.
L’Arc de Triumphe and Avenue des Champs Elysees. There is an observation level on top of the Arc de Triumphe from where you can get a panoramic view of Paris…but again, we chose to view it from afar. We walked down Avenue des Champs Elysees, a 2-km long street filled with shops, restaurants, and a park. From there, we decided to continue on and walk back to our apartment along the Seine River, taking full advantage of Paris during the summer (although it did start to rain on us towards the end of our walk).
Chateau de Versailles. After visiting Schonbrun Palace in Vienna, I was excited to visit Versailles…not so much the chateau itself as the gardens. We took a train out to the chateau, walked through the crowds inside the chateau, and then paused for a picnic-like lunch in the garden. If you are looking to get away from the tourists, this is not the place to go. Nonetheless, the gardens were lovely and massive –- I hope to return to Versailles to explore much more of the gardens (perhaps by bicycle, or even the golf carts that they rent out) in the future.
Musee Rodin. Rather than seeing the museum in its entirety, we opted to visit the gardens, which houses several of Rodin’s sculptures, including the famed The Thinker, which was actually much smaller than I had thought. The gardens were peaceful and filled with art students sketching.
Montmartre and La Basilique du Sacre Coeur. The Basilica (church) is located atop Montmartre, the highest point in the city. From the base of the hill you can take a furnicular or walk up to the basilica…Nik and I climbed up while the old fogeys took a ride (walking was faster than waiting in line, by the way). The basilica itself was impressive, again both inside and out. One of the appeals of Montmartre is walking along the lanes where artists such as Dali, Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh painted -- today, it is filled with local artists selling paintings of picturesque Paris.
La Notre Dame. I didn’t actually go inside the Notre Dame this time around, but I did send the Paris noobs to see the cathedral.
La Cuisine. After eating Spanish food for a week, we were anxious to get to Paris where there is a good international selection of restaurants. Our first night? We opted for Vietnamese for a bowl of pho and bun at a restaurant where, according to my guidebook, all the local Vietnamese eat. I have high standards, so I would say that the food was so-so…but it hit the spot after being in Spain. While walking back to our apartment, we happened to pass a café selling a selection of the “legendary” Berthillon’s ice-creams and sorbets, so we had to stop and get a scoop -- you would have done the same, right? Throughout the week, we had the customary meal at a Brasserie, bought a baguette, found falafel, gyros, and corned beef sandwiches nearby in the Jewish Quarters, a Moroccan meal, had a typical French dinner, ordered savory crepes for lunch, and ate Japanese…not to mention at least one more (if not two) more stops for Berthillon’s ice cream/sorbet and another stop for gelato at the infamous Pozetto (where the server was clearly annoyed at my ordering not one, but five gelatos).
Cafés and Jardins. I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time as I had hoped sitting at street side cafés nor the numerous gardens in Paris, as I could have easily spent hours each day doing both. For me, the cafes and gardens are at the heart of what I truly love about Paris…something you could not fully understand if you have never been to the city. Thankfully, I did have the opportunity to sit at a café/restaurant (and order the requisite espresso) one afternoon with a friend of the husband, his new fiancé, and a friend of hers that is currently living in Paris (lucky, lucky man).
Soldes. A word I came to love in Paris… By some miracle, we happened to arrive in Paris just after the seasonal sales began. What? Shopping in Paris? I would never. That is to say, I would never pass up the opportunity to hit the shops while in Paris, that would be sacrilegious. Especially after holding back for the past four months while we traveled. Luckily for the bank account, I was still feeling guilty for spending money (on top of the money already spent traveling) so my purchases were quite limited. But nonetheless, I did return home with a few “souvenirs” from Paris…I can call them souvenirs, can’t I?!
One last debacle. From reading the blog, I’m sure that you have gathered that travel is not without its pitfalls. More specifically, if you did not already know this, then hear it now -- always expect the unexpected when you travel. I had ordered a taxi to pick us up at 8:45am. Nik and I had allotted an hour drive to the airport and 15 minutes of spare time to get us to the airport the requisite two hours before their flight departure (my flight left 30 minutes after). Things started out great. We vacated the apartment at 8:30am to wait for the taxi, only to find that the taxi was already there. We were correct in estimating travel time, and we arrived at Charles de Gaulle Airport at about 9:30am, giving Nik and co. 2 ½ hours to check in before their flight departed, and me a full 3 hours. You would have thought that 3 hours would have been plenty of time. I did. I was wrong. I stood in a line that didn’t appear to be very long. Unfortunately even a short line becomes a long wait when you shuffle a foot or so every 10 minutes. After waiting in line for forever, I finally made it up to the counter to check my bag in, only to be told I had to wait in another line to have my ticket printed out. For some reason, the fact that I had a US Airways ticket on a United Airlines flight confused them. Don’t ask. After waiting another 15 minutes in yet another line, I was finally able to check my bag in, get my boarding pass, and head to the escalator leading up to customs and the boarding gate. Only to find myself waiting in yet another line (my third and not my last for the day). A line that was not moving. At all. And had everyone waiting at, because for some reason, they were only using one of the three (?) escalators that normally bring people up to the departure gates. I waited for a good 20 minutes. I know, I know, CDG Airport is notorious for its long waits, but this was ridiculous. The French were even complaining about how incredible it was that we were waiting so long. Finally, I was able to make my way upstairs to find my way to line number four, customs. After customs was line number five, security. I believe the line to get onto the actual plane was my last, number six (hooray for premier status – which I earned though all this traveling - as that let me skip another line). Ahh. I found my seat, and was kindly traded my middle seat for a aisle because I was sitting in the middle of a family of four. Apparently the flight was overbooked, because soon after, they were calling for volunteers to fly out the following day. They were offering a lucrative deal -- free hotel for the night, transport to the airport, and an $800 flight voucher (enough to go back to Paris another time) -- it was tempting. Another day in Paris? But then I realized that the previous three hours of standing in line would have to be repeated, and I decided to pass. Luckily for me, the shuffling of passengers and my premier status resulted somehow in my being upgraded into Business Class for free. Now this was the life. I sat back and enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine, a cup of warmed mixed nuts, steaming hand towels, a three-course meal, and watching movies on my own TV, my earlier tribulations at the airport forgotten.
Leaving Paris was incredibly hard. Actually, to be truthful, it was heartbreaking. My only motivation was that I would get to see the husband soon…
kl.
PS. Check back in a few days for a few post-travel blogs...
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