Pour L'Amour de Paris!
For the Love of Paris!
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| My husband patiently waiting at JFK |
We arrived very early in the morning. Took the RER and Metro into the 15th arrondissement and headed to a cafe to wait for the woman renting us the flat to arrive. This was the first time my husband had been to Europe. The train ride into Paris was during the early morning; it was still dark outside. As we sat down in the cafe, the sun began to break over the horizon and the sky slowly illuminated. My husband gasped as he looked out the window... there it was... the Eiffel Tower! We were so close! Suddenly, the weariness from our long journey melted and the romance settled into our souls. We smiled and sighed. We were in Paris.
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| Our first glimpse from the cafe... the Eiffel Tower |
We ordered croissants... the proprietor said it would be 20 minutes. An hour later the warm, flaky croissants arrived. Worth every minute of waiting. We spoke to the flat renter. She said she'd be there in 20 minutes. An hour later she arrived to let us in. The view from the flat was stunning - the wait was worth it. We quickly learned time was different in Paris and that was okay. We would plan accordingly.
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| The magical view from our flat! |
We took a nap for a few hours, showered all the "travel" off and headed to the Eiffel Tower. I had pre-purchased tickets to the top of the tower online, which made the wait very short. I highly recommend this option. The Eiffel Tower has 3 levels you can visit. 1st floor, 2nd floor and the top. The elevator brought us to the 2nd floor first. As we walked around the 4 sides, taking in the views of Paris, I cried. This wasn't my first time to Paris, but it was my first time up the tower. Something about sharing this moment with my husband overwhelmed me with joy and love and emotions that I couldn't control. It was truly magical.
We went all the way to the top, next. The Eiffel Tower is very tall. 986 feet tall. 3 times taller than the Statue of Liberty. And not for the fearer of heights! The views just got better though. We could see everything. It was a great way to see Paris and get oriented for the days ahead.
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| View to the top, from inside at the bottom. |
After touring the Eiffel Tower we went to take another nap. Jet lag was kicking our butts. That night we met up with my friend Kava and went back to the Eiffel Tower, walked along the Seine River a short time and settled into a docked boat for dinner.... with an absolutely magical view of the Eiffel Tower. Twinkling in all it's glory - every hour on the hour. Dinner was fine, but for dessert I had Creme Brulee for the first time.... it was divine!
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| Kava and me under the Eiffel Tower |
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| The night view from our flat... with the twinkling lights! |
Tuesday morning we were up early to go to Pere Lachaise Cemetery where we spent hours roaming around the grounds. So many famous people are buried here, including Jim Morrison (The Doors), Colette (author), Gertrude Stein (author), Edith Piaf (singer) and Oscar Wilde (author). Of course Jim Morrison was first on our list. When I was in Paris 14 years ago, the grave was guarded by armed military personnel. This time, it was blockaded, so you could not go all the way up to the grave site. Obviously, people did. There were many flowers and mementos on his grave.
We also went to Edith Piaf's grave. I brought her a red rose. She was a magical vocalist and I wanted to honor her in some little way. We visited Gertrude Stein's grave and while Dave was checking out another monument, I sought out Colette's grave. Colette wrote a book called The Vagabond - so I felt a small connection to her.
The tombs and headstones at Pere Lachaise are ornate and extraordinary. The details are both spooky and fascinating. We exhausted ourselves for hours reading headstones and honoring the dead of Paris.
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| Jim Morrison's grave |
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| Gertrude Stein's grave |
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| One of several monuments to honor holocaust victims |
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| Edith Piaf's grave {That's my rose with the crucifix!} |
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| Colette's grave |
Our original plan was to go to Sacre Couer and Montmartre and maybe even the Dali Museum that afternoon/evening. But we had spent so much time in the cemetery, our feet were killing us from walking up and down the cobblestone hills for hours, and well.. the jet lag was still with us, so we decided to skip these. Instead, my husband had found a curios store online and we went to check it out.
Deyrolle is indescribable. Filled with rare taxidermy, entomology and a myriad of all things odd. Deyrolle forbids photography in their establishment, so the following photos I have found online to give you an idea of the oddities that abound there.
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Quick back story... This time last year I took a solo, impromptu trip to Barcelona. My friend Kava was speaking at a conference there and invited me to join her for a few days. At the end of the conference she was invited back to speak again, at this year's conference - being held in Paris. So for the past year we knew we were going to be going to Paris this March. I also have a friend who lives in Vienna, Austria, Alicja. I figured Paris and Vienna are a lot closer than San Francisco and Vienna are - so why not invite her to met us there! Alicja flew in on Tuesday with her mother, to spend a few days in Paris with us.
