We decided to take the metro to the apartments we rented in
the 3ème arrondisement, the
neighborhood of le Marais, as it was only two stops on one metro. However, we
didn’t think about early Sunday morning metro traffic and found the 5 of us
trying to push into an already filled metro with all of our bags. Needless to
say, not a good beginning to the day. After a little bit of walking and
orientation, we found Dan and Brenna’s apartment. They were staying in a
private room with a lovely French woman who lived right next to the metro stop.
She was more than accommodating, spoke wonderful English and even proceeded to
have a nice French conversation with me about my business living in France as I
left the apartment. Finding my parents and I’s apartment was a completely
different story. Though the host said it was “a 7 minute walk”, a half an hour
later, drenched in sweat from carrying our bags, we arrived at the gate of the
complex. After buzzing at our hosts apartment twice and receiving no response,
I panicked and quickly found the number to call him. Just as I pressed dial,
the door opened and a man said “I am Kevin” with a smile. He was clearly
expecting a reaction, but as I was expecting a man named Alexandre, you can
sense why I hesitated. We soon learned that Kevin was Alexandre’s housekeeper
and he helped us with our bags and showed us the apartment. Once we got cleaned
up, we walked back to Rue de Rivoli to pick up Dan and Brenna from their
apartment but were greeted instead by 40,000 people running past us, complete
with people cheering and bands playing for encouragement on the sidewalks. We
had just ran into the Paris Semi-Marathon.
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| Some where more prepared than others. Spotted: someone wearing a polo shirt and khakis STRUGGLIN' |
After letting the runners subside, we went for a quick lunch
at a hole-in-the-wall Jewish restaurant nearby. Having falafel was only
fitting, as I had tried it for the first time in Paris on my last visit. After
a nice lunch, we headed by metro to the Opèra Garnier where, after a little bit
of time getting oriented, we got on a bus tour to explore the sights of Paris.
As Dan and Brenna had only one day in Paris, we decided that this was the best
option so Dan (who had never been to Paris before) could see as much as
possible in one day. The tour began under sunny, blue skies and sitting on the
top of the double decker bus seemed like a perfect way to be spending the day
in Paris. Although near the end of the tour, the clouds came out and it got a
bit breezy, I saw many things that I had seen before but with a new perspective
from the audioguide of information.
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| Cheesin' in front of the Opera Garnier |
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| Lovers in front of the Eiffel Tower |
For our last dinner together, we stopped by a little
restaurant on the walk back to my parent’s and my apartment called le Sévigné. I was not sure about this
place at first, as it looked quite chic and as most places in Paris are
overpriced for cold, unpersonable service, I am always hesitant to go to sit
down places. This place totally changed my opinion, the owner being
instantaneously personable the second we came in. Even though we were dinner
quite early for a French standard*, he made a table up for us amongst the many
people in the restaurant who there pour
prendre une verre**. Though he greeted us in English, when he noticed I was
speaking in French, he asked how I knew to speak, which led to the discussion
of my living here, Provence and aioli, amongst other things. My family and I
enjoyed one last wonderful meal together at this restaurant, filled with wine,
duck, steak, baguette and dessert. As it was Brenna’s birthday that day and
Dan’s birthday the very next day, we went back to our apartment and toasted in
celebration with a white wine I had sneakily bought from Chez Sylla the day
before. Soon after, we had to say goodbye to Dan and Brenna, as they were
leaving early in the morning for their flight. It is always difficult to say
goodbye to loved ones, especially when you don’t know when you will see them
again, but it was so great to have them here that I will take the tear-filled
adieu anyday.
Monday, my parents and I took an excursion outside Paris, to
the region of Normandy on the northwest coast of France to visit the D-Day
beaches. We had to catch a 2 hour train in the morning, getting us into Bayeux
around noon with our half day tour of the beaches starting at 1. We thankfully
had some time in there to grab lunch before the tour started, which I was not
worried about as there is always some type of food at the train stations.
However, our train had a half hour delay, getting us into Bayeux with only 15
minutes before the tour started. When we hurried into the train station to get
some food, we were only greeted with vending machines filled with pop, chips
and candy bars. As there were no restaurants in quick walking distance, we
downed two twix bars each and set off to explore what Normandy had to offer.
The tour first started at the Pointe du Hoc, the highest
point between Utah beach and Omaha beach where it was explained how the United
States Rangers scaled the cliffs to assault the German forces embedded there on
D-Day. It was amazing to imagine the courage of the men, seeing how far up that
cliff was.
Next, we headed onto Omaha Beach, where our tour guide Elisa
explained the strategy of the US Armed forces during D-Day and what problems
occurred with this strategy, leading to unbelievable amount of casualties. It
was such a calm stretch of land when we visited, making it even more difficult
to believe the events that unfolded there on June 6, 1944. While we were taking
in the scene, it began to rain a bit but we decided to tough it out. Only when
it began to pour someone in our tour group suggested to go back to the van. As
we hurried back, it began to hail little pellets on us…guess that was a good
call!
