Paris, Je t'adore

If I wasn't so fond of the 415, Paris would be my favorite city in the world. However, as I did leave my heart in San Francisco in January, Paris can only be my second favorite city, by no fault of its own. Having said that, I do not wish that I had spent the last four months in Paris instead of in Bordeaux. The two cities are very similar, in fact, Paris was built after Bordeaux and when constructing the city, the builders relied heavily on Bordeaux's layout and architecture to fashion Paris. Paris is a much larger, more industrial, and more touristy version of Bordeaux. Bordeaux was a much more manageable city for a 21-year to lay down roots for four months and try to absorb as much French as possible. The drawback of Paris is that because it is so internationally known, it is too easy for me to speak English here. But I loved my five days here all the same.

Extreme tourism at the Louvre

As it was Zoe's first time visiting Paris, we hit all the big sights: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, the Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triomph, the Musée d'Orsay and Père Lachaise cemetery. On our second day, we even took the train to Versailles at took a tour of the Chateaux Versailles and its impressive gardens. We were hardcore tourists the first three days and I was in desperate need of a reprieve. Our last two days, I got just that. After spending Saturday morning exploring Sacre Coeur and the very cute Montmatre area, complete with nutella crepes and chocolate eclairs, Zoe and I took to the Seine where we shopped for paintings and books along the left bank, stopping to talk to Parisian vendors. We stopped at a supermarket in the Saint Germain area, bought some snacks, and had an afternoon picnic on the left back of the Seine, which we carried late into the night back at our apartment.

Musée d'Orsay clock overlooking the Seine

View of Paris from Sacre Coeur

Montmatre artists

Sunday, today, was our last day in Paris. We packed up our apartment and carried our belongings to the Place de Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris. The weather was gorgeous and we sprawled out, bags and suitcases in all, on the grass with our fellow Parisians. The parks in Paris are gorgeous and Zoe and I were happy to spend four hours reading, sleeping, and people watching. The Paris park fashion alone provides much fodder for conversation.

Place de Vosges

Our apartment in Paris was quite cute. We rented it through Airbnb for five nights and had the whole apartment to ourselves. The Goutte d'Or isn't the greatest quartier of Paris, but it provided a lot of local color, it was within our budgets of 20-year olds emptying our bank accounts in Europe, and the apartment itself was very homey and welcoming. And nicely situated near a major metro station. So it really was the perfect situation for us.

Also of mention during our stay in Paris is that one of the days we were there was May 8, also known as Victory Day in Paris, a national holiday in which France recognizes the end of WWII. This year marked 70 years since the French liberation from the war. There was a celebration down the Champs Elysées that culminated at the Arc de Triomph, which we attended. There were men on horseback in full army garb blowing horns as they marched down the Champs Elysées. The French national anthem was played and sung more than once. French President François Hollande was in attendance under the Arc de Triomph, accompanied by many heads of state and war generals from other countries. We spotted Secretary of State John Kerry on one of the jumbotrons! However, as far as parades celebrating national independence go, from an American perspective, it was a bit of a letdown. There was not a single person who tried to streak naked down the Champs Elysées, only to be brought down by the police, no one covered in red, white, and blue body and face paint, no yelling and screaming, no obnoxious flag waving. It really was an European parade, and the most excitement in the crowd was probably when Zoe and I saw John Kerry's face on screen. It just goes to show the difference between American and French cultures.

Keeping watch over the Arc

Parade of horses down the Champs Elysées

The next stop for Zoe and I is Amsterdam, and we are heading there tonight! And by tonight, I mean late tonight. We are taking an overnight bus from Paris to Amsterdam that leaves here at 11:30pm and should get us into Amsterdam around 6:30am tomorrow morning. This is going to be one of those stories I will tell my kids some day, or at least laugh about with Zoe somewhere down the line in life, "remember that one time we took an overnight bus from Paris to Amsterdam? What were we thinking?" HA. What we're thinking is that the bus ride is 35 Euros, when taking a short plane ride is over 100 Euros more. And that we're 20-year olds and now is the time to do things like this. At least that is my attempt to rationalize how tired I am going to be tomorrow. Wish me luck!