Fabbity Fab Paris

i liked this building
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Paris is a world of its own, a whole different way of life, a fantasy. Paris was fabulous. But going from mellow Amsterdam to a crush of people rushing around the metro station was a bit of a shocking transition. Luckily, we all made it to the hotel in one piece, remembering that just because everyone else is in a hurry on the Metro doesn’t mean we have to be. We stayed at Le Relais Montmarte in the Montmarte district just a few blocks away from the Moulin Rouge. For our trip we used Fodor’s Paris’s 25 Best, an easy to use full of useful information tourist book that got us to almost all the main sights. It divided Paris into its many districts and then within each district recommended shopping, sights to see, restaurants, other activities, and a walking tour. I felt the walking tour was one of the best parts of the book because it took you to almost all the main sights of that particular district. We used the walking tour to explore Montmarte and saw the Moulin Rouge, the Montemarte cemetery (where Edgar Degas and Hector Berlioz are buried), Sacre Coeur, and Abessess (a street lined with shops and a little market). The street to get to our hotel (Rue Lepic) was advertised as being a wonderful shopping experience for buying local food. So, our first night we hopped from shop to shop buying wine, two heavenly cheeses, a fresh baguette, and grapes: the perfect French dinner.

view from Sacre Coeur
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The day we got there, Saturday, was the evening of the Rugby World Cup Championship match. On our walk through Montmarte we passed several sports bars filled with red and white bedecked and painted people. It was the first city I had visited where I heard so many English speaking people, of course that was only because of England’s presence in the match. We participated in the festivities by watching the match on television while being thoroughly confused about the rules of rugby the whole time. However, the station did show Prince Harry in the stands at the game, which made the game more than worth watching. :)

approaching Sacre Coeur
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Designated the tour guide and armed with our handy dandy tour book, the parents and I truly experienced Paris. Sainte Chapelle was my favorite religious building. Notre Dame was grand and Sacre Coeur was magnificent, but Sainte Chapelle was breathtaking. We arrived early in the morning and were able to avoid most of the crowds. The dark blue ceiling with its tiny gold stars and the never ending stain glass windows that looked as if they were floating truly made me feel like I was beneath a heavenly sky. The detail of the stain glass and the painting on the walls was incredible. So much thought was put into this place that was built solely to house the treasures obtained in the Holy Wars. Sainte Chapelle gave me a peaceful feeling while at the same time conveying the magnificence and grandeur of another greater Being.

our french dinner
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When we visited Notre Dame Sunday mass was in session, and hearing the choir sing in the background as I walked around the cathedral made the grandness of the building a little more down to earth and helped me picture it as a place of worship that it had been for so many years before it became mostly a tourist attraction.

The Louvre could take weeks to explore. We did a quick tour of the museum trying to hit the galleries of most interest to us. We saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, but my favorite exhibit was the marble statues. After the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam I was a little museumed-out and so I did not fully appreciate or experience all the works of art housed under this one building. I don’t think anyone should attempt to see the Louvre in part of a day or even one whole day. It’s a week long event. There was an audio tour based on art mentioned in the Da Vinci Code which would have been fun to do had we the time.

The Louvre
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I felt the Arc de Triomphe to be a somewhat bittersweet but hopeful monument. It commemorated victory of war and sacrifices made. It seems to be a reminder to people of being strong and defending one’s country, way of life, or culture. Once again, the views from the top were great, but the most interesting part was examining the sculptures on the Arc itself. So many different parts of history are remembered on the Arc.

One of my favorite parts of Paris was the River Seine. I loved strolling along its bank, looking at the green boxes filled with old books, paintings, post cards, and other artwork. I also think one could spend a good portion of the day just browsing through all the stalls and absorbing the hustle and bustle of the city by the river. After walking along a good portion of the river, it was nice to take a river cruise and learn about the many sights we saw while walking. We took the cruise at dusk and while it was very chilly, experiencing the city and its monuments at sunset was gorgeous.

Venus de Milo
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At night, green and gold lights lit up the Eiffel Tower and for ten minutes every hour the Tower sparkled. While riding the elevator up and then back down the hour occurred both times and we rode among the sparkles. The line to get to the top was about 40 minutes long and while I was completely numb and frozen, the view of the city lit up at night was spectacular. Overall, we spent a total of one hour at the tower due to the late hour and the cold, but during the summer or a warmer day, it would have been lovely to learn and see more of this monumental structure.

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Our dinner the second night in Paris was completely unexpected. We were walking back to the hotel cold and hungry and on the lookout for a café or restaurant to stop for food. We saw this Italian restaurant and a couple was leaving a table just as we walked in. The owner welcomed us and as soon as he discovered we spoke English, inquired where we were from. Upon hearing Oregon, his face broke into a huge smile and he said “aahhhhh the Portland Trail Blazers!!!” We were astounded he knew of our hometown but apparently he is a big fan of Clyde “the Glide” Drexler and had lived in the southeastern part of the States for a few years in the early nineties. We all ordered pizza and the owner brought us a complimentary appetizer of marinated octopus, squid, and shrimp. Throughout our meal he chatted with us and told us stories about his time in the States. It was very interesting to hear his view of Americans and Europeans. He feels that Europeans are stuck up and that they feel they know everything already and do not need to learn more or go out and explore. But Americans, he feels, are always questioning things and wanting to know more about new people and places. He gave us little after-dinner drinks of flavored liqueurs (lemon, almond, and melon) as he told us his stories and truly made us feel lucky to be experiencing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities of traveling.

cake break
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Shopping in Paris is an experience unto itself. While we did not go into many designer stores we did walk down the Av Des Champs-Elysees. On our way we stopped in the Guerlain perfumerie. Never have I smelled a more glorious place. My nose was in heaven. Our favorite perfume, coincidentally, was the Des Champs-Elysses. We also made our way to Galeries Lafayette. On our way we saw hundreds of people lining up on the sidewalk for a few blocks and wrapping around the corner. After looking around, we saw in big red lights “Paul McCartney.” It delighted me to see so many fans waiting like that. At Galeries Lafayette there happened to be some sort of sale akin to a Nordstrom’s half-yearly or anniversary sale. We spent most of our time in the men’ department shopping for gifts, but we also spent a bit of time on the food floor: so many wonderful foods from around the world and too many sweets to choose from. The main building of the mall had already begun decorating for Christmas as there was a huge Christmas tree in the center going straight to the top of the glass domed ceiling. Just imaging the lights and sparkle and cheer during the holiday season put me in a happy mood. I’m sure the hustle and bustle of this department store during the holidays is festive and exciting. We also spent a bit of time in the Latin Quarter and found another fun jewelry shop, Ikuo. While not as sparkly and pretty as the pieces in Amsterdam, the jewelry here was just as fun and funkier.

Moulin Rouge
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Across the street was the tea shop Mariage Freres that has over 400 different teas from around the world. We had our afternoon tea the second day there with scones, madelines, muffins, and crème brulee: a tea party fit for a queen. Our first day’s afternoon tea was spent at a sidewalk café in the sun with tart tatin, apple tart, and chocolate cake: another deliciously sweet time.

For my last night in Paris we walked up Rue Lepic and stopped at a little corner restaurant with traditional French food. Dad and I both got the three-course special. I had an appetizer of fresh mozzarella balls and baby tomatoes on a kabob and drizzled in pesto. The main course consisted of a half cockerel (baby chicken) on a bed of pasta and for dessert I chose the special of the day, Tartellete Clementine: a flaky, buttery, and smooth tart crust filled with whipped cream and fresh Clementine orange slices. Never have I eaten better (except for thanksgiving and the holidays at home) than I did during my 2.5 days in Paris.

appetizer
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Paris was a fabulous city, full of life and definitely full of romance. I feel I got a decent fill of Paris, but I also feel that one can never get enough of this city of lights.