Tuesday evening Dave and I met up with Alicja and her Mum for dinner. Their hotel was literally across the street from our flat, so we grabbed a bite at a restaurant on our street. Dinner was good. I had the Croque Madame - ham, egg and cheese baked on a slice of toast.
Wednesday morning we met up with Alicja and her Mum again to visit Notre Dame Cathedral, the Crypt down below, and Sainte Chapelle. Random thing about Sainte Chapelle - I had never heard of it. Alicja had told me they were putting it on their To Do list, but I just glossed over it. Then at Target a few days before we left for Paris, the cashier {who noticed I was buying power converters} asked where I was going. When I told her Paris she RAVED about Sainte Chapelle. So, we added it to the list.
Notre Dame was breathtaking inside and out. The details of the facade are astonishing. And inside, I was moved by the statuary and history of the cathedral. I lit a candle for my father who passed away 14 years ago... just month's before my first trip to Paris. I was moved to tears again. Paris overwhelms me a little.
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| Frenchman feeding the birds! |
I won't try to give you a history lesson on the Crypt, but do check out their website if you're interested in learning a little more. I will say that the city dates back 2000 years. Yes, back to the time of Christ. Pretty epic.
Over at Sainte Chapelle, just a couple blocks from Notre Dame, we stood in line for just 10 minutes and then went right in. March is a great time to go to Paris. The wait to get into the tourism sites are short, if not non-existent.
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| Alicja and her Mum! |
From here we split up with Alicja and her Mum. They headed back to Notre Dame to climb over 500 steps to the top and on to the Arc d-Triomphe, too. Dave and I went to a couple of English language bookstores (The Abbey and Shakespeare & Co) because we love books. The Abbey is a Canadian owned bookstore with both new and used books. It is packed to the gills with great reads. We didn't end up buying anything here though, we felt their prices were a bit steep - although understandable, as there are few English language bookstores in Paris. Shakespeare & Co reminded me a lot of City Lights bookstore in San Francisco. It had a large array of books that appealed to both me and Dave. I bought a limited edition George Orwell book, Down and Out in Paris and London with a cover designed by Shepard Fairey. {Side story - Several years ago there was a Shepard Fairey exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston where I bought 2 other George Orwell books with covers designed by Shepard Fairey - 1984 and Animal Farm.} I also bought Stevenson's Paris by Jeremy Hodges. A short book about Robert Louis Stevenson's time living in Paris. I don't have any photos inside Shakespeare & Co because they do not allow photos to be taken inside.
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| The Abbey Bookstore |
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| View down the stairs at The Abbey |
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| Shakespeare & Company Bookstore |
It was a short walk down the Seine River to Pont des Arts - or Lover's Bridge. This is the iconic bridge covered in locks placed by lovers over the years. Although I had read before traveling to Paris about a campaign to dissuade placing locks on the bridge, due to the weight having an impact on the bridge's integrity, I couldn't help myself but want to place a lock of our own. I painted a lock with finger nail polish before we left on our trip. We found an open spot, locked on our lock, made a wish for our love and threw the keys in the Seine.
A lady cannot go to Paris and not go to Laduree for their delectable macarons. Located just a few blocks from Pont des Arts and en route to the Metro station, it was nice little treat before going to the Catacombes.
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| Laduree |
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| Macarons! |
To the Catacombes! This place is beyond words... so... check out the photos!
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| After descending over 100 stairs, you traverse a series of underground tunnels. |
We met up with Alicja and her Mum again for dinner near where we were all staying. Kava and her daughter, Akosua, came by for a few minutes on their way to the Eiffel Tower to say hi. I had a ham and cheese crepe and {French} onion soup. I was disappointed that the soup didn't have gobs of cheese on it like American French onion soup does. I love cheese. =D But the crepe was delicious, so I can't complain.
We woke up early Thursday morning and caught the Metro and RER back to the airport. We were fortunate the flight to LAX had many open seats and we did not have to sit around waiting for a flight. 10 hours later, we were able to catch the next available flight back to SFO on my own airline. When we got home we were exhausted, but grateful. Grateful to have had such a romantic and beautiful experience together. Grateful to be able to fly standby and take advantage of the opportunity to see the world on a small budget. Grateful to have wonderful neighbors who watched over our cats while we were gone. Grateful to have each other to share Paris with.
Thank you for taking the time to share Paris with me! I'll be heading out on another 50 States of Yoga adventure in a couple weeks! See you again soon!
Awesome! Inspiring! Well written!
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