"The glories of the art of architecture, of the arts on all sides, in and out of doors, the conviction of the French that the arts were indispensable to the enjoyment and meaning of life, affected the Americans more than anything else about Paris, and led many to conclude their own country had a long way to go. Something had awakened within them. Most would never again look upon life in the same way, as they said themselves repeatedly in so many words."
-David McCullough (The Greater Journey)
Now that the business portion of Neil's trip was finished, it was time for some pleasure. And what more pleasurable place to be than in Paris? We hopped on a train and began a three hour ride through the German and French country side. I almost succumbed to a wild hair and jumped off the train when it stopped in Brussels. It seemed crazy not to get out and at least see Belgium, but there we sat as the beautiful city slowly disappeared in the distance. I began to doze as we rode. I noticed an interesting sound in my comatose state. I woke up enough to figure out what I was hearing. The German family sitting across from us, who had been rather boisterous most of the journey discussing with enthusiasm the Parisian sights they planned on visiting, were now whispering, out of respect for the sleepy American that sat across from them. Did I tell you how much I fell in love with the German people? I don't know that I would have been shown the same courtesy here in the states. I was sad to say good-bye to lovely Cologne, and its charming people.
The train dumped us off in a bustling Paris station. There we sat, a couple of dumbfounded American tourists with not the slightest inclination of what we should do next. We agreed that a taxi might be the best way to go. We stood in a long line and finally got into a taxi where we gave the driver the address to the building that held our Paris passes. As the driver dropped us off, we were shocked by how bustling Paris is. In the movies, you only see the quiet cobblestoned streets dappled with cafes or the green countryside glowing in the afternoon light. You forget that Paris is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. For a second there, we wanted to climb back into the taxi and insist the driver take us home. But we rallied. Picked up our Paris passes that held our precious metro passes. Perused the metro map. Got our bearings. And never looked back.
What does one do with only three and half days in Paris? Sit on a street corner and cry at the prospect of having a mere three days in Paris? Perhaps. We had decided from the get-go that we would basically choose three or four must-see sights, a few would-be-nice-if-we-saw sights, and that everything else would be considered cream on the top. I'm glad this was our attitude. It kept us from being frenzied tourists trying to cross another monument off the list, all the while missing the essence of this amazing city. We didn't want to miss the essence of Paris. We knew that we could not even begin to see all of Paris in three and a half days. So we weren't even going to try. But we were bound and determined to see the Louvre, Notre Dame, and Versailles!
My first order of business was to get a new pair of footwear. The ridiculous selections I had brought with me were causing me agony every step. We stopped at a silly silly shop by our hotel, and I bought the silliest pair of sparkly sandals you've ever seen. They offered no support but didn't irritate my blisters. That was my only souvenir in Paris. A silly pair of 40 Euro sandals bought, not on the Champs-Elysess, but at a rinky-dink shop down the street from the Best Western.
Next order of business...Notre Dame.
We didn't go inside this evening. We just wanted to spend this first night walking the streets of Paris. You know, to capture its essence. We were starving and had been given very specific instructions as to where to get the best gyros in Paris. So we made our way to the Latin District.
And enjoyed what were indeed very delicious gyros. We kept asking ourselves if it was silly that we were eating gyros in Paris? As french fries fell out of our gyros and into our laps, we decided that there was nothing silly about eating good food in Paris, whether it was of the french variety or not.
There happened to be a gelato shop just a few doors down that was calling our name. People talk about how rude the French are to those who don't speak their language. I will say that we experienced nothing but patience and kindness as we would go up to the counters and ask, "Parley vous Englais?" I can not imagine how frustrating it would be to work in a tourist saturated part of Paris, where day in and day out all you deal with are clueless tourists who don't speak your language and don't understand your culture and can't even order a simple gelato.
I was grateful for their patience as I ordered a double scoop with chocolate chip and chocolate gelato. They even sculpted it into a lovely rose for me. I kind of went to another place as I ate it. It was a beautiful place.
And what do you know, another gorgeous ancient church that we had no choice but to go into. If the reader is bored by old churches and cathedrals then perhaps he or she might peruse another blog, because I never tire of such things and certainly didn't on this trip, nor did my camera.
The great thing about just walking and walking in Europe, is that you will most likely stumble across some of the things that you had hoped to see. I had come across the Luxembourg Gardens in my research but had feared that we just wouldn't have time to catch them during our short stay. But our meanderings dropped us right in the middle of some of the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen.
And because we were not agenda-driven on this trip and weren't determined to get to the next sight, we sat and stayed awhile in these exquisite gardens.
I believe I had bruises all over my arms at this point from the constant pinching of myself. There I sat in front of the home of Catherine De Medici with my sweetie and my cute sister.
Then the gardens closed. Whistles sounded from every corner of the park. That was the French way of politely asking us to Get Out! And so we did.
Our next adventure was perhaps the most touristy thing we did this week. We took a river cruise. We thought it might be fun to see the city of lights at night as we glided across the Seine.
We made our way to the Eiffel Tower that is as stunning as in the pictures. Every hour, the tower sparkles. Yes, it's magical.
The boat ride was chilly but fun.
I will leave you with this final photo taken on our first day in Paris. It is a silly silly picture, but it exhibits perfectly how much fun Neil and I were having on a boat on the Seine, under the Eiffel Tower, on a chilly night, in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
I married a man, and he showed me the world!
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