Paris, the City of Lights

Last Friday, I took off a day of work and boarded a plane to Paris. I usually spend flights tightly gripping my husband's hand (I'm a nervous flier) but this time I was in it alone. However, when I landed I was lucky enough to be greeted by blue skies and a couple of friends. Leaving husbands, boyfriends, and children behind, my four friends and I all elected to spend a girl's weekend walking, talking, and eating our way through the City of Lights.

I'll blog separately about our amazing eating and shopping experience and just focus right now on everything else we did. After checking in to our hotel near the Luxembourg Gardens, I headed down to the fountain at Saint Michel to meet two of my friends who'd arrived earlier from Dublin and Zimbabwe. On the way, I was complimented on my shoes by a Frenchman but was even more flattered when he expressed surprise that I wasn't French! Too bad that never happened when I was living in Paris and using my French on a daily basis - clearly the Italian skills have paid off in "faking it". Stopping by Starbucks for a mocha, I blessed the French for their acceptance of the chain and the ability to get carry-out coffee.


When we met us, we grabbed wine and tartines to relax and enjoy the view of the Seine and Notre Dame. We then strolled past the cathedral and over to the Right Bank, letting ourselves get lost in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th arrondissements. We popped in chocolate stores to look for a particular list created by a pregnant friend but eventually made it to Racines, a wine bar/restaurant where we had reservations that night and were joined by an old friend of mine from college (more on that dinner later).

The next day, we were joined by friends coming from Bucharest and Greece and all elected to sleep in a bit after a late night out (at the Moose!) earlier. Walking down to the river, all of us book nerds stopped by famous Anglophone bookstore Shakespeare and Company to browse their selection of thousands.


Instead of walking past and admiring Notre Dame, our group decided to go and explore on Saturday morning. Mass began while we were inside so we tried to remain quiet and respectful while admiring the stained glass Rose Window and various intricate paintings. The vaulted ceilings were more magnificent that I remembered and I embraced the feeling of peace that came over even while amidst the hoards of tourists crowded the cathedral. While the Duomo is a spectacular feat of architecture and construction, the French Gothic style of Notre Dame impresses me with its flying buttresses and sometimes lifelike gargoyles. "Point Zero" of Paris is located directly outside of the cathedral. This point is the unofficial center of Paris and the point from which all highway distances are calculated from.


We were disappointed when the weather seemed to turn and become grey. Luckily, we were spared rain and able to continue on our way. After lunch at Chez Papa (again, more next time), we strolled to the Eiffel Tower to watch the tourists and inadvertently disrupt a game of petanque being played by elderly Frenchmen.


Sunday morning, we got an early start and headed for the Louvre. La Joconde, or the Mona Lisa, was our first order of business (two of my friends have never been to Paris). Despite our early start, many of her fans were already there, exclaiming over the surprisingly small size of her painting but taking tons of photos nonetheless. Poor Mona, you can barely see her over the crowds holding their cameras in the air.


While we'd wanted to grab lunch in the Marais, our appetites couldn't wait and we stopped at a cafe on the Rue Rivoli. Heading into the Marais afterwards, I was astounded by the crowds that seemed much larger than I'd remembered. The smells were even more delicious then my memory recalled and I found myself pausing at all the Jewish bakeries and falafal stands. Our picture-perfect weekend had to come to an end. My flight from Charles de Gaulle whisked me back to Milano on Sunday evening - forcing me to promise myself a visit longer than three days next time.