France: The Intoxication & Inspiration of Paris
“I think Paris smells not just sweet but melancholy and curious, sometimes sad but always enticing and seductive. She’s a city for all the senses, for artists and writers and musicians and dreamers, for fantasies, for long walks and wine and lovers and, yes, for mysteries.” - M. J. Rose
From my journal entries while visiting Paris, France:
10/19 11:58 AM CET (Central Eastern Time)
“…we’re in Paris, France! So here I sit, in the lobby of the Grand Hotel du Palais Royal Paris, FR 4 Rue De Valois 75001. We are in our room and Kristin is already asleep. It’s about 6:00 AM back home. In the last 36 hours, I got about 2 hours sleep…. I’m actually falling asleep. More later.”
10/21 11:38 AM CET Paris to Montpellier
“on the TVG to Montpellier, France. Traveling 200 MPH across the French countryside. Wild! So lush & green. Even on this cloudy/rainy day. It’s absolutely beautiful. My mom would have loved to see this. Took a few minutes to look out the window & watch the French countryside. It’s absolutely mesmerizing. Beautiful. Peaceful.”
10/22 2:28 PM CET – Montpeyroux, France
“Sitting at the kitchen table in Montpeyroux enjoying a relaxing day in France. The rain is coming down at a steady clip. I got up, enjoyed a chocolat’ au pan & croissant with coffee and decided to catchup on my journal writing. We’ve had quire an eventful adventure so far. The people in Paris have been so nice, so welcoming, so warm. I can’t get over how welcoming & friendly everyone has been.
We try to speak French; most of the people we meet find it endearing & then we all laugh… and then we speak English. Everyone speaks English. They are all very patient and kind, so kind. I love the French people. If they were in America, people would not be so open & welcoming. Many people in America barely speak English, let along an additional foreign language. It’s such a different place, Paris… it amazing. Intoxicating.”
“…with our time in Paris, the highlights included:
Eiffel Tower
Tuileries Gardens – reminded me of Central Park.
Place de la Concorde’ – with the Egyptian obelisk
Strolled the Champs Elysees (we even had a wonderful dinner on our way to see the Arc de’ Triomphe)
Arc de’ Triomphe
Sacre’ Coeur Cathedral (where we lit votive candles for my mom & dad)
Walked through Mont Marte (we had hot chocolate in a small café and walked through the streets – beautiful! Kristin is convinced we’re going to retire to Mont Marte)
Norte Dame
Louvre Museum (saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo & the famous “Liberty Leading the People” painting)
We walked through so many different neighborhoods and museums & took 3 different Metros.
And we had dinner at a wonderful local French café, Les Fines Gueules… the food was wonderful; veal & duck & ravioli & lamb chops & steak… dessert & wine & after dinner aperitifs… the waitstaff was incredible! Friendly, warm, over-the-top nice! They even gave us a tour of the wine cellar! Incredible! It was an incredible evening!
And… all of the French 77’s at the hotel bar. We couldn’t have asked for a better two days in Paris. Literally, a perfect, fantastic, two days in Paris! We saw so many sights, we did so many things. I really feel like we got through the rain, the six-hour time change, and the jet lag to do as much as we could in the time we had.
And I really feel we got a “feel” for the city in two days:
Warm & friendly
Diverse
Laid-back & welcoming
Passionate
Honestly it felt like a “small” big city, Not particularly rushed or anxious. People seemed to be able to relax and enjoy the finer things… food, wine, good conversations, people dancing in the streets… even with the labor strikes & other political rallies and protests. It seemed much more civil and orderly. It seemed to be an older, more mature society as well.
So much detail in all of the buildings and everywhere you turn is history. Looking it up online, it says Paris is more than 2,000 years old, when the Gaul’s of the Paris tribe settled there between 250 – 200 B.C., founding a fishing village on City Island. The history is wild. It weighs in on everything. All the kings & queens, the uprisings & revolutions. From the earliest of times man has been trying to control and conquer each other. Since the dawn of human history. Kings wanting to control it all. What a funny way to spend our time.
To what end? Even if one person had it “all”, so what? Then what? We all come from the same source… the equity is obvious. As of 10/22 there are 7,700,000,000 human beings on the planet. Think of it… all having “unique” existences, all coming from the same source, all connected on the same line of existence.”