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| The calm before the (hail) storm |
The tour took us next to American soil in France: the
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. The sun began to come out again as we
heard about the making of this sobering place. From the garden of the missing
(where the names of 1500 fallen soldiers whose bodies have not been found are
listed), to the bronze statue “The Spirit
of the American Youth Rising from the Waves”, to the over 9,000 marble
crosses lined in perfect symmetry, this monument’s beauty is harrowing and
really makes you step back and realize what people have done to protect our
country. They also added a new visitor’s center which acts as a free museum
about the soldiers and D-Day in general. Unfortunately, we just barely saw the
center and had to leave – we could have spent a lot more time there. We got
back outside to watch them take the American flag down and play taps, as they
do every day at 4:30pm to honor the fallen. It was a moment that I won’t forget
anytime soon.
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| The stones in the ground at the memorial were taken directly from Omaha Beach. |
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| Harrowing and sobering. |
To finish the tour, we headed to another area where German
bunkers still exist, but these where different as they still had the canons in
them. You could see how they canons had been hit from the attacks and it made
the stories that much more real. Also, our tour guide Elisa is from the Bayeux
area, living in Colleville sur Mer. When we asked if she knew anyone involved
in D-Day, she said her Grandmother had been living near Omaha beach! She
recounted us the stories about her grandmother living at that time. One that
stood out to me was how she got married the year after D-Day and her dress was
made of old parachutes, as that was the only white fabric they had readily
available to make dresses in the area. Little details like that is what taking
tours like this is all about – we were all very grateful for her insight and
personal experience.
Once we were back to the train station, we decided to exchange
our tickets back to Paris for ones that were two hours earlier, being too
exhausted to stay any longer. So once again, we were left to have a vending
machine dinner which consisted of chips and coke. But after hearing the stories
of what the American soldiers sacrificed for us, this didn’t seem like a big
deal. Once back in Paris, we grabbed some sandwiches quick and crashed the
second we got back to the apartment.
Tuesday morning began early once again with a train ride out
to Versailles. Although I have visited Louis XIV’s humble abode a few times, my
mom wanted to go with a tour guide so we were off to meet this guide for a half
day tour. After a quick stop to grab breakfast and lunch from Starbucks***, we
met the guide, Sophie, and the other members of our tour group. While getting
to know each other, the tour guide found out about my job here in France and
that I had visited Versailles before and know a bit about French history.
Although it was nice to have her information throughout the visit to point
things out, I was surprised to find out that much of what she said was things
that I already knew! Maybe studying so hard in FREN 3000 in college did get me
somewhere! Anyway, it was a lovely tour for people that don’t know much about
French history and the making of Versailles, I would recommend it!
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| The Little Chapel |
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| The Hall of Mirrors |
After we were done wandering around the inside of the
palace, we took our sack lunch out to the gardens and soaked up the sun on a
park bench. Although the gardens during the winter are nothing to behold when
you compare to their beauty during the summer, it was wonderful relaxing
outside by the beautiful pruned shrubbery.
Since we were so tired from waking early two days in a row,
especially those days filled with tours, we headed back to the apartment early
to make dinner ourselves and have a relaxed night. I relish in these times on
vacation, spending time with loved ones in a place that feels like home.
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| Bon Appetit! |
Wednesday, I tried to jam-pack as much Paris as I could in
one day. First, we started at the Louvre. We went in with a list of things that
Mom wanted to see, including the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory,
Rebellious Slave, etc. We saw nearly everything on that list, except Winged
Victory which sadly was being renovated while we were there. As I have visited
the Louvre many times, I am always not only floored by the amount of art it
holds in its walls, but by how the architecture of the buildings is an art in
itself. Room after room, particularly concerning the ceilings, I find myself
floored by the beauty. After seeing the necessary works, we stepped outside to
enjoy some sun in the courtyard and take some pictures with the glass pyramid.
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| "Don't that ceiling ever want to make you cry?" (ten points to whoever can name that movie) |
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| After a long search, we found Madonna on the Rocks. She was pretty excited. |
Next, as Dad is a Hard Rock Café lover, we made our way over
to the Paris restaurant and enjoyed us some great burgers for lunch. There is
nothing like a big burger from the Hard Rock! After, we headed to the Notre
Dame cathedral. Each time I visit this place, I am overwhelmed with a feeling
of calm. Sitting in the pews and reflecting on things with the immense beauty
of the cathedral surrounding me, I was surely feeling (and continue to feel)
blessed. Plus, that rose window though. It gets me every time.
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| Crying. So beautiful! |
To end the day, it was only necessary to take my parents up
the Eiffel Tower. Knowing that we would have to stand in line for an hour, I
got us there so I thought we would have enough time to go up, see the sunset at
the top, come down, and see the first time the lights turn on. As we waited
though, I began to doubt myself, as the sun was setting faster and faster. In
the end, it was absolutely perfect. The sun setting on the city, casting yellow
light on the white washed buildings, with a periwinkle, lilac and pink sky in
the background, I cannot put into words what it meant to share that sunset with
my parents. I don’t think I have ever
seen Paris so beautiful, especially from the top of the Eiffel Tower, and it is
only fitting that I got to share that with the people I love most.
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| I could have posted 100 more photos that I took of the sunset and the amazing view of the city that night. But this one is my favorite, so beautiful! |
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| HAPPY! |
We got back down from the tower just in time to see my
favorite thing in Paris: the twinkling lights that happen every hour after
dark. I always get a little melancholic when I see it and this was no
exception. After the lights ceased their twinkling, we headed back to the
Marais, but not after first grabbing some take-away Chinese food. At first, I
was a little hesitant. But let me tell you, that was some GREAT Chinese food. I
would definitely go back! We settled into sleep before our last day in Paris.
Well sort of. At 3am we were awoken by a young French woman who was screaming
in the hallway and sounded to be knocking on our door. After listening closer,
I figured out she was knocking on our neighbors door, yelling to let her in.
Obviously intoxicated, obviously upset from being left on the side of the road,
she had found her way into the building, where her manfriend obviously didn’t
want her. The yelling and fighting continued for about an hour, and though it was
scary at times, it mostly just struck me that I didn’t know what to do (call
the police, security, etc). In the end the screaming stopped and we got back to
sleep.
With that commotion, morning came early, even though we did
allow ourselves to sleep in a bit. We spent our late morning touring through
the impressionist art at the Musée d’Orsay. Always my favorite museum in
France, I loved seeing these works of art again. What made it more enjoyable
was showing my mother one of my favorite paintings, one of the Houses of
Parliament paintings by Claude Monet, and having her give me a wide eyed look
and say “That is so funny… when you were a little girl you used to LOVE this
stuff at museums… that is so weird!” I guess my 4 year old self knew that I was
a fan of impressionism!
After some lunch and some souvie shopping, we headed to the
Champs Elysées to see the Arc de Triomphe up close and personal. Unfortunately,
it is under renovation right now, so part of its façade is covered, but we
still had to get the obligatory photo.
Then I took my parents on a small walk down the Champs
Elysées, a necessary thing to do on any trip to Paris. Plus, I had something to
check off my Bucket List at the end of the road – eat macaroons from LADURÉE! After many trips to Paris, I finally
made it to the Marie Antoinette inspired tea salon and boutique. Although
crowded with tourists inside, we waited in line and took in the decadently
decorated queue line. Once it was our turn, I picked out 8 different flavored
macaroons for me and my parents to sample and, with a little mix-up of
macaroons on the side, I left the boutique clutching one of those mint green
bags in my hand, excited for the sugar overload that was going to occur later.
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| So much sweety goodness! |
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| Obligatory. |
Even earlier than the last time we got dinner at this
restaurant, our last meal in Paris at le Sévigné started at 4:30pm. We had to
return as we had gotten such great service the last time, and such great food!
I took advantage of such a great place to face my fears and try what I have
wanted to try for years: escargots! I got it with a side of fries, just in case
I didn’t like them and needed something to eat. I needn’t have gotten the
fries, the escargots were absolutely DELICIOUS! The chef had prepared them
stuffed with pesto (a nod from the owner who knows I live in Provence and love
pesto, I am sure…) and they tasted just like any other seafood, like a brother
of mussels. I thoroughly enjoyed this last meal with my parents, toasting the
end of a wonderful two week vacation. After the meal, we headed back to the
apartment and had dessert, the LADURÉE macaroons of course!
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| one word: YUM |
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| From left to right: Chocolate with coconut, praline, salted caramel, raspberry, marie antoinette (which we found out was mint), chocolate, vanilla, and lemon. SO SWEET AND SO GOOD! |
The rest of the night ensued in packing and packing and
weighing luggage. As our taxi for the airport arrived at 6am the next morning,
we made sure all our bags were ready. After a short ride to the airport, my
parents checked into their flight, we enjoyed one last breakfast at Paul,
waited with me at the train station, hugged and waved me goodbye as I left for
my train back to Provence. Because it was so nice being with them for such a
long period of time, I forgot how hard it was going to be to say goodbye. With
tears flowing at the station and my eyes red and puffy as I boarded the train,
I couldn’t help but be reminded of the first time I took a train from that
station to Avignon. So afraid of the unknown, nearly in tears out of sheer
stress and jetlag. Now, there is no fear – instead, I am nearly in tears out of
my heart being in two places at once: Michigan and France. I feel like all this
year that is all I have been doing – constantly saying goodbye. I relish in the
day that I will be able to constantly say hello, only ending with a small see
you later. Until then, I have a 6 week teaching term, followed by 4 weeks of
whirlwind European travel. I know it will fly by in the flash of an eye, but I
must say that the prize at the end will make it all worth it: being reunited
with my family and friends.
*It was 6pm, mind you. The normal eating time is around 9pm.
**Translation: To have a drink. This is quintessential in
French culture, from about 4-7 is the time where people get together at a café
to have a drink: coffee, beer, wine, etc.
***This is important to note: I had a blueberry muffin,
which I have been craving for MONTHS. It’s the simple American pleasures in
life.
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