Paris! I've got your Paris.

January 16, 2010

Paris! I've got your Paris.

I love Paris in the Springtime… I love Paris in the Fall. Ok, it truly felt like winter. The sun kissed desert life has spoiled me, softened me to any temperature below 15 in the Winter sun.

We landed in Charles de Gaulle via the sunny Kingdom of Bahrain and swiftly pulled our bag off the conveyor. Here is where I should mention that our suitcase came out first. That has to be some sort of miracle. Winter coats were immediately pulled out of the suitcase, hats donned and hands encased in warm winter mittens (ok, gloves).

Now I should mention that I have 8 years of French education. I should also mention that education ended in 1993. Madame MacInnis would have been so proud of me as I asked for “deux billets pour Paris”. Don’t you sneer at that… It was very well pronounced. Our train left platform two shortly after we boarded. It was a Saturday morning, a rainy day, my first day ever in Paris.

I was not aware that trains in Paris came with an accordion player. Nothing like a rousing tune from a well tuned (how would I know) accordion at 8:30 in the morning to set the tone for a vacation in the City of Lights. The outskirts of Paris did not warm my heart. It was brown and wet and just looked used. Used up. But as we neared city centre you started to see amazing buildings, quaint houses and signs of life.

We got off the train at Chatelet des Halles and walked to our hotel, Emeraude Hotel Louvre Montana, on Rue Saint-Roch. Cobblestone streets, narrow winding roads, puddles at each corner and a crisp November wind wrapping around me the entire way. I was rubbernecking like a pure tourist when a hand on my shoulder turned me to face my left and stopped me in my tracks. The Eiffel Tower met my gaze in all its ugly steal grandeur. Now it is not pretty, not in the harsh light of day. I now understood the “metal asparagus” comments I had read about in my treasured (and abused) Lonely Planet. But it is impressive. I could not stop looking to my left as we sought out the hotel.

The hotel was tucked down a tiny side street off of Rue Rivoli. It was small, as most are in Paris, but it was wonderful. We were checking in hours ahead of normal check-in times, but they locked up our suitcase and told us we could check in in an hour. A lovely family from Georgia waiting in the lobby for their taxi to take them back to the airport filled us in on their Paris highlights and recommended a restaurant around the corner for our breakfast. Petit dejeuner here we come!

Now I could write pages about Paris. I could go on forever about the virtues in a single styrofoam cup of vin chaud or the taste of a warm croissant at 8 am as we strolled the streets. The white Christmas lights illuminating Champs Elysees or the sparkling light show on the Eiffel Tower each night. But, I would never write it properly and you would never get to feel how my heart warmed as the temperature dropped.

So… highlights in a nutshell:Strolling the Champs Elysees with its Christmas crowds and vendors with vin chaud and chocolate crepes.

Wine in general. Lunch, supper, evening strolls, hot or cold. Yummy red wine.

The top of the Eiffel Tower on our last night. Whipping winds and the panoramic view of the city I had just fallen in love with.

A cup of coffee/tea each morning with a variety of fresh pastries from the patisserie each morning. Followed by a walk. Oh we walked.

Versailles. You can’t imagine people lived in such an opulent lifestyle. I would have cut off more than their heads. Just saying.

Sacre Coeur, and the walk through Montmartre to get there. Hello Moulin Rouge… Ewan McGregor, where were you?!

A ride on the La Grande Roue, that’s a ferris wheel to you non francais speakers, beside the Jardin des Tuileries. This was my first ever ferris wheel ride. Might as well go big. Yes, I was scared.

Standing in line for the Musee D’Orsay only to have the security guards come out with a sign (laminated at that) that announced they were on strike. All the museums went on strike. Solidarity is alive and thriving in Paris. Nothing like a trip to a city of culture only to find you are locked out of the best museums. Ok, this was not a highlight. But it is now kinda funny to think about. At the time, not so funny.

Ok, I am doing what I said I wouldn’t… I am rambling on forever. Best that you go to Paris and form your own stories. Just be sure to share some highlights with me…

I miss Paris. It was truly a city that made me smile brighter each day. Its people, history, food, and secret gems. J’adore Paris… à bientôt.