The Real City of Lights . . . Paris!

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(November 9th - 12th) Leaving Dublin, Brian kissed the ground right before we got on the plane. I thought it was sweet since Ireland had been such a wonderful home for us and we certainly were going to miss it. Then he kissed me and declared, “Now we’ve both kissed it!” A little gross but still a sweet thought. It was a short flight to Paris and a quick metro ride into the heart of the city. If you’ve never been to Paris, go. Find time. Find a way. The moment we stepped out of the metro I fell in love! The city is absolutely beautiful beyond what I can describe here for you. We happened to be extremely lucky to have popped out of the metro right at sunset so the sky was lit up with golden pinks and purples while the buildings glowed with a glittering amber light. Although Brian thought he knew the way to our hotel, we ended up circling the entirety of the Louvre only to discover that it had been a block from where we exited the metro. C’est la vie!

After dropping off our luggage at the charming hotel we discovered (thank you venere.com) we decided to explore the city. Brian lead the way and kept glancing back at me every few seconds as I gawked in awe at the beauty of the true City of Lights. I finally asked him why he kept looking, but as I turned towards him I already knew why he kept looking to see my face. There it was, the Eiffel Tower. It truly is an astonishing sight. It was lit up in blue and loomed into the night sky above. A few moments later, it sparkled with twinkling lights mimicking the stars above it. We decided we had to go to the top. And although the ride in the windowed elevator was frightening past my limitations (Cheryl you wouldn’t have made it . . . I’m sorry), it was well worth it. I remember at one point on the ride up when we were slowing down thinking, “We made it!” Only to discover we were no where near the top at all. Its one thing to go up in a elevator when you have no idea how high you’ve gone, its another thing to stare at the ground as it gets further and further away from you and fear you’ll never make it back down. The view was magnificent though, and Brian and I stared at Paris long after our faces were frozen with the cold.

We continued our walk around Paris by seeing the Arc de Triumph and the Louver lit up. These structures are amazing to behold and look nothing like they do in the daylight, so although my fear of vampires eating us (childhood fear, much longer story) swelled up at several points on the walk, I’m certainly glad we pressed on.
The second day we headed for the Louvre to see some of the most famous art I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Although it is loved by some and hated by others, I personally thought The DaVinci Code was phenomenal (Angels and Demons was even better!) so seeing the Louvre for me was like walking into a storybook. Brian and I did our best to mirror Mona Lisa’s smile as well as impersonate several Greek and Roman sculptures. I tried not to laugh out loud when looking at the Venus de Milo and thinking of the Gummy Venus de Milo from the Simpsons, and we found several pieces of art that we truly enjoyed. Thank you to Mary E. Silveira because I taught Brian VTS (Visual Thinking Strategies - a teaching method we use for art with the students) and we used it throughout the Louvre to enjoy the art on a whole different level.

That night, after a decent Paris nap from our fifth floor room that overlooked the rooftops, Brian and I dressed in our finest and were off the Moulin Rouge. I left Brian to the directions, and once again we were lost. We had decided the best way to travel Paris was onfoot to see everything, but this time we had a deadline to keep. After racing in heels up the cobblestone streets we saw the familiar red windmill in front of us and made it just in time to catch the beginning of the show. Now, the Moulin Rouge is exactly what you are all imagining. Many many crazy outfits, many many men who would most likely kill to move to San Francisco, and many many women missing half of their outfits. Brian had no idea what he was in for and I completely forgot, so as soon as the first set of women came out on stage and his jaw dropped in disbelief that I would willingly bring him to such a place, I just laughed. What’s fantastic about the Moulin Rouge was that they bring you champagne and many people around you don’t drink it. Brian and I left with two extra bottles (mine was bigger 😊 and a head full of fantastic images. There is no real plot or sequence to the musical number or circus acts they put on, and it is entirely in French except for two songs in English. The most dramatic and sensational act by far was when a woman, wearing only a white thong, jumped into a clear pool of water snakes and began to swim and twirl around with them. Fantastic and yet terrifying images that will haunt my brain.

The third day we were off on foot again to see the Notre Dame, the Bastille roundabout, and take a ride on the Seine river. We lit a candle for a dear friend who’s brother is very ill in the Notre Dame and then stood outside in the line to go to the top. As we waited, a clown was entertaining the crowd by following unknowing pedestrians and startling them. As the crowd laughed in unison over and over again, an Indian women walked by with her daughter smiling from ear to ear. When the daughter asked, “Why are you smiling?” the women replied, “Its wonderful to hear everyone laugh at the same time.” Later as we walked the streets we noticed a father with his young daughter sitting sideways on the back of his bike. The father was biking extremely slowly and singing to her so as to keep her calm on the ride home. Once again the beauty of humanity overwhelmed my heart.

We hopped on a boat to take a ride down the Seine and hopefully find the Paris Statue of Liberty. As the water whisked under us, Brian tossed me one of his earphones with Coldplay ringing through it, and we both stared at the water in awe of this precious moment. Paris is most definitely a city of romance 😊 As we walked to the Statue of Liberty and then turned back realizing how far away it was, the skies opened up and we were instantly drenched by a downpour of rain. It was another one of those moments, I can’t really explain, but it was perfect. As the rain slowly stopped, we saw a rat dart out from one bush to cross to another, and the first words our of Brian’s mouth were, “And now we’ve even seen Ratatouille!” We spent our last night eating the most delicious meal in Paris. We shared a bottle of Bordeaux at a tiny little café and ate cheese until the fullness of our bellies put us right to sleep.

The last day was spent discovering what the train situation would be like for the rest of our time traveling Europe. The French were surprisingly helpful our entire stay, moreso that I imagined they would’ve been. Everytime we tried to speak French, we were assisted and encouraged. I feel that we were respected more as travelers for trying instead of forcing our own language upon them. After several hours at the train station and getting lost one last time trying to find the elusive Statue of Liberty (which we still did not see), we went up to the Pantheon to meet Jerome, a friend of our friend Sage’s from home. Jerome took us down the tiny windy cobblestone streets that I had been searching for in Paris. One street dedicated entirely to art (Rue Seine Chrissy, you’ll love it), one dedicated entirely to comic books and action figures (Danger, this one’s for you!), and one that started with a quaint old toy store and ended with a few beautiful jewelry stores and the café in which we all sipped coffee (café allonge) and got to know each other. The world feels so much smaller when we have friends in every place we go. Thank you to all of you at home who have helped make this possible. It truly is a blessing.

After one last crepe at the café near our hotel and one last look at the beauty and splendor of Paris, Brian and I headed for the train. Thanks to years of my parents putting me to sleep by setting me on top of the dryer (until I learned to roll off . . . that was a good day 😊 or driving around in the car, the train put me right to sleep as it headed for Madrid.

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Comments

[Cher]

I totally would've made it
You don't know me... I totally would've made it to the top of the scary glass elevator shooting multiple stories up in the air... no, you're right, I wouldn't ;